Post by Michael Magri

Romans wrote on walls. Archaeologists have discovered more than 11,000 pieces of graffiti preserved beneath the ash of Pompeii... and they read surprisingly like today's social media. 'Gaius was here.' 'Marcus loves Spendusa.' 'Restitutus has deceived many girls.' 'Successus is a weaver. He loves Iris, the innkeeper's slave girl. She doesn't care about him at all.' And perhaps the best one: 'I am amazed, O wall, that you have not fallen down, since you support the boring writings of so many.' Someone complained about graffiti... by writing graffiti on the wall itself. Nearly 2,000 years later, human nature hasn't changed much. Pompeii, Campania, Italy