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Pompeii Study
DP: 1
a. Geographical features and natural features of Campania
b. The eruption of 79AD and its impact on Pompeii and Herculaneum
c. Early discoveries and the changing nature of excavations in the 19th and 20th centuries
d. Representations of Pompeii and Herculaneum over time
DP: 2
a. The economy: role of the forum, trade, commerce, industries, occupations
b. The social structure: men, women, freedmen, slaves
c. Local political life: decuriones, magistrates, comitium
d. Everyday life: housing, leisure activities, food and dining, clothing, health, baths, water supply and sanitation
e. Religion: household gods, temples, foreign cults and religions, tombs
f. The influence of Greek and Egyptian cultures: art and architecture
DP: 3
a. Changing interpretations: impact of new research and technologies
b. Issues of conservation and reconstruction: Italian and international contributions and responsibilities
c. Ethical issues: excavation and conservation, study and display of human remains
d. Value and impact of tourism: problems and solutions
Sources and Examples for Exam
https://dc.edu.au/ancient-history-pompeii-herculaneum/
DP 1: Survey
a) Geographical setting and natural features of Campania
· Coastal region, access to sea, good for trade, use of resources from the sea
· Volcanic proximity provided fertile soil
· Ideal for growing grapes
· Water from River Sarno
· Ideal resort towns
· Sources: written sources, frescoes, agricultural evidence including livestock and plants, sewer systems
b) The eruption of AD79 and its impact on Pompeii and Herculaneum
Best Evidence
· Stratigraphy – layers in the ground
Mount Vesuvius
· Erupted in 1631, killing 4000 people, and during the restoration after the eruption, they discovered Pompeii and Herculaneum ruins
Pliny the Younger
· Wrote a first-person account of the eruption
· Detailed the voyage of his uncle Pliny the Elder
· Watched the eruption from Misenum
· Leaves Misenum with his mother
· Said that tremors were common in the area
· Only eyewitness of the event to have survived
Effect on Rome
· Pompeii and Rome had a history of being at odds (Social War of 90BCE), eruption stops any further conflicts and takes out one of Rome’s adversaries
· Roman control of Pompeii was limited, allowed to keep language and culture but did not have status as Roman citizens
· Social War of March 90BCE
· Pompeii joins with other Samnite towns in Italy in uprising
· Demands full Roman citizenship and rights
· Roman army (more experienced) overtook Pompeiians
· Pompeii loses virtually all its independence
c) early discoveries and the changing nature of excavations in the 19th and 20th centuries
· Discoveries of bits and pieces were taken and used to decorate homes
Early Excavators
Name
Year(s)
Description
Charles VII and Rocque Joachim de Alcubierre
1734
Began excavations at Herculaneum
Dug 20 meters down into the volcanic rubble
Worked by the light of torches, sometimes would go out and risked suffocation
Dug through house walls and destroyed artifacts
Best of the artifacts were set aside for the king’s collection
Common artifacts destroyed and holes filled back in
Rocque Joachim “knew as much of antiquities as the moon does of lobsters” – Winckelmann (1771), art historian
Attempted to dig up Pompeii but found it too difficult and returned to Herculaneum
Karl Weber
1750
Appointed by Charles VII
Believed that the site should be excavated systematically and document
Discovered the Villa of Papyri in Herculaneum (1800 carbonized scrolls)
Fiorelli
· Divided Pompeii into 9 regions
· Numbered insulae and buildings
· Precise locating of finds
· Helps give a better overall picture
· Worked methodically, top down, room by room, one building at a time
· Systematic, prevented collapse
