As of: January 19, 2024, 5:17 a.m
By: Martina Lippl
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Anyone who visits Pompeii (Italy) (here the colonnade and the sculptures of the Temple of Apollo) should not take anything with them.
© Elisabeth Knöbl-Zahn/imago
Out of remorse, a woman sent a desperate letter to Pompeii.
The young tourist makes a confession in her letter and returns stolen artifacts.
Rome – Forbidden souvenirs from Pompeii (Italy) apparently did not bring any luck to a young woman.
During a visit to the city, which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption, she picked up small pumice stones.
Since then, she believes there has been a curse on her.
“Didn’t know about the curse” – tourist sends desperate letter to Pompeii
The young tourist wants to free herself from the curse anonymously and with a handwritten letter in English.
She sent the three pumice stones back to the Pompeii Archaeological Park in an envelope with an apology.
“I didn’t know about the curse.
I didn't know that I shouldn't have taken the stones.
Within a year I was diagnosed with cancer.
I'm young and healthy and the doctors say it's just 'bad luck'.
Please accept my apology and these pieces.
I’m sorry,” the woman wrote.
Pompeii director responds promptly to anonymous letter
On the platform say,” wrote Gabrielzuchtriegel.
The Italian phrase “in bocca als lupo” (in German: in the mouth of the wolf) can be roughly translated as “I keep my fingers crossed for you” or “broken neck and legs”.
He also published a photo of the letter and the pumice stones.
“Pirates of Pompeii” – Young tourist sends back illegal finds from the city destroyed by the volcanic eruption.
© Screenshot X/Gzuchtriegel
“The Curse of Pompeii” – Tourist returns stolen rock
It's not the first case.
The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD is probably the most famous volcanic eruption in history.
The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed.
Visitors to Pompeii often cannot resist the temptation and steal artifacts from the 44-hectare excavation site.
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After 15 years, a Canadian woman sent back two stolen mosaic stones, some pieces of an amphora and ceramics.
She was suffering from breast cancer and her family was in financial difficulties.
“I took with me a piece of history that absorbed so much negative energy in its time,” she wrote at the time.
“People died in such terrible ways and I took with me shards that came into contact with that kind of destruction.”
The volcanic eruption in 79 killed 2,000 people.
Lava and ash destroyed settlements.
The last moments of life are buried in the catastrophe.
Since its rediscovery in the 19th century, archaeologists have been uncovering eye-catching finds.
Researchers have discovered the skeleton of a man who died in the Vesus eruption.
A fresco in Pompeii, depicting what is probably the oldest pizza, amazed even researchers.
The eruption of Vesuvius in Pompeii was considered a punishment from the gods: people “want” to believe in it
In ancient times, the fall of the city due to the eruption of Vesuvius was seen as a punishment from the gods.
The superstition continues to this day.
Family, personal dramas are linked to the theft in Pompeii.
In the comments to the post on platform
A lot of people get cancer without stealing anything, you know?" He goes on to explain: "If B occurs after A, that doesn't mean B was caused by A (correlation is not causation) Don't believe in curses!
But also: don’t steal!”
Taking things with you is taboo, and not just at excavation sites.
Holidaymakers should be careful when going on a beach holiday in Italy.
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