Pompeii: The New Dig

The discovery by excavation specialists of tools under the ash of Pompeii makes them chuckle: Some things have never changed, they say, like the pickax. Or our curiosity about the ancient past, an itch “The New Dig” scratches rather luxuriously.

The new frescoes uncovered on the wall showed us what looked like an early pizza. A black loaf of bread recovered intact still bore the fingerprint of the baker who had touched it, presumably just before the eruption killed him. It was extremely sad and utterly gripping.

The less invested might have become twitchy with the remote control, however. Archaeological digs require an awful lot of spadework for the occasional exciting discovery. Something similar could be said about this thorough but rather workmanlike documentary.