· Better timeline of artifacts, less destruction of the site
· Published findings
· Allows other historians to access finds
· Increased academic debate, permanent records, increased study
· Went from treasure hunting to academic excavation
Spinazzola
· Excavated half Via dell’Abbondanza
· Reconstructed streetscape and facades of buildings
· Gave visitors a “snapshot” of Pompeian street
· Looks with no substance, multiple collapses from unexcavated interiors
· Reconstructed upper stories
· Often incorrect, radically altered our concepts of streetscape
Maiuri (1924-1961)
· Brought Pompeii to life
· Increased public interest
· Extensive excavations
· Much of which fell into decay
· Revealed Villa of Mysteries
· Instantly famous
· Studied a stratigraphic section
· Revealed layers of deposit of eruption
· Studied pre-Roman occupation
· Was responsible for Herculaneum
Guzzo (1995 +)
· Negotiated keeping funds from site to $9 million
· Site maintenance is costly, helps fund various projects
· Attracted international teams of experts to conduct investigations and conservation projects
· More scholarly research, spread the cost of conservation, also give other countries much needed fieldwork
Fausto Zevi (1977 +)
· Halted excavations, concentrated on conservation
· No new discoveries, safeguarding both excavated and unexcavated areas for future study and enjoyment
· Photographed site, over 1800 pics
· Permanent record
· Identified poor security and incorrect conservation
· Prevent theft and repair poor
August Mau
· Published typology of 4 painting styles
· Chronological dating of decorations
· Problematic, too subjective
· Works well with styles 1 & 2
· Breaks down on styles 3 & 4
· Also published work on principal buildings
· Was instrumental in creating an atmosphere of international study
d) changing representations of Pompeii and Herculaneum over time
Name
Year(s)
Description
Jakob Phillipp Hackert
1799
Official royal painter of Naples
Painted ruins of Pompeii with romantic surroundings
Romanticism period
Highlighted the idyllic parts of the view, probably not a completely accurate picture of the time
Francois Mazois
1812
Architect/artist
454 paintings
The Ruins of Pompeii
Attempts to document his observations overshadowed by his romantic style
Early excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum were hijacked by looters, treasure hunters and those with no real knowledge or interest in preserving the past. One of the earliest excavators at Herculaneum, Rocque Joachim, is the perfect example of the destruction caused by the ignorance of these excavations. Appointed by Charles VII of Naples, his only aim was to bring treasure for his king and therefore disregarded any artifacts that were common in nature and wouldn’t please the king. His methods were also questionable. His workmen often worked in darkness due to torches going out and risked suffocation in the tunnels they dug. Johann Winkelmann described Joachim as “[knowing] as much of antiquities as the moon knows of lobsters.” In Source A, it is clear that Winckelmann is critical of the early methods used by excavators in Pompeii and Herculaneum. His mention of how the brass letters “were torn from the walls, without first taking a copy of them and then [threw them] pell mell into a basket” shows the careless nature in which early excavators handled artifacts and the lack of documentation that they provided. This is further solidified in Source B in which Goethe states that the site was “casually ransacked as if by brigands.” Goethe takes a similar stance to Winckelmann in that he is extremely critical of the methods used by these excavators. His lamentation of the loss of many artifacts that were destroyed in the reckless process of these excavations shows how incompetent men like Joachim really were.
