UVU CHSS Ambassador Trip to Italy Provides 'Profound' Experience

There we were: a bunch of students in random majors and minors clumped together in a small, dark room, looking at freshly dug-up ancient structures — things only a handful of people on earth have seen so far.

Large columns almost fully intact lined the room a few feet from the wall, their shadows painted on behind them (as was common during this artistic era), and between the painted shadows were large painted depictions of hunts and mystical beings. Each of us stared, and each of us thought something different: classical studies majors in awe at the preservation of the tile, geology majors studying the rubble around these structures, measuring pumice, perhaps.

Of course, I don’t really know what they were thinking. But I gathered clues, pulling from the few bits and pieces of strange information that each person would chime in about, one conversation falling into the next — a new observation, a new question, something about history and something about art and something about art history. And each of us were absolutely enthralled with each new sight.

It's almost ominous, visiting the homes of common people from 2,000 years ago. The similarities to how we live now can be seen everywhere. Rich homes with ornate architecture, other homes that a poor student like me would have lived in, with a classical box shape. The cups and bowls and plates, sewer systems, and even the jewelry all look like something you’d find online for three dollars. Of course, the online versions wouldn't be made with real gold.

But there was one thing that hit us all with full force: with widened eyes, we were shown the drawings of a young child on the walls of a house.

Mario Grimaldi, our guide, explained that these drawings could be of gladiators, the stick and triangle bodies equipped with shields and swords, kicking each other, fighting along the bottom of a wall. Amongst the depictions there is also the outline of a child's hand. We all looked at each other with stunned excitement, and everyone seemed to say at the same time, “We really are the same.”

You don't realize how young America is until you're standing on ruins buried 20 feet under the buildings you're staying in, which themselves were built in the Renaissance period. Layers and layers of history are stacked on top of each other; the sheer volume of artifacts and structures that are left undiscovered and underground is incomprehensible. Randomly, someone will come across a Roman tomb, or in this case, a library containing philosophical papyri. Herculaneum was home to a wealthier class of people, and in the back room of one of the villas there were scrolls containing Greek philosophical texts. The scrolls were rolled up, and when the pyroclastic flow hit the town, they were burned and turned to carbon.

We got to see these preserved clumps of ancient text right in front of us, the words in perfect handwriting. It is interesting to me how knowledge was valued. Upper-class citizens lived near a library, understanding that knowledge is power and knowing the value of access to learning tools.

The citizens also realized the value of having public gymnasiums, beautiful living spaces, the things that build virtuous societies and healthy people. I remember hearing, “By the state of the gymnasium you will know the quality of the men.” To be rich in knowledge, to be rich in health, and to be surrounded by beauty are common themes I saw dance from villa to villa.

To be led through these places by the eyes of someone with vast knowledge about where each thing is from, what it was used for, why paintings and sculptures are styled certain ways, and to actually be the first in thousands of years to touch and see these artifacts, is one of the most incredible experiences I could ever imagine. It is difficult to put into words the thrill and intrigue of getting to hear how things so important to the history of human life are found and why they are significant. Each person we met — the papyrologists, librarians, and geologists — were excited to share the passionate knowledge they’ve gained through years and years of study.

To be in a group of people, all vigorously interested, each equipped with a different lens and style of thinking, created one of the least boring and most meaningful and profound intellectual experiences of my life thus far.

 

Jessi A. Ferrin
UVU Psychology Student