Pompeii

Pompeii and Herculaneum : 

Pompeii and Herculaneum Some important points

Images of Pompeii : 

Images of Pompeii Following are a varieRomanty of photos of the site. Focus on what the images tell us about: Daily life Archaeology Roman society and politics The eruption of Vesuvius Similarities and differences with modern society

Mural of Alexander the Great : 

Mural of Alexander the Great

Statue of Apollo : 

Statue of Apollo

Apollo and Vesuvius : 

Apollo and Vesuvius

Bakery : 

Bakery

Basilica : 

Basilica

Cave Canem = ? : 

Cave Canem = ?

Body cast : 

Body cast

Canem : 

Canem

How does he feel? : 

How does he feel?

What does this source tell us? : 

What does this source tell us?

What’s happening? : 

What’s happening?

Which part of the house? : 

Which part of the house?

Which house? : 

Which house?

House of Venus : 

House of Venus

Roman values? : 

Roman values?

Where is this? : 

Where is this?

What sort of building? : 

What sort of building?

Pompeii street scene : 

Pompeii street scene

What does this mosaic tell us? : 

What does this mosaic tell us?

Australian equivalent? : 

Australian equivalent?

Venus – why the long mural? : 

Venus – why the long mural?

Herculaneum street scene : 

Herculaneum street scene

Trellis House : 

Trellis House

God of the Sea? : 

God of the Sea?

Plans and streetscapes of Pompeii and Herculaneum : 

Plans and streetscapes of Pompeii and Herculaneum Neither Pompeii nor Herculaneum has been entirely excavated and it is unlikely that they will be due to their proximity to modern urban development. Pompeii is the larger of the two sites, covering an area of approximately 66 hectares, of which 45 hectares have been excavated A plan of Pompeii shows a surrounding wall of 3.5 km with eight gateways giving access to the city. The gateways were lavishly decorated and adorned with statues of various protective gods and goddesses. Statues of the goddess Minerva were often placed in niches in the gateways.

Plan of Pompeii : 

Plan of Pompeii During the 1st century AD the walls were no longer needed for protection and at the south western corner they were demolished and replaced with terrace housing that had a fine view of the sea.

Plan of Herculaneum : 

Plan of Herculaneum Herculaneum, located on a headland between two inlets that served as harbours, had a town wall and a sea wall.

Insulae : 

Insulae Both towns consisted of long rectangular residential blocks (insulae) separated by narrow streets which ran at right angles to the main traffic thoroughfares. The insulae varied in size from about 850 square metres to 5,500 square metres. Each insula included a variety of buildings and often included the dwellings of both rich and poor: luxurious suburban villas with gardens, rented flats, a bath house, shops, taverns and workshops. Sometimes an insula was occupied by a single luxurious house.

THE NATURE OF SOURCES AND EVIDENCE : 

THE NATURE OF SOURCES AND EVIDENCE A great variety of written and archaeological sources have been uncovered which provide a wealth of evidence about many aspects of life in Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Public Buildings : 

Public Buildings Most of the large public buildings in Pompeii date from the period after it became a Roman colony, when the number of temples doubled and the public baths, theatres and amphitheatres were constructed. The donation of a public building was seen as a virtue in Roman society and it enhanced the donor's prestige.

Religious elements… : 

Religious elements… Most public buildings had a religious element such as a small shrine, or statues of the gods or members of the imperial family, eg the macellum in the forum at Pompeii had such a shrine.

Basilicas : 

Basilicas In Pompeii the basilica was a large rectangular building located on the south-western side of the forum. It was more Greek than Roman in style, with rows of columns, not arches, supporting the roof. The basilica housed the law courts. At the back was a structure reached by stairs which has been interpreted as a tribunal where the magistrate sat when hearing cases. Graffiti suggests the basilica was also a place where business transactions were negotiated.