· Tells us more about time period than Pompeii
DP 2: Investigating and interpreting the sources for Pompeii and Herculaneum
a) the economy: role of the forum, trade, commerce, industries, occupations
Herculaneum
Pompeii
· slower paced resort town
· fishing
· craftsmen
· after earthquake in AD62, increased demand for bricks
· prostitution, but little evidence of brothels
· bustling center of commerce
· 600 or so excavated private shops, bars, inns
· Markets around the forum
· 20 or so maritime warehouses
· Paintings of cargo vessels on the Sarno river
· Images of Mercury – god of commerce
· Wine and oil an integral part of society
· Agriculture the most respectable way of earning a living
· Land ownership translating to status
· Pottery industry spawning from the need to store goods (foods and wines)
· Wealthy owned vineyards because of long wait between profits
· Estates not maintained by owners rather by hired help and trusted dependents
· Had rooms for pressing grapes (torcularia) and fermentation (cellae vinariae)
· Massive capacities, thousands of liters
· Several different varieties of wines
· Olive oils produced in same places as wines
· Produced garum (fish sauce used as condiment in Roman cuisine)
· Fishermen sold their catches in the markets around the Forum, but some garum makers sourced their fish more directly
· Foul stench of garum meant that it was probably manufactured outside the city walls
· Salt plants
· Wool was important
· Dyeing of wool, washing and creation of fabric and cloth
· Cloth manufacture took place at an officina (workshop) and sold to cloth merchants
· Fulleries or laundries were businesses (Fullery of Stephanopoulos)
· Bakeries produced different sorts of breads
· Bread is hard and deteriorates quickly
· Most bakeries sold their products to different shops, few had adjoining shops to sell their own bread
· Carpenters
· Plumbers
· Wheelwrights
· Tanners
· Tinkers
· Ironmongers
· Goldsmiths and silversmiths
· Marble workers
· Stone masons
· Gem cutters
· Glass makers
· Prostitution, 26 brothels found
· Emeralds found in Oplontis cave not native to Pompeii, suggests trade with Egypt
· Wine, olive oil, wool, fulleries, prostitution, blacksmiths, smiths, gem cutters, tanners, tinkers
Forum:
http://ermakvagus.com/Europe/Italy/Pompeii/pompeii_forum.html
Commercial: food markets, included shrine to the Imperial family
Religious: worship of Jupiter (Zeus), Juno (Hera) and Minerva (Athena)
Religious: sanctuary for Lares (household gods and city-wide gods) and deified emperor Augustus
Religious: debated use, some believe it’s dedicated to Genius (family protector) of Octavian Augustus, cult of Vespasian
Religious: used for worship of Apollo
Commercial: dedicated to rich and influential priestess, Eumachia, trading fabrics and linens, warehouse for fabrics and linens
Political: “court”, used for civil justice, commercial life in Pompeii, business and financial deals
Political: used for People’s Assembly and town meetings
Political: offices for aediles in the west, center offices were for the council, east wing was for the duumvirs
b) the social structure: men, women, freedmen, slaves
· Diverse mix of cultures
· Relatively healthy, but some indications of age related and dental diseases
· There were fluid relationships between freeborn, freed slaves and slaves
· Freed slaves could become very wealthy
· Women were an active part of society – economic, political and religious (could not vote)
· Julia Felix, Eumachia and Mamia were three prominent female figures
c)local political life: decuriones, magistrates, comitium
· Political system modelled on Republican Rome
· Democratic election
Magistrates
Councilors
· Elected for a period of one year
· Commanded a council of men who had all previously been magistrates
· Made up of freeborn males
· Reputable character
· Respectable jobs (not actors, executioners or gladiators)
· Privileges: best seats in theaters and Amphitheater
· Had to live in the town or surroundings
· Unknown minimum land requirement
· Life appointment
· Controlled finance and religion
· Control of Forum and streets of tombs (granted honorific tombs to major benefactors)
· Supervised building public buildings
· Implemented standard weights and measures
Aediles
Duumvirs
· Two aediles appointed in election each year, started term in office on July 1
· Began term alongside magistrates
· “Junior magistrates”
· “Duumvirs in charge of streets, sacred and public buildings”
· Two duumvirs appointed in election each year, started term in office on July 1
· Began term alongside magistrates
· “Senior magistrates”
· Position of aedile was prerequisite
· Oversaw the council and implemented decrees passed by the council
City council:
· 100 members (decurions)
· Ex-magistrates
· Influential
· Elite
· Freeborn citizens
· Not actors or innkeepers
· Life-long position
· Came available after death or disgrace of former holder
· Advised the Quattuorviri
Legislative Branch (decuriones)
Quattuorviri:
· Two duumvirs
· Electoral rolls
· Civil and criminal cases
· Became the quinquennial every five years to conduct census
· Two aediles
· Sacred and public buildings
· Roads and sewerage
· Markets
· Public order
· Sponsored theater and spectacles
Executive Branch
Pompeiian Governmental Structure
· Integral to political life
· Expected to use own funds to maintain imperial cults
· Therefore, had to be rich
· Both wealthy freeborn and freedmen eligible
· Many magistrates were part of this group
Priesthood
· Used for the election of magistrates
· City divided into voting precincts
· Could vote individually or as part of a group (guild)
People’s Assembly
d) everyday life: housing, leisure activities, food and dining, clothing, health, baths, water supply, sanitation
Housing
Wallace-Hadrill has identified four general types of houses:
Type I: one or two roomed houses, used as both residence and shop or workshop.
