'We
have received from a British officer, who recently visited Pompeii, an
account of the damage done to the place during September, when the Germans
were encamped on the site and allied aircraft were obliged to treat it as
a military objective. The following is a summary of the damage observed:
“There
is one crater in the arena of the Amphitheatre, and several near misses.
The wall of the Gladiator's Training School was hit in three places. There
is a crater in the eastern end of the Via dell' Abbondanza, to which
incomplete excavation had prevented further damage. The houses of Rex
Tiburtinus and of Trebius Valens were hit. The Cenacoli and house of
Epidius Rufus were destroyed. The houses used for restorations north of
the Via degli Augustali and the adjoining house were destroyed. The Temple
of Jupiter on the western side of the Forum was hit. The Temple of Apollo
and the House of Triptolemus north of the Via Marina were badly damaged.
The Museum is now in ruins, but how much of the contents perished remains
to be disclosed. The director of the excavations at Pompeii, Professor
Maiuri, whose contributions to The Times will be remembered, was last
heard of in a hospital at Torre del Greco with a leg injury received in an
air raid.”
'The
officer was told that two bombs had fallen on the Temple of Hercules in
Region 8, and that the Houses of Sallust and Pansa in Region 6 had also
received direct hits.'
