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Gabriel Zuchtreigel, Director of Pompeii: Archaeology is the most democratic form of history

Gabriel Zuchtreigel, Director of Pompeii: Archaeology is the most democratic form of history

The Interview vor 8 Monaten

Gabriel Zuchtreigel, director of Pompeii’s archaeological site, on understanding our past

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Michael Berkeley speaks to Gabriel Zuchtreigel, Director of
Pompeii in Southern Italy, one of the world’s most important
archaeological sites.

History, he says, comes alive through archaeology, helping us to
appreciate our shared humanity with those who lived thousands of
years ago, and providing a more democratic way of learning about
the past. Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that erupted and buried
Pompeii in ash and pumice, did not distinguish between the
wealthy and the poor in its victims.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel was appointed Director of Pompeii in 2021,
and has since begun a major excavation, and made a number of
significant finds. But it is walking around the site at night,
emptied of the crowds, that he feels the ancient city come alive.
It is as if, he says, the inhabitants only left a few minutes
ago.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our
world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC,
including with artist Doris Salcedo and author Sir Salman
Rushdie. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The
Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or
wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Michael Berkeley Producers: Clare Walker and Lucy
Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the
hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Gabriel Zuchtreigel Credit: Ivan Romano/Getty Images)