"[Pliny the Elder] was at Misenum in his capacity as commander of the fleet on the 24th of August [sc. in 79 AD], when between 2 and 3 in the afternoon my mother drew his attention to a cloud of unusual size and appearance.... He called for his shoes and climbed up to where he could get the best view of the phenomenon. The cloud was rising from a mountain-at such a distance we couldn't tell which, but afterwards learned that it was Vesuvius. I can best describe its shape by likening it to a pine tree. It rose into the sky on a very long 'trunk' from which spread some 'branches'."When Mt. Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 A.D., covering with ash a living, vibrant community, it preserved for posterity clear evidence of daily life. Some of the finds are still intact and in place; others have been moved to museums. The Naples Archaeological Museum features many such artifacts, including those kept in a so-called secret room. For two hundred years, access was denied the public, but now visitors can look at and even photograph (no flash) the erotic artwork.(http://www.amherst.edu/~classics/class36/ancsrc/01.html) Pliny Letter VI.16
James Martin took advantage of his 45-minute tour of the camera segretta, taking the nine erotic and sexually explicit photographs pictured on his site: Erotica From the Naples Archaeological Museum
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