Survey
● The geographical setting and natural features of
Campania
- Geography
- Located in the fertile region of Campania in
Southern Italy on the Bay of Naples
- Pompeii was located on the Sarno River
- Natural Features
- Pompeii is located on a plateau located between
the Sarno River and Mt Vesuvius
- Herculaneum was 7km from the same volcano
- The fertility of the soil was due to volcanic matter
from Mt Vesuvius (high alkaline compounds)
- Mt Vesuvius forms part of a chain of volcanoes
including Mt Etna in Sicily and Mt Stromboli
- Phlegraean Fields (burning fields) – geothermal activity
- Temperate climate –mild (ideal for agriculture)
- Resources
- Pompeii was strategically important because it lay on the only route linking north and south and
connected the seaside area with the fertile inland agricultural region
- Fishing -> garum, a fermented fish paste was a speciality in Pompeii. Tuna, mackerel, anchovies
and moray eels resided in the bay
- Salt was collected from evaporated sea water
- Crops included: barley, wheat, cabbages, broad beans, chickpeas
- Fruit included dates, figs, peaches, plums, pears, apricots, lemons and cherries
- Olives were used to make olive oil and perfume
- The area was ideal for vineyards to make wine out of grapes
- Sheep and goats grazed in large numbers and were used for wool for textile production
- Pumice stone and other volcanic materials were used for building and paving roads, grinding
grain and pressing olives
● The eruption of AD 79 and its impact on Pompeii and Herculaneum
- From 62 CE a series of earthquakes shook
Campania
- The eruption of 79 CE had different effects
in the two towns due to their distance from
the volcano, the topography and the
prevailing wind
1. Earth tremors and an explosion of
steam, ash and pumice (lapilli) in a
column 20-30 kms high and
branched out
, 2. As the material column fell, it was carried to the south-east by the wind towards Pompeii.
After 18 hours of ash and pumice falling there was a 2.5 metre deposit on Pompeii,
causing some roofs to collapse. Very little fell on Herculaneum at this stage
3. The caldera of Vesuvius collapses, sending out a series of turbulent pyroclastic surges,
avalanches of ash and toxic gas superheated up to 400 degrees
4. Surges of finer particles of ash and stone engulfed the structures they encountered, filling
every space but leaving them largely intact
5. Flows of denser material, including molten mud and rocks knocked down walls,
displaced heavy objects and carbonised timber and other organic materials. Herculaneum
experiences many dense flows which eventually covered the city with up to 20 metres of
deposit which cooled and solidified (these flows did not reach Pompeii)
6. The final stages of the eruption saw a thick layer of ash and lapilli fall over the entire
region, covering the buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum
● Early discoveries and the changing nature of excavations in the 19th and 20th centuries
- Giuseppe Fiorelli (1860)
- Systematic way of working (moving from houses to house, street to street, and clearing
everything as he went rather than searching for ‘special’ objects)
- Excavating methodically; top down with attention to stratigraphy
- Exact measurements; scaled maps and plans
- Numbering regions, insulae, doorways
- Plaster casts (fine ash from the fourth and fifth pyroclastic surges hardened and sealed organic
material, over time soft tissue decomposed while shapes and bones remained)
- Regularly publishing records
- August Mau (1873 - 1909)
- Determined a system of classifying ancient art (structural/masonry, architectural, ornamental,
fantastic style)
- Vittorio Spinazzola (1910 - 1923)
- Uncovered most of the Via dell’Abbondanza
- Reconstructed the facades
- Displayed objects in their original contexts
- Photographed stages of the excavations
- Removed bones from cavities before plaster casts were created
- Amedeo Maiuri (1924 - 1961)
- Cleared most of the Herculaneum site
- Extensive restorations, rebuilding walls and upper storeys and providing floors and roofs
(protection for artefacts)
- Kept paintings and mosaics in place rather than removing them and displayed objects in context
- He continued excavating the Via dell’Abbondanza
- Excavated the Amphitheatre, large Palestra and the Villa of Mysteries
- Contributed to the fame of both sites and attracted visitors (money that helps restoration)
- Speed and lack of documentation have been criticised
- Sara Bisel (1932 - 1996)