Type II: from two to seven rooms, with larger workshops and living areas.
Type III: the average Pompeian residence of between eight and thirteen rooms with a combination of public and private spaces.
Type IV: the largest houses, designed for entertaining. They may have been created from a number of smaller houses remodeled to make a singly building. They included quarters for a number of slaves.
Latin Term
Definition
fauces
the entrance corridor
vestibulum
entrance hall
atrium
Reception room, generally with compluvium and impluvium
compluvium
opening in the roof which allowed light and rainwater into the atrium
impluvium
shallow pool which collected rainwater from the compluvium
tablinum
room off the atrium, used for receiving clients and conducting business
peristyle
colonnade or covered walkway around a courtyard or garden
cubiculum
a small windowless bedroom
triclinium
a dining room with space for three long couches around a serving table
lararium
family shrine of the lares, the spirits of the entry of houses
Limitations of architectural evidence
· Difficult to determine function of houses
· Size of house doesn’t necessarily line up with status
· Difficult to determine if the house was occupied by one family or several
Townhouses
· Wallace-Hadrill (ancient historian at Cambridge) – “interlocking jigsaw of large, medium and small houses” (on first impressions of Pompeii
· Flimsy houses suggest boom in population (e.g. House of Trellis)
· Exterior – not indicative of status or wealth, open out into raised streets, bland and not decorated, wooden doors
· Vitruvius (Roman author, “De architectura”) – “buildings having magnificent interiors [should also have] elegant entrance courts to correspond: for there will be no propriety in the spectacle of an elegant interior approached by a low, mean entrance.” (fauces and vestibulum)
· Earliest houses have no compluvium (opening in roof), shows progression and evolution of Roman architecture.
· Peristyles – favored way of bringing light into house, some grander houses had more than one (House of Citharist – three)
Leisure Activities
· Athletics
· Palestra (adjacent amphitheater)
· Drinking
· Gambling
· Spectator sports
· Blood sport, gladiators and hunts
· Numerous inscriptions announcing blood sport events:
· “the gladiatorial troupe of Certus, aedile, will fight at Pompeii on 31 May. There will be a hunt and awnings.”
· “Good fortune to Gnaeus Alleius Maius, the leading games-giver.”
· Music
· Theater
· Executions
Food and Dining
· Food and Dining
· Cereal: barley, millet, wheat
· Pulses: peas, beans, lentils
· Meat: goat, sheep, cattle, poultry, game birds
· Seafood: fish, scallops cockles, lobster, cuttlefish, garum
· Nuts and Seeds: walnuts, almonds, chestnuts, poppyseeds
· Vegetables: cabbage, onion, garlic, lettuces, asparagus, cucumber, leek, radish, turnips
· Fruit: figs, prunes, dates, pears, peaches, apples, cherries, olives, grapes, pomegranates
Clothing
Very little actual clothing survives, and although there is plenty of visual representation in frescoes – there is an issue with reliability;
· Only the upper classes commissioned works of art
· Individuals posed, and so they most likely dressed up – the painting is idealized
· Very little day to day life
· Doesn’t account for style changes
What we do know is;
· Most males wore a knee-length tunic made from wool, worn with a belt
· Only citizens were allowed to wear a toga
· Women, both freed and freeborn, wore full length tunics (tunica). But married women wore a stola, a sleeveless tunic suspended from the shoulders by short straps
· Many women wore a palla, a long cloak, when they went outdoors.
