Eight months. I kept this secret for eight months - which, for me, is an Olympic feat of restraint.
It’s out now: National Geographic’s Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston has aired on Disney+, and it features my favorite archaeologist, Darius Arya. Sailboats in the Bay of Naples. An ancient Roman sword that’s not on public display. Tom Hiddleston, who — plot twist -studied classics at Cambridge. And Darius, who has been to Pompeii approximately two hundred times and still finds new things to say about it.
I sat him down for a Q&A. What follows is part archaeology lesson, part myth-busting and part behind-the-scenes pass to one of the most extraordinary sites in the ancient world.
Erica: I know you love Pompeii. How many times do you think you’ve been?
Darius: A couple hundred.
Erica: A couple hundred.
Darius: Yeah.
Erica: When was the first time?
Darius: I was a student in ‘92, studying at the Centro — the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome — and we went to Pompeii along with all the other great ancient cities.
Erica: Back then, was Pompeii very different?
Darius: It just wasn’t as accessible. Not as many things were open, and it wasn’t run the way it is today. Today it’s an exemplary site — not just for Italy, but the whole world. Conservation projects going 24/7, great public engagement.
Erica: But let’s go back to 1992. First time. Young student. What hit you?
Darius: Anytime you go there, you’re walking through a city — not a reconstructed city. You have the streets, the fountains, all the components of a Roman town, at a level of preservation that’s almost unparalleled. And looming large in the distance, always — Vesuvius. You’re very much aware of how the people died.
Erica: So Pompeii is essentially a blueprint for a Roman city?
Darius: Yes and no. It’s actually an Oscan city, taken over by the Samnites, then finally a Roman colony — so it’s not a cookie-cutter Roman town. But it has all the components: the forum, the temples, the theater, the amphitheater, the city walls. And the level of preservation — the frescoes, the graffiti on the walls — gives you the closest thing we have to the actual lives of the people who once lived there. It’s really unparalleled.
Erica: You were just there about two weeks ago. Tell me why.
Darius: It was a wonderful occasion — the premiere of Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston. I filmed my portion last November, on Herculaneum. Tom suggested doing a premiere not just in London but also in Pompeii itself. We did a Q&A, debuted an episode in the theater, and then I led a tour of the forum with Tom for invited guests and press — after closing.
Erica: What was it like working with Tom Hiddleston? He’s an actor. He’s Loki. What does he know about Pompeii?
Darius: Amazingly, he had an early interest in the classics. He did Latin and Greek at A-level, then studied classics at Cambridge. I actually know some of his professors. He had a top-notch education — and then just took a left turn into theater.
Erica: So you could actually talk to each other.
Darius: Oh, yeah.
Erica: What makes this documentary different from the typical Pompeii film?
Darius: The grounding is real scientific investigation — the rigorousness you’d expect from National Geographic. But what usually lets historical documentaries down is the reconstructions, the storytelling. In this case, they got it right. When you finally see the eruption sequence, it’s accurate, it’s precise, and it’s incredible storytelling. And within all of that, Tom retraces the lives of specific people, consulting with experts along the way. I was happy to be one of them.
Erica: Happy? You came home and told me you were on a boat.
Darius: Tom and I were on a sailboat in the Bay of Naples, taking in Vesuvius and the positions of Herculaneum and Pompeii. We were following the letters of Pliny the Younger, who recounted what his uncle Pliny the Elder did during the eruption. Pliny the Elder saw it from Misenum, went out with ships on a rescue mission, and ultimately perished — blown all the way across the bay to Stabiae.
Erica: From the lava flows?
Darius: There’s no lava. It’s pumice and ash.
Erica: Oh. Well. Good to know.
Darius: That’s one of the greatest —
Erica: Myths?
Darius: Mistakes.
Erica: Another thing you were very excited about: the Pompeii Excalibur.
Darius: In the Herculaneum portion of the series, there’s one figure featured prominently — a Roman soldier. We have his scabbard and a bag of tools that may indicate his rank and station. And we were able to examine it in the storerooms — it’s not on public display. That’s the kind of extraordinary experience you get when you have access behind the scenes at Pompeii, or in this case, Herculaneum.
Erica: You got to hold it.
Darius: Yep.
Erica: I always get asked this question: Is Pompeii worth a day trip from Rome?
(keep reading for tips and treats)