- Examined the teeth and bones of skeletons in Herculaneum to provide insight into their diets
, - Haraldur Sigurdsson (mans still alive ig)
- Volcanologist at Pompeii and Herculaneum who studied the volcanic deposits left behind by the
volcano
- Estelle Lazer (Modern Times)
- X-rays plaster casts to examine and analyse the skeletons encased in plaster in Pompeii
- Established the Pompeii Casts Project in 2013:
- Aims to study the skeletal elements within plaster casts to test earlier results, how the
casts were achieved and to better understand early archaeological and restoration
processes. The ultimate aim is to discover information about every individual whose form
is preserved in a cast (remembrance and respect)
- Most skeletons had been disassembled so she underwent statistical studies based on the
results of analysis of individual skeletal elements
- Uncovered stylistic differences between cast produced in different periods; indicated the
positions of the bodies had been creatively restored for impact
- Used CT-Scans on the plaster casts which revealed some casts had been considerable
manipulated
- Ancient DNA analysis of the bones of the casts provided additional information about the
sex, ancestry and family relations of the victims
➔ Cast 8:
- The eighth victim to be cast at Pompeii was a dog chained to the House
of Orpheus in 1874
- It is one of three non-human mammals cast in plaster
- All the bones had been removed prior to casting
- CT scans show the original bronze rings where the chain would have
been, as well as metal reinforcing rods and some restoration works
- Volume rendering of the exterior cast revealed areas of different
densities of plaster that indicate it was either assembled from at least 6
pieces or it was restored with new plaster over time
➔ Casts 50 - 53:
- These skeletons were at the foot of a staircase in the House of the Golden
Bracelet
- The group was originally interpreted as a family and consisted of two
adults and two children. Cast 50 was thought to be male and Cast 52
female, based on the fact there was a child on their lap and sported a
heavy gold bracelet on one arm. Cast 53 was thought to have been made
after the others as it seems to be more naturalistic than the others
- However, ancient DNA analysis reveals the victims are all unrelated
males
- CT scans of cast 53 reveal that most of the skeletal elements remain.
Dental and skeletal analysis provided an age estimate consistent with a
child of at least 3 years old
● Representations of Pompeii and Herculaneum over time
● The geographical setting and natural features of
Campania
- Geography
- Located in the fertile region of Campania in
Southern Italy on the Bay of Naples
- Pompeii was located on the Sarno River
- Natural Features
- Pompeii is located on a plateau located between
the Sarno River and Mt Vesuvius
- Herculaneum was 7km from the same volcano
- The fertility of the soil was due to volcanic matter
from Mt Vesuvius (high alkaline compounds)
- Mt Vesuvius forms part of a chain of volcanoes
including Mt Etna in Sicily and Mt Stromboli
- Phlegraean Fields (burning fields) – geothermal activity
- Temperate climate –mild (ideal for agriculture)
- Resources
- Pompeii was strategically important because it lay on the only route linking north and south and
connected the seaside area with the fertile inland agricultural region
- Fishing -> garum, a fermented fish paste was a speciality in Pompeii. Tuna, mackerel, anchovies
and moray eels resided in the bay
- Salt was collected from evaporated sea water
- Crops included: barley, wheat, cabbages, broad beans, chickpeas
- Fruit included dates, figs, peaches, plums, pears, apricots, lemons and cherries
- Olives were used to make olive oil and perfume
- The area was ideal for vineyards to make wine out of grapes
- Sheep and goats grazed in large numbers and were used for wool for textile production
- Pumice stone and other volcanic materials were used for building and paving roads, grinding
grain and pressing olives
● The eruption of AD 79 and its impact on Pompeii and Herculaneum
- From 62 CE a series of earthquakes shook
Campania
- The eruption of 79 CE had different effects
in the two towns due to their distance from
the volcano, the topography and the
prevailing wind
1. Earth tremors and an explosion of
steam, ash and pumice (lapilli) in a
column 20-30 kms high and
branched out
, 2. As the material column fell, it was carried to the south-east by the wind towards Pompeii.
