Female funerary statue
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This larger-than-life statue of a woman is typical of the funerary portraits that adorned Pompeiian tombs. She's wearing a garment called a stola pulled up over her head. Her modest pose is common in pieces like this one, demonstrating a pious, modest, perfect woman in death. This statue and other priceless artifacts will make their home at the Science Museum of Minnesota when the A Day in Pompeii exhibit opens on June 27. The exhibit will give visitors a glimpse into what life was like in ancient Pompeii before the famous eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

Credit: Photo by Ethan Lebovics.

Garden column detail
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The A Day in Pompeii exhibit, which opens June 27 at the Science Museum of Minnesota, features priceless artifacts uncovered from the famous Pompeii archaeological site that rarely leave their home country of Italy. This intricate stone carving is from the top of a garden column from ancient Pompeii. On one side, visitors will see the face of the Greek god, Dionysus, known to the Romans as Bacchus. On the other side is the youthful Dionysus wearing the characteristic crown of vine leaves, with ringlets at his temples and falling over his shoulders.

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali-Soprintendenza archaeologica de Pompei.

Hand of Sabazius
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This bronze sculpture would have been displayed in the lararium, or shrine to the guardian spirits, of a home in ancient Pompeii. The sculpture is full of symbols to give protection to the owner. Sabazius, the god of vegetation and the guardian of women in labor, is depicted in the palm. Other symbols here include a nursing mother, a crow, a table with offerings, and a serpent. Artifacts like this one, which give a glimpse into the day-to-day customs and spiritual beliefs of the people of Pompeii, are included in the A Day in Pompeii exhibit, which opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on June 27.

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali-Soprintendenza archaeologica de Pompei.

Hippolytus and Phaedra fresco
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The rich colors of this fresco helped enhance a room's décor in the ancient city of Pompeii. Visitors to A Day in Pompeii, a world class exhibit that opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on June 27, will see this and other authentic frescoes that have been uncovered at the Pompeii archaeological site. The exhibit will give visitors a glimpse into the customs and daily life of this cosmopolitan Roman resort city before it was destroyed by the famous eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

Credit: Photo by Ethan Lebovics.

Statue of Bacchus
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This bronze statuette is one of the hundreds of rare artifacts featured in the A Day in Pompeii exhibit, which opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on June 27. It depicts Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and drink, who was venerated in Pompeii. The large eyes are rendered in ivory and a brown-colored glass paste. Sculptures of deities, cupids, and animals were often placed along the paths and beside the fountains in the gardens of Pompeiian homes. They served both decorative and religious purposes.

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali-Soprintendenza archaeologica de Pompei.

Garden fresco
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This authentic, large-scale fresco is one of the highlights of the A Day in Pompeii exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. It was amazingly well-preserved by the layers of volcanic ash that resulted from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Now broken into three sections, this fresco once covered the entire back wall of the summer triclinium, or dining room, of the House of the Gold Bracelets in Pompeii. The center section framed a niche, possibly for a working fountain. In homes with limited space for a garden or green space, these wall paintings satisfied the owner's love of greenery by creating the illusion of a large garden. The frescoes often contained lush vegetation and different species of birds, some in flight and others perching. A Day in Pompeii opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on June 27, 2007.

Credit: Photo by Ethan Lebovics.

Cast of seated man
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The A Day in Pompeii exhibit features eight body casts, or plaster molds of the cavities left by the victims' bodies, depicting the people of Pompeii in their final moments of life. This cast is of a man who sat against a wall and drew his knees up to his chest as the noxious fumes and volcanic ash overtook him. A Day in Pompeii opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on June 27, 2007.

Credit: Photo by Ethan Lebovics.

Medallion with couple fresco
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This authentic Pompeiian fresco depicts a young woman with an older woman behind her in a double frame of green leaves. All are framed in a square. This composition is typical of the "4th Style" of painting on plaster, popular by the 1st century A.D. Frescoes like this one, which rarely leave their home in Italy, are included in A Day in Pompeii, a world-class exhibit that opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on June 27.

Credit: Photo by Ethan Lebovics.

Cast of woman
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Pompeii is probably most famous for the body casts of the victims of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. This body cast, which will be included in the A Day in Pompeii exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota, depicts a young woman who died of suffocation from fumes and falling ash. Imprints of her clothes are preserved on the upper part of her back, hips, stomach, and arms. She may have been trying to keep her nose and mouth clear by pulling her tunic up over her face. A Day in Pompeii opens June 27 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali-Soprintendenza archaeologica de Pompei.

Cast of dog
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This cast depicts a dog that was also a victim of the Mt. Vesuvius eruption. The incredible preservation provided by the layers of ash and volcanic materials allows us to make out his bronze studded collar and tells us that he was chained up outside the House of Vesonius Primus, a successful Pompeiian fuller. This and seven other body casts are included in A Day in Pompeii, a world class exhibit that opens on June 27 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Credit: Photo by Ethan Lebovics.

Aphrodite statue
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This marble statue of the Roman goddess Aphrodite originally stood in the garden of a great villa outside of the ancient city of Pompeii. Garden statuary like this have been uncovered by archaeologists who are piecing together the customs, traditions, and lifestyles of the people of Pompeii before the city was destroyed by the massive eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Visitors to the Science Museum of Minnesota's upcoming A Day in Pompeii exhibit will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see artifacts that rarely leave Italy when the exhibit opens on June 27.

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali-Soprintendenza archaeologica de Pompei.