Temples : 

Temples Ten temples have been excavated at Pompeii, most in and around the forum. These temples provide evidence of a range of religious beliefs and practices. The temples include the official Roman state deities, Jupiter, Juno and Minerva; Greek deities appropriated by the Romans including Apollo, Venus and Dionysus; and foreign deities such as the Egyptian goddess Isis.

Fora : 

Fora The forum was the large open area of a Roman town where the main public buildings were located and where there was space for public meetings. Two fora have been uncovered in Pompeii, an early forum known as the Triangular Forum and the main forum.

Slide 39: 

The main forum was located in the south-western section of Pompeii. It was a pedestrian area 40 x 150 metres, paved in limestone. Stone barriers prevented vehicles from entering the area. Two-storey public buildings surrounded the forum on three sides. Porticoes linked the various buildings and provided shade and shelter. Around the open space were statues of distinguished citizens and members of the imperial family.

Slide 40: 

The Temple of Jupiter stood at the head of the forum on the northern side, flanked by two triumphal arches. The buildings around the forum were a mixture of religious, commercial and political buildings. Many were undergoing repairs at the time of the eruption.

Theatres : 

Theatres The large theatre of Pompeii is a Greek-style theatre with the seats built into a natural slope. It may have had an awning over sections of the seating. The theatre held up to 5000 people. Entry was free but seating was assigned according to social class. The seats nearest the stage were faced with marble and were reserved for important citizens.

Palaestra : 

Palaestra Another Greek feature of Roman towns was the public area for exercise or athletics called a palaestra. Popular sports included running, discus, wrestling and swimming.

Slide 45: 

The palaestra was a large building with porticoes along three sides. In the middle of the palaestra was a large swimming pool. Plane trees provided shade. The large open area featured a shallow cross-shaped pool with a bronze fountain. The large central area was surrounded by rooms opening onto porticos on three sides. An upper terrace of arched chambers on the northern side provided an excellent vantage point for viewing events.

Changing methods of 19th and 20th century archaeologists and their contribution to our understanding of Pompeii and Herculaneum : 

Changing methods of 19th and 20th century archaeologists and their contribution to our understanding of Pompeii and Herculaneum

Giuseppe Fiorelli : 

Giuseppe Fiorelli Giuseppe Fiorelli became Inspector of Excavations at Pompeii in 1860 and Superintendent in 1863. He is known as a pioneer of modem archaeology because of the methods he introduced in the excavations at Pompeii. Numbering houses Systematic excavation Top-down excavation Plaster casts

August Mau : 

August Mau Another important contributor to investigations at Pompeii was the German archaeologist Augustus Mau, who originally worked on inscriptions from Pompeii, but whose main interest was art and architecture. Mau made a study of the frescoes of Pompeii and classified them into four styles

Vittorio Spinazzola : 

Vittorio Spinazzola Spinazzola used photography to record the stages of his excavation. Spinazzola was Superintendent of Excavations between 1911 and 1924. Like Fiorelli, he excavated carefully and systematically, however, rather than clearing whole blocks, Spinazzola excavated streetscapes to reveal the external appearance of buildings.

Amedeo Maiuri : 

Amedeo Maiuri Maiuri was Superintendent of Excavations from 1924 to 1961. He oversaw an extensive program of excavation, interrupted by World War II when Pompeii was damaged by Allied bombing. Maiuri's great enthusiasm for the site and the important buildings he uncovered, attracted many tourists and made Pompeii well-known internationally. Maiuri used mechanical equipment to clear away debris from earlier excavations and to assist in areas that had been considered too hard to excavate. He protected some excavated buildings by erecting roofs over them.

Fausto Zevi : 

Fausto Zevi Zevi, Superintendent from 1977, halted excavations and concentrated instead on conserving and recording the buildings that had been uncovered, resulting in around 1800 photographs.

Pier Giovanni Guzzo : 

Pier Giovanni Guzzo Guzzo became Superintendent in 1995. He has overseen several important developments. He negotiated with the Italian Government to keep more of the money earned from tourist admissions, trebling the annual funds available for the site to $9 million dollars. He has attracted international teams of experts to conduct investigations and conservation projects.