After 18 hours of ash and pumice falling there was a 2.5 metre deposit on Pompeii,
causing some roofs to collapse. Very little fell on Herculaneum at this stage
3. The caldera of Vesuvius collapses, sending out a series of turbulent pyroclastic surges,
avalanches of ash and toxic gas superheated up to 400 degrees
4. Surges of finer particles of ash and stone engulfed the structures they encountered, filling
every space but leaving them largely intact
5. Flows of denser material, including molten mud and rocks knocked down walls,
displaced heavy objects and carbonised timber and other organic materials. Herculaneum
experiences many dense flows which eventually covered the city with up to 20 metres of
deposit which cooled and solidified (these flows did not reach Pompeii)
6. The final stages of the eruption saw a thick layer of ash and lapilli fall over the entire
region, covering the buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum
● Early discoveries and the changing nature of excavations in the 19th and 20th centuries
- Giuseppe Fiorelli (1860)
- Systematic way of working (moving from houses to house, street to street, and clearing
everything as he went rather than searching for ‘special’ objects)
- Excavating methodically; top down with attention to stratigraphy
- Exact measurements; scaled maps and plans
- Numbering regions, insulae, doorways
- Plaster casts (fine ash from the fourth and fifth pyroclastic surges hardened and sealed organic
material, over time soft tissue decomposed while shapes and bones remained)
- Regularly publishing records
- August Mau (1873 - 1909)
- Determined a system of classifying ancient art (structural/masonry, architectural, ornamental,
fantastic style)
- Vittorio Spinazzola (1910 - 1923)
- Uncovered most of the Via dell’Abbondanza
- Reconstructed the facades
- Displayed objects in their original contexts
- Photographed stages of the excavations
- Removed bones from cavities before plaster casts were created
- Amedeo Maiuri (1924 - 1961)
- Cleared most of the Herculaneum site
- Extensive restorations, rebuilding walls and upper storeys and providing floors and roofs
(protection for artefacts)
- Kept paintings and mosaics in place rather than removing them and displayed objects in context
- He continued excavating the Via dell’Abbondanza
- Excavated the Amphitheatre, large Palestra and the Villa of Mysteries
- Contributed to the fame of both sites and attracted visitors (money that helps restoration)
- Speed and lack of documentation have been criticised
- Sara Bisel (1932 - 1996)
- Examined the teeth and bones of skeletons in Herculaneum to provide insight into their diets
, - Haraldur Sigurdsson (mans still alive ig)
- Volcanologist at Pompeii and Herculaneum who studied the volcanic deposits left behind by the
volcano
- Estelle Lazer (Modern Times)
- X-rays plaster casts to examine and analyse the skeletons encased in plaster in Pompeii
- Established the Pompeii Casts Project in 2013:
- Aims to study the skeletal elements within plaster casts to test earlier results, how the
casts were achieved and to better understand early archaeological and restoration
processes. The ultimate aim is to discover information about every individual whose form
is preserved in a cast (remembrance and respect)
- Most skeletons had been disassembled so she underwent statistical studies based on the
results of analysis of individual skeletal elements
- Uncovered stylistic differences between cast produced in different periods; indicated the
positions of the bodies had been creatively restored for impact
- Used CT-Scans on the plaster casts which revealed some casts had been considerable
manipulated
- Ancient DNA analysis of the bones of the casts provided additional information about the
sex, ancestry and family relations of the victims
➔ Cast 8:
- The eighth victim to be cast at Pompeii was a dog chained to the House
of Orpheus in 1874
- It is one of three non-human mammals cast in plaster
- All the bones had been removed prior to casting
- CT scans show the original bronze rings where the chain would have
been, as well as metal reinforcing rods and some restoration works
- Volume rendering of the exterior cast revealed areas of different
densities of plaster that indicate it was either assembled from at least 6
pieces or it was restored with new plaster over time
➔ Casts 50 - 53:
- These skeletons were at the foot of a staircase in the House of the Golden
Bracelet
- The group was originally interpreted as a family and consisted of two
adults and two children. Cast 50 was thought to be male and Cast 52
female, based on the fact there was a child on their lap and sported a
heavy gold bracelet on one arm. Cast 53 was thought to have been made
after the others as it seems to be more naturalistic than the others
- However, ancient DNA analysis reveals the victims are all unrelated
males
- CT scans of cast 53 reveal that most of the skeletal elements remain.
Dental and skeletal analysis provided an age estimate consistent with a
child of at least 3 years old
● Representations of Pompeii and Herculaneum over time