Health
· Evidence of dental problems and age-related diseases
· Not a good idea to go into the baths with open wound because of gangrene risk
· Twins found in cellar at Oplontis show signs of Syphilis, which supposedly wasn’t introduced to Europe until Columbus
Baths
· Social occasion
· Wellbeing of body and spirit
· Archaeologists have discovered four in Pompeii
· Stabian (oldest)
· Forum
· Central (under construction during the eruption)
· Sarno
· Archaeologists have discovered two in Herculaneum
· Suburban (best preserved of either city)
· Forum
· Different sections or hours for men and women
· Layout:
· Vestibule: often an exercise yard
· Apodyterium: changing rooms
· Frigidarium: one circular cold bath
· Tepidarium: transition room so people’s bodies could adjust to temperature changes, sometimes accompanied by laconicum (sweat room heated by brazier)
· Caldarium: hot room with alverus (hot, rectangular bath, capacity approx. 10) and labrum (cold, circular bath for washing
· Suburban Bathhouse
· Supposedly financed by Marcius Nonius Balbus
· Elegant
· Faced sea
· Vestibule: four red columns, fountain, bust of Apollo
· Back room for sex
· Lively places
· Open nights as well as day
· Snacks, stroll, reading
· Sexual activities
Water Supply and Sanitation
· Aqueducts – covered to keep water pure
· Utilized the arch
· Running water
· Castellum Aquae – water tower, at the high point of Pompeii with three holes that emptied into three tanks
· Private homes
· Public baths
· Public water fountains
e) religion: household gods, temples, foreign cults and religions, tombs
· Religion was essentially a political affiliation
Capitoline Triad
· Juno (Hera)
· Jupiter (Zeus)
· Minerva (Athena)
· Games held in their honor on the first day of September
· Temple based off a similar one in Rome, represents Rome’s power in Pompeii
Hercules, Apollo, Venus and Mercury
· Hercules
· Greek Herakles
· Regarded as the founder of Herculaneum
· Popular with sailors and traders because of his journeys
· Images and statues of him in Pompeii (statuette in Temple of Isis)
· Statue in the peristyle (walkway around the courtyard) of House of the Deer
· Apollo
· Emerged in the 6th century BCE
· Temple rebuilt in Hellenistic style in the 2nd century BCE
· Augustus accepted Apollo as his patron god
· Nero embraced him as god of music
· Venus
· Believed to have been born in the waters and is therefore often depicted nude in a seashell surrounded by water nymphs
· Sailors sought her protection
· Patron goddess of Pompeii
· Worshipped by people of all classes
· Urged through graffiti to endorse and sabotage political candidates – political presence
· Blamed for misfortune
· Mercury
· God of commerce
· Messenger god
Imperial Cult
· Cult of the emperor’s genius (household god)
· Set up by Augustus
· 21 part time priests called Augustales (connects to politics)
· Temple of the Genius of Augustus also known as Temple of Vespasian
Public Ritual
· Sacrificial banquet
· Sacrifice animals
· Rigid ritual with no deviation
Mystery Cults
· Cult of Isis
· Temple of Isis
· Shows strong trade links between Pompeii and Egypt
· Possibly could have been introduced through prostitutes (who were usually foreign slaves)
· Inscriptions indicate one third of worshippers were women
· Julia Felix was one of the worshippers
· Chapel dedicated to Isis, Serapis and Anubis – House of the Gilded Cupids
· Two daily services
· Isis – happiness, salvation and consolation from suffering
· High-quality wall paintings provide evidence
· Dionysus
· God of wine and fertility
· Later became cult of Bacchus
· Originated as women only but Annia Paculla (priestess) admitted men
· Celebration of rites five times a month
· Spread quickly
· Wine and feasts were part of celebrations
· Committed debaucheries while under the influence of alcohol
· Secretive nature worried Roman senate because of potential political conspiracy
· Suppressed in Rome and continued to flourish in Pompeii and Herculaneum
· Light-hearted
· Paintings in the Villa of Mysteries depict rituals of this cult
Household Guardians
Description
Lares
Protector of the household, protector of farms and boundaries, depicted as two dancing youths, lararium
Penates
Store of food, reside in the recesses of the house
Genius
Force or spirit of the head of the house
Vesta
Goddess of hearths and altars, prayers and sacrifices addressed to her
Bacchus and Mercury
God of money and patron of commerce
