Upcoming PBS Show on Pompeii

Posted by acraven (Washington DC) on 05/06/24 02:55 AM

I see PBS will broadcast the first episode of a new three-part series called "Pompeii--The New Dig" in my market on Wednesday, May 15, at 10 PM. It looks as if it will be available for streaming later this month. I don't know whether the entire series will be available on May 15-16 or one episode will show up each week.

The descriptive text in my station's programming magazine says: "Follow the most extensive archaeological excavation in Pompeii for a generation. With exclusive access to the dig, the series follows the excavation of an entire city block, unearthing what life was like in Pompeii before the eruption and what happened when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79."

Posted by John

CA, USA

05/06/24 03:23 AM

1133 posts

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

Posted by jules m

Twin Cities of MN

05/06/24 04:15 AM

5727 posts

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

Posted by Nigel

Northamptonshire, England

05/06/24 09:41 AM

32929 posts

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.

Posted by periscope

05/06/24 11:23 AM

2504 posts

It's available to watch on youtube at this very moment - run a a search engine for Pompeii--The New Dig

Posted by Swat

05/06/24 05:10 PM

7 posts

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

Posted by TC

Atlanta

05/06/24 07:23 PM

4898 posts

...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.

Posted by Swat

05/06/24 11:45 PM

7 posts

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

Posted by acraven OP

Washington DC

05/07/24 12:28 AM

27230 posts

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.