The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition
Discover the rise and fall of Pompeii, a Roman city erased from the map completely in just two days. The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition invites you for a multi-sensory journey with original artefacts, VR experiences, a 360 degree immersive room, interactive installations and a huge finale. For a limited 16 weeks only!
The UK’s First Immersive Pompeii Exhibition
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Travel back in time to 79 AD and discover a blooming Roman city bursting with life. Explore real artefacts excavated on the site, learn how the city met with its fate and how it remained forgotten for centuries before architect Domenico Fontana accidentally discovered it in the 16th century.
Real Artefacts from Pompeii
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There are multiple rooms to discover during your exhibition journey.
The first one is the Excavation Room where you can discover real artefacts straight from Pompeii, including bronze and glass vessels with elaborated decorations as an example of high level of craftsmanship, a helmet, sculpture fragments and a fragment of a sarcophagus.
You will learn more about the Pompeiian’s eating habits and diet and how everyday life looked like.
The Bodies of Pompeii
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The bodies of Pompeii as we know them are not the real bodies of the victims.
As high-temperature pyroclastic follows buried the city, it buried its people too. As the volcanic ash slowly hardened and the bodies decomposed, they left hollows behind.
Lead archaeologist, Giuseppe Fiorelli pioneered a revolutionary technique on how to recover the bodies. He filled the hollows with melted plaster that penetrated into all facial cavities and clothing folds, recovering the final position of men, women and even animals, their facial expression and even the folds of their clothing.
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One of the most emotional scenes is a body of a dog frozen in time. It was found with a collar and a chain as it desperately tried to escape.
Over 1,000 victims have been recovered with Fiorelli’s groundbreaking method.
In 2022, scientists of University of Copenhagen reached another breakthrough: they successfully sequenced the genome of a Pompeii victim for the first time.
Seated VR Experience
The next room is a seated VR experience. You will travel on a chariot and go to the Colosseum to witness a gladiator battle up close. You’ll even submerge under the water as the Colosseum turns into a naval battlefield and you have to dodge from the shooting spears.
360 Degree Projection Room
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The 360 degree projection room with its 8-mter-high walls provide an awe-inspiring experience.
You will follow the personal story of a Pompeiian, walk on the streets and learn about the everyday life in the city as well as the Roman culture. Until suddenly everything changes…
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You will witness the violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius, see how the pyroclastic flow is coming closer, and how giant rocks are destroying everything around you.
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Then you’re inside the chaos. Fire and hot ash everywhere. You can see nothing around you. You don’t know where’s up and where’s down. You’re in the middle of it.
Then silence. You’re buried under the ash for centuries.
Suddenly you hear a rattling sound behind the ivy. An archaeologist as he’s accidentally discovering the ruins of Pompeii.
Interactive Room
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The next room is full of interactive installations.
Became an archaeologist and excavate virtual artefacts, discover the map of Pompeii and learn interesting facts about the Roman empire by touching mini sculptures.
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Did you know that our roads are built using the same method as the Romans used?
Walk Through VR Experience
The next room is a walk through VR experience where you can explore the Villa of the Mysteries. First, you’ll see how it looks like now, then how it looked like before the eruption.
You’ll explore the garden, the wine cellar, the kitchen and all other parts of the house.
Graffiti Room
Next, you’ll learn more about Pompeiian fashion before stepping into the graffiti room. Did you know that there were graffities on the walls even in Pompeii?
Many of them have been discovered and translated. Some of them are political slogans, calling to vote for a specific candidate, others are warning signs, such as “Beware of the dog”, and there are very personal messages and declarations as well, for example: “Pleasure is life with a beloved” and “Stranger, here I am: I am miserable because I have scabies”.
You can leave you own message or drawing on the wall. Simply choose a marker and let your creativity flow.
Became a Pompeiian
See how you would look like a Pompeiian at the final room. Simply sit down, look into the camera and let AI do the job. Make sure you do it twice because it will generate a man and a woman version of you.
Shop
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Your journey ends in the shop where you can find lots of souvenirs and gifts from fridge magnets to hoodies, socks, books, mugs and other small gifts. Perfect stocking fillers for a history enthusiast.
Practical Info
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Address
The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition | Excel Waterfront, ExCel, London E16 1XL
Tickets
Tickets can be booked on FEVER
TIP: Use discount code: ADVENTURERLDN10 to get 10% OFF!
The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition is running for 16 weeks only!
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