ROMAN TIME CAPSULEThe Ancient City of Pompeii

Professor Will Adams

Pompeii & Herculaneum Pompeii & neighboring

Herculaneum were buried on August 24 &August 25, 79 AD by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

Pompeii is the most important archaeological site for learning about life in a Roman city.

THE CITY OF HERCULANEUM

Much less is known about Herculaneumbecause:

Part is under very hard volcanic rock.

Part is under the modern city of Naples. Italy.

THE ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was massive.

It was particularly violent because Vesuvius had not erupted for a very long time (over 200 years).

THE CITY OF POMPEII No other ancient site

has captured the imagination of those interested in ancient Rome more than Pompeii.

Yet, there are many misconceptions about the site of Pompeii.

MISCONCEPTIONS Some misconceptions about Pompeii are:

The victims were “buried alive;” they had no chance of escape.

The city was buried “as it was;” the victims were caught completely unaware.

Pompeii was never again explored after ancient times.

MISCONCEPTIONS There are even some doubts about the date

of the eruption because:

The historical text that gives the date is corrupt.

Remains of fruit that are more suitable for autumn have been found at the site.

Many victims were found “bundled up” in warmer, autumn clothes.

REALITIES Some of the realities about Pompeii include:

The eruption did not occur without warning; there were many earthquakes in the week leading up to the eruption.

Many people did escape; some of those who did not may have been looters or were simply unwilling to leave.

REALITIES Pompeii as it appears today is not an exact

reflection of a typical Roman city:

It was a city from which people were trying to escape.

A massive earthquake had occurred in 62 AD, so sometimes it is impossible to tell if the damage was from the earthquake or the eruption of Vesuvius.

REALITIES Some parts of Pompeii have been rebuilt

because:

It needs to look sensible and attractive to tourists.

Some of it was destroyed by Allied bombs during World War II and it had to be “re-built”.

REALITIES The victims were not “buried alive” as

they were going about their days:

Victims were killed by the thermal heat of Vesuvius’s pyroclastic flow as they tried to escape

In fact, the heat was so intense that it killed them instantly; it was not the volcanic ash.

REALITIES Pompeii was explored shortly after the

eruption:

Pompeii’s inhabitants went back to look for their belongings.

Treasure hunters dug tunnels into the site to look for treasures.

There are signs of their presence, and some of the remains may actually be looters.

THE PLASTER MOLDS Despite these misconceptions, no other

ancient site shows what an ancient city may have been like better than Pompeii.

The most striking example of this is the plaster molds from Pompeii.

In 1863, Giuseppe Fiorelli, an Italian archaeologist, invented the technique of the plaster molding.

THE PLASTER MOLDS Pompeii was buried under roughly 70 feet of

volcanic ash.

Fiorelli realized that, by pounding on the ground, he could identify areas which were hollow below.

The hollow areas were once filled with remains - pottery, bodies, or other items - that had long since decomposed, leaving negatives.

THE PLASTER MOLDS By pouring plaster into this hollow area, the

plaster would dry and take the original shape of what once laid there.

Archaeologists could then dig around the plaster, and take out the positive model of what was once actually contained there.

The following are some examples:

THE PLASTER MOLDS

THE SITE Pompeii is a very large site.

First excavated in the 18th century, treasure hunters explored it in the 18th and 19th

centuries, and formal, academic excavations started in the 19th century and continue until today.

The plan of the site of Pompeii looks like this:

THE SITE OF POMPEII

THE ENTRANCE TO THE SITE

THE FORUM AT POMPEII The forum was the political, economic, and

religious center of a Roman city.

The forum contained buildings for running the city (senate house, courts, etc.), temples, and shops.

The remains of the forms of Pompeii look like this:

THE FORUM AT POMPEII

THE FORUM AT POMPEII

THE FORUM AT POMPEII

RECONSTRUCTED FORUM AT POMPEII

RECONSTRUCTRED FORUM AT POMPEII

THE STREETS OF POMPEII

One can walk the streets of Pompeii in the form they would have been walked by the city’s inhabitants.

One can see how the Romans paved their streets, as well as the complex system the Romans used to deliver and channel water.

THE STREETS OF POMPEII

THE AMPHITHEATRE Pompeii has the oldest known amphitheater in

the Roman world; it dates to 80 BC.

