As well as thousands of tons of volcanic ash, the legend of Pompeii is shrouded in a particularly cruel kind of irony. Namely, that the very same catastrophic eruption that brought death and destruction to an entire society also so immaculately preserved their stories, trappings and traditions for centuries to come. Now, a Putuo shopping mall hosts some 300 objects from the 76CE time capsule charting the life and times of the once bustling seaport and second city of the Roman Empire, to its total devastation in an inferno of lava, ash, gasses and rocks. 
Everyone knows the story, either from school or if you're unlucky, that 2014 Kit Harrington movie: almost 2000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius, a volcano near Naples in Italy, erupted. For almost 24 hours, the earth shook, debris and rock rained down on Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum, and devastating avalanches of ash swallowed the ancient Roman city. Buried but not completely forgotten, the settlement was rediscovered by archaeologists in the 18th century, and excavation of the UNESCO World Heritage Site continues today. 
What's most striking about the 300 or so artifacts in the Shanghai show is their condition. They are not exactly new-looking, but they also don't look their age. Frescos and mosaics, for example, are still vivid; carbonized oyster shells, walnuts and peach pits recognizable; and gold rings beautifully preserved. 
Ancient Romans were a clever bunch: there's lead and bronze water pipes, spouts and taps; weights and scales; a bypass box and valves. That's all part of a section called Urban Landscape and Everyday Life, with other modules focused on food, religion, medicine, funerals, and most morbidly fascinating of the lot, The Final Moments. 
That section includes six snapshot-like casts of a dog, a pig, and four people whose futile cowering, crawling and twisted poses make everything that came before seem all the more real. It's sobering stuff indeed. Likewise, a digital reconstruction of the drawn out devastation puts the show's trinkets, foodstuffs and mosaics into a closer, more contextualized perspective that's really rather moving. 
What's on show here, its story, catastrophe and rediscovery is hands-down fascinating. Most wall texts are bilingual, and there's a handy English language audio guide available for everything else. The location, though -- next to the fourth floor cinema and arcades of the baroque Global Harbor mall -- is odd. Not because it's a mall, per se, but because it's not adequately soundproofed. The occasional strains of K-pop that filter in are not just incongruous, they're downright annoying. Nonetheless, for a fascinating glimpse into sophisticated ancient Roman society, followed by a hefty dose of tragedy and horror, "Last Day in Pompeii" comes highly recommended. You could easily spend 2-3 hours in there. Go see. 
The Last Day of Pompeii runs until October 19 at the Shanghai Global Harbor Museum. Tickets are 120rmb at the door or 100rmb on Gewara. Pro tip: this mall's food courts are worth wandering around too.
