A co-production with France’s Gedeon Programmes and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, the special features exclusive access to the area’s first archeological dig in over 70 years
Production makes significant new discoveries and leverages new technologies and science to recreate the final hours of those that perished in the eruption’s aftermath
CuriosityStream, a leading independent global factual media company, announced today that in partnership with Gedeon Programmes and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, it will televise the first large-scale excavation of Pompeii – once known as the crown jewel of the Roman Empire – in Pompeii: Disaster Street, premiering on March 19. Viewers follow archaeologists over 10 months as they uncover layer after layer of stone and ash, discovery after extraordinary discovery revealing evidence of daily life, works of art, mythical figures, and human remains buried for 2,000 years. With exclusive access granted to film the first excavations in Pompeii in 70 years, Pompeii: Disaster Street reveals the unexplored parts of the city and captures the major findings that emerged in front of CuriosityStream’s cameras.
After decades of neglect, and following water damage and collapse of walls, Italy and the EU funded the rescue archaeology operation in this new area of Pompeii, the famous historical site visited by 3 million tourists a year. With five generations worth of scientific advancement at their disposal, the archaeologists highlighted in the film are not simply attempting to restore mosaics and the city’s architecture, they are uncovering details about the people that inhabited the area at the time Vesuvius erupted.
To portray an accurate picture of what happened in Pompeii on that fateful day in 79 AD, CuriosityStream filmmakers took painstaking steps to recreate the society’s environment through a production that spanned two years.
The documentary’s set design is based on photogrammetry: a new technology made from mapping thousands of photos on a wireframe of laser data points creating a 3D image of streets and houses.
Exact architectural details were carved in polystyrene, including the roofs of the houses that eventually collapsed under the weight of pumice and a 250mph wave of hot ash and stone spewing from the volcano.
Rooms, street graffiti, and dynamic frescoes were made based on photographic copies from the excavation site, down to the textile moldings in each home.
“Archaeologists have uncovered entirely new areas and houses in ancient Pompeii; the first excavation there of this scale in 70 years, and with Pompeii: Disaster Street we are using the latest science and discoveries to tell the human story of what happened to the city’s residents,” said Clint Stinchcomb, President and CEO of CuriosityStream. “CuriosityStream is providing viewers exclusive access to the dig as well as new DNA science that is enhancing our understanding of history.”
Whether priceless mosaics and frescoes of a newly unearthed house, intact artifacts, or the remains of those captured in a solidified layer of ash for nearly 20 centuries, the findings contribute to a new interpretation of this infamous day in human history.