Pompeii Is Crumbling—Can It Be Saved?
Collapses highlight "critical" situation, but site is "absolutely safe for tourists."
(Related: "Pompeiians Flash-Heated to Death—'No Time to Suffocate.'")
Troubles at the World Heritage site, near modern Naples in southern Italy, began in earnest last year. In November 2010 Pompeii's Schola Armaturarum, a large building once used by gladiators for training, crumbled overnight due to water infiltration. Just a few weeks later, a 12-meter-long (13-yard) wall protecting a structure known as the House of the Moralist had fallen down in heavy rain.
Now that poor weather has returned, more trouble has followed. In late October, a portion of Pompeii's perimeter wall came apart.
Last year, after the Schola Armaturarum had collapsed, UNESCO sent a team to inspect the site.
"The situation is critical," said Alix Barbet, an