Agathodaemon
Snake wrapped around the altar to protect the hearth and bring fertility
Death and Burial
· Most, aside from those within mystery cults, had no clear concept of life after death
· Tombs lined the streets leading to the city gates
Herculaneum has shops and villas interspersed with tombs
Those without families belonged to “funeral clubs”, paid a fee while alive and ensured they would be cremated
Paterfamilias responsible for seeing to the proper burial of everyone in his family including slaves and freedmen
Family tombs
Kept in glass or terracotta urns
Most people were cremated by 1st century CE
Two most impressive outside the Nucerian and Herculaneum gates
8 necropolises outside the city gates
Necropolises
Public
Private
Temple of Apollo
The Lares (household god) was kept in a Lararium and prayed to and made sacrifices to in the home
Temple of Isis
There might also be paintings of the main gods in the home
Temple of Capitoline Triad (aka Temple of Jupiter)
Jews have their personal shrines
Temple of Vespasian
Egyptians had their personal gods
Temple of the Lares
It is believed there was some Christianity (questionable).
Temple of Venus
Tombs were a public display of private interment, and wealth
Temple of Asclepius
Many foreign cults were only celebrated in the home, i.e. The Dionysiac Rituals (House of the Mysteries), also cults of Herakles and Isis
Temple of Fortuna Augusta
(Herakles/Hercules was the patron of both Pompeii and (especially) Herculaneum, found in Herculaneum: libation bowl, devotional lamp, sacred oil container, statues all suggest cult of Hercules.)
Pompeian Temples
Roman Temples
· Temple of the Capitoline Triad (aka Temple of Jupiter)
· Temple of Vespasian
· Temple of the Lares
· Temple of Venus
· Temple of Fortuna Augusta
Greek Temples
· Temple of Apollo
· Temple of Asclepius
Egyptian Temples
· Temple of Isis
Other religions
· Judaic adherents
· Various cults from Mesopotamia
· Cult of Dionysus
· Cult of Herakles
f) the influence of Greek and Egyptian cultures: art and architecture
Greek
House of Vettii:
Ionic
Corinthian
Doric
Picture
Description
N/A
“The punishment of Ixion”
House of Vettii
“The sacrifice of Iphigenia”
(Trojan War)
“The Alexander Mosaic”
House of the Faun
Peristyle in the House of Vettii
· Found in frescoes, statues, architecture
· “Sound mind, sound body” attitude comes from the Greeks
· Herculaneum named after Hercules
· House of the Faun – Greek tragic masks with curly wigs, depictions of Greek theater
· Greek architect Hippodamus created the grid structure for the city of Pompeii
Egyptian
Picture
Description
“The Nile Mosaic”
House of the Faun
“Isis (left) welcoming Io (right)”
Temple of Isis
· Temple of Isis was one to be reconstructed after the earthquake of AD62, suggesting its significance and importance in Pompeii
DP 3: Reconstructing and conserving the past
a) changing interpretations: the impact of new research and technologies
General Health (connects to DP:2, everyday life)
· Health is a combination of genetic and environmental factors
· Health and nutrition can be identified by the growth of bones
· Can draw conclusions about diet and lifestyle of an individual through CT scan, DNA and coprolite analysis
Pathology (disease) (connects to DP:2, everyday life)
· Analysis of bones (and soft tissue where available) affords the identification of such diseases as: porotic hyprostis, HFI (Hyperostosis frontalis interna), Brucellosis, Tuberculosis, Respitory disease and lice infection
· Draw conclusions on the health of an individual and of a population as a whole
· Soft tissue is extremely rare P&H, and bone analysis is dependent on the sample and not all diseases make into the bone until last stages
Cause of Death
· PLASTER CASTS
· Preserved impressions of soft tissue
· Some positioning reveals manner of death
· Peter Baxter studied 41 casts, 50% displayed the pugilist pose – exposed to very high temps at death or soon after (Muscular contraction is a result of heat on protein) 200-250C
· Cadavic spasm = total muscle contraction caused by thermal coagulation, accounts for the unusual positioning of some of the bodies
· SKELETONS
· Have no soft tissue which is what makes scientific analysis next to impossible
· They do display the same poses as plaster casts, by do NOT maintain that pose once excavated
DNA
· Can reveal the relationship between individuals and groups, info about sex, inherited diseases etc.
