Upcoming PBS Show on Pompeii

thanks for the heads-up! I've set it to record.

I'm glad you posted this. I'm currently referring to my TPT (twin cities PBS) magazine for May and they don't even feature the program anywhere in the magazine. In fact on May 15 at 9pm, program listing says, "TBA". Certainly something I'm interested in, and its not even shown in the schedule.

In any case for MN metro viewers, upon doing a web search:
Episode 101, "The Bodies" will be on 5/15 at 9pm, repeated 4 times in the following week
Episode 102, "Escape" will be at 5/22 at 9pm, repeated
Episode 103, "The Final hours" on 5/29.
Likely, will be on passport, but not necessarily

It is a very good show. We saw it here a couple of weeks ago - most excellent, loads of really new information.

Much is subtitled and original language, very well done. It grabs your attention.

I won't let any spoilers slip.

We are trying to decide whether to go to Pompeii or Herculaneum on our June trip there. For those of you that have seen one or the other (or BOTH), could you please advise?
Thanks

...Pompeii or Herculaneum...

Swat,

It depends on how much time you have and your starting point. Some people go to Pompeii as a day trip from Rome, but for me that meant a very, very long day so I passed. But when we were in Naples on a later trip, we were able to visit both in one day with guided tours from Naples. If you are close to Naples, youshould be able to see both.

Will only be going to one-which do you suggest? Heading there from Naples

I am not as interested in such sites as many people. I go and look for pretty things like mosaics and well-preserved frescoes. So perhaps you should totally ignore my view that Pompeii is more interesting than Herculaneum. (Though certainly Herculaneum is worth seeing.)

However, it may help you to know that Pompeii is more physically challenging. First, it is much larger (and without shade, which could be quite an issue in June). Second, it has the bumpiest cobblestones I've ever seen. You have to pay attention to what you're doing as you walk on them, lest you wreck an ankle. Third, some of the sidewalks in Pompeii are much, much higher than the streets--higher than a step on a staircase, sometimes considerably higher.

Unless you choose to spend all your time walking in the street (in which case please re-read my second point), there's a lot of stepping up and down when you need to cross streets or walk around a group of people blocking the sidewalk. It's tiring, and stepping down on to a bulbous cobblestone from a considerable height is not a lot of fun. I survived without injury, but I'm short (5'3"), and on one occasion a random passer-by had to give me a hand so I could get up onto the sidewalk. That one must have been about knee-height.

Hey Acraven, thanks for the reminder about "Pompeii--The New Dig" , WOW, it was really great! Bit macabre, but could skip those parts on YouTube. And thanks for reminding me why I disliked Pompeii so much, huge, tough walking on those streets, quite warm even in May, and yes the mosaics and frescos were amazing, but there are other places to see gorgeous ones that don't involve the hard hike! We're hoping to visit Herculaneum next time, here's a link to a very good documentary on preserving Herculaneum - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvFlEJpuTfo&t=653s

Caught it last night. Excellent!

RE. Acraven's comment on the streets. I recall when we were there there was a lot of rutted areas worn by carts/wagons/charriots. Yet, in the excavations, they have found very few wagons/carts. See episode one!

The second episode aired last night in Phoenix. It’s very interesting. More than just digging in the dirt archaeologists.

Teaser: The pizza fresco.

Does anyone know if or when the site from this dig will be open to the public. Popeii is on my to-do list and I would really like to see the most current and up-to-date perspectives on this city.

jkh I'm guessing it won't be open to the public any time soon, but you can look on the Pompeii website map and check if it is open to the public - this dig is Regio 9, Insula 10 I believe. Not currently on the list

For those that don't have PBS access, the original version is on the UK Documentary Five YouTube channel, quick links below.

Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-p69rLTYfs
Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edqU9pjqv3o
Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjrsY61G-RU

Thanks for this video recommendation.. that’s why I love this site! I would not have known about this otherwise. We caught the first one and the others are set to record.

Thank you CL for the three BBC links