An amphitheater is a stadium which is enclosed on all sides to form an oval.

Its seats (cavea) are supported by a complicated series of vaults, arches, and arcades.

THE AMPHITHEATER AT POMPEII

THE AMPHITHEATRE AT POMPEII

THE THEATRE AT POMPEII Pompeii also had a

major theatre.

A theatre is a half arc, not a full circle.

It was likely used for concerts, or plays.

The theatre at Pompeii looked like this:

THE THEATRE AT POMPEII

THE PALESTRA Also found at Pompeii is something called

the palestra.

The palestra was a large open field surrounded on all sides by colonnades.

The palestra was originally used for schools, as Roman education stressed both the mental and the physical.

THE PALESTRA The rooms that were housed within the

colonnades would have been used for educating Roman pupils in literature and the art of public speaking, while the field would be used for athletic training.

Later, the palestra was converted to a gladiatorial training school.

THE PALESTRA We are told that the Roman Emperor Nero

had to ban gladiatorial shows in Pompeii for a decade because of a riot that broke out over an gladiatorial competition between the Pompeians and the neighboring Nicerians.

Apparently, the Pompeians were sore losers!

THE PALESTRA In one of the rooms of a palestra, the remains

of 17 gladiators have been found, chained to a wall.

A woman, who appears to be wealthy (she was wearing jewelry) was found there as well.

This begs the question: What was she doing there?

THE PALESTRA AT POMPEII

DAILY LIFE IN POMPEII The remains of certain buildings give us a

glimpse of what daily life was like for the people of Pompeii.

Among some of the buildings we have remains of are shops, baths, and homes.

Even graffiti on the walls still remains in certain areas of Pompeii.

A PISTRINUM (BAKERY)

THERMOPOLIUM ( “FAST FOOD” RESTAURANT)

THERMAE (BATH)

ROMAN HOUSES Because of its inhabitants’ wealth,

Pompeii also has some of the most magnificent houses in Rome’s history

Among the more famous homes are: The Villa of the Mysteries

The House of the Faun

The House of the Vettii

A TYPICAL ROMAN HOUSE

A TYPICAL ROMAN HOUSE

HOUSE TERMS TO KNOW Fauces: The narrow entryway from the street.

Atrium: The central public room of the house, just inside the entryway; it usually has an impluvium, or water basin at its center.

Cubiculum: The small, painted-but-windowless bedrooms & dressing rooms surrounding the atrium.

Tablinum: The homeowners’ office, study, or greeting area.

Peristyle: The open courtyard or garden surrounded by a colonnade at the back of the house.

Triclinium: The dining room, located off the peristyle.

Lararium: A shrine to the Roman household gods, usually located in the peristyle.

SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE HOME

Like the Greeks, the Romans (and Italians) were big on social hierarchy.

The plans of most of the homes differ slightly in the layout, but inevitably are designed to enable the visitor to see into the home.

When the front door was open during the day, a passerby could see directly into the atrium, then the tablinum, which lead directly into the peristyle.

The more gardens and courtyards you had, the greater your wealth and status.

HOUSE OF THE VETTII One of the best preserved

houses at Pompeii is the House of the Vettii, an old Pompeian house remodeled and repainted after the earthquake of 62 AD.

This photograph was taken in the fauces.

It shows the impluvium in the center of the atrium, the opening in the roof above, and in the background, the peristyle garden with its marble tables and mural paintings.

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HOUSE OF THE VETTII The house was owned by

two brothers, Aulus VettiusRestitutus and Aulus VettiusConviva, probably freedmen who had made their fortune as merchants.

Their wealth enabled them to purchase and furnish houses that would have been owned only by patricians.

ROMAN HOME DECORATION

These houses also contain a number of magnificently preserved decorative elements in the form of:

Frescoes: Wall paintings created by painting into wet plaster to create a bonded image & wall.

Mosaics: Images created from tiny, tiny pieces of glass or tile that are called tessurae.

FRESCOES FROM THE VILLA OF THE

MYSTERIES

FRESCOES FROM THE HOUSE OF THE

VETII

ALEXANDER THE GREAT MOSAIC

FROM THE HOUSE OF THE FAUN

DETAILS OF THE MOSAIC

A VIRTUAL ROMAN DOMUS

ACTA EST FABULA