· Less than 2% of the DNA that can be found in fresh bones is extractable from ancient skeletons
· Development of polymerase chain reaction technique has enabled minute quantities of DNA to be amplified for study
· High temperature the bodies were exposed to destroyed much of the genetic material
Example
Description
Italian Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation (1970)
· 18000 photos of painted walls and mosaic floors
· Only 20% of everything that had been revealed
· Documented before 1980 earthquake that destroyed many buildings
The Houses in Pompeii Project (1978 – 1986)
· German Archaeological Institute
· Salvage and investigate architectural finds
· Recorded two houses: House of the Ancient Hunt and House of Colored Capitals
The Via dell’Abbondanza Project (2004)
· New state of the art technology – surveying, photographic and computer
· Archaeological Superintendency of Pompeii
· Created photomosaic of 900-meter street (Via dell’Abbondanza)
· Useful digital resource for future
The Herculaneum Conservation Project (2000)
· Packard Humanities Institute
· Aim to halt the decay of Herculaneum
· Solved groundwater problems by restoring ancient underground sewer systems
· House of Relief of Telephus had a previously unknown floor, which they discovered
b) issues of conservation and reconstruction: Italian and international contributions and responsibilities
Four basic issues:
· Natural threats
· Sun bleaching
· Rain
· Damp
· Algae
· Lichens
· Human threats
· Trampling
· Graffiti
· Rubbish
· Museum displays
· National Archeological Museum in Naples is “inadequate” - Deiss
· Failed conservation
http://www.pompeii-sustainable-preservation-project.org/?lng=en
International Efforts
Italian Efforts
https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/818
c) ethical issues: excavation and conservation, study and display of human remains
THREE POINTS OF VIEW
· Is it educational or immoral?
· How will they feel upon learning the horrors of Pompeii’s downfall?
· Do they soil it by denying these people the rites of their culture?
· Consider their rituals surrounding death
· How would they feel about their remains being used for scientific research?
· How does their religion tie in?
Present Italians
Past Romans
Viewer
· Scientists, archaeologists, historians
· Lack of outcry can be seen as acceptance of current practices
· Long held tradition of displaying bodies, especially in Christian sense
It has been accepted in scientific circles to collect and study human remains, especially in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Museums have extensive collection and displays of bodies, skeletons, skulls etc. in various stages of preservation.
Keeping remains HAS come under scrutiny, often from indigenous groups seeking repatriation of the bones of their ancestors. (A case in particular is indigenous Australians, wanting the bones of their ancestors back from the British and Ashmolean Museums for proper burial. In a rare case, their cultural artefacts and skeletal remains were returned to the Aboriginal community)
The assembling or positioning of human remains for dramatic effect, a common practice during early Pompeian excavations, is not acceptable today.
Over the past 50 years attitudes have changed as cultural sensitivity about the display of human remains varies from community to community.
The Italian view is that there is a long tradition of displaying the bodies and body parts of dead saints, bishops and priests in religious context, such as a church. Therefore, their beliefs will be at odds with other communities.
The International Council of Museums (ICOM founded 1947 and which works closely with UNESCO) hasn’t banned the display of human remains, but rather it encourages sensitivity to community reactions.
The plaster casts in Pompeii give us valuable information about the general health of the population, and also reveal information about the circumstances of their deaths, which has contributed to our understanding of what happened. But what then should happen to the body within?
Archeologists believe that it is important to dig NOW before the site is lost to decay and seismic activity, however there are wealthy landowners that do not wish to give up their land for the sake of Pompeii’s excavation and conservation.
d) value and impact of tourism: problems and solutions
Awareness
Money
Interest
Broken curbstones, worn roads
Numbers contribute to wear and tear of the site
Theft
Rubbish
Vandalism
Possible Solutions:
· Blocking off sections of the site
· Channeling tourist money into conservation projects
· Using technology, cameras, to police theft, vandalism and breakage
Sources and Examples for Exam
The eruption:
Example
Description
Pliny the Younger
First-person account of the eruption
Changing nature:
Example
Description
Rocque Joachim
Dangerous working conditions
Stolen artifacts
Destroyed buildings
“knew as much about antiquities as moon does of lobsters” - Winkelmann
Karl Weber
Systematic approach
Discovered Villa of Papyri (thousands of scrolls)
Changing representations:
Example
Description
Jakob Phillipp Hackert
1799
Painting of Pompeii
Romanticism
Idyllic nature
Pompeii (movie)
2014
Dramatized
Hollywood
The economy:
Example
Description
Building of Eumachia
Commercial
Linen
Fullery of Stephanopoulos
Fullery business
Emeralds at Oplontis
Suggests trade with Egypt
Public weights and measures table at Forum
Commerce, trading system
Social structure:
Example
Description
Skeletons at Oplontis
Variety of races
Variety of genders
Variety of social class
Green bone discoloration suggests wealth because of jewelry
Building of Eumachia
Suggests prominent female figure Eumachia
26 brothels
Show prostitution
Politics:
Example
Description
Political graffiti
Campaign slogans
Basilica
“Court”, civil justice
Municipal offices
Offices for aediles, duumvirs and council members
Everyday life:
Example
Description
House of Trellis
Flimsy house suggests population boom
Vitruvius
“buildings having magnificent interiors [should also have] elegant entrance courts to correspond: for there will be no propriety in the spectacle of an elegant interior approached by a low, mean entrance”
Palestra
Athletics activities
Inscriptions
Announcing blood sports like gladiators
Skeletons in Oplontis, twins
Suggest dental problems, age-related diseases and Syphilis
Suburban Bathhouse
Elegant, faced sea, bust of Apollo
Religion:
Example
Description
Temple of Apollo
Greek religions as well as Roman
Temple of Jupiter
Roman religions
Temple of Isis
Egyptian religion
House of Deer
Statue of Hercules in peristyle
Villa of Mysteries
Paintings of Dionysus cult
Greek influences:
Example
Description
House of Vettii
Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns
Temple of Apollo
Greek religion
House of Vettii – The punishment of Ixion
Reference to Greek mythology
House of the Faun – The Alexander Mosaic
Reference to Greek hero
Egyptian influences:
Example
Description
House of the Faun – The Nile Mosaic
Depiction of Egypt shows connection between Pompeii and Egypt
Temple of Isis – Isis welcoming Io
Reference to Egyptian mythology
Impact of new technologies:
Example
Description
CT scan, DNA analysis and coprolite analysis
Reveals details about diet and lifestyle
Bone analysis
Identifies diseases such as lice infection, respiratory disease and tuberculosis
Via dell’Abbondanza Project
New technology used to create photomosaic of 900-meter street
Italian and international:
Example
Description
Pompeii: Sustainable Preservation Project
German initiative
Conservation and education campaigns
Italian government
Cooperating with others conservation efforts