Survey
,
,Natural Features
, Natural Features → Bay of Naples
S tretches from Misenum from the north to Sorrento in the south → 200km coastline
●
● Mount Vesuvius is slightly inland and dominates the region
● Herculaneum lies on a natural terrace about 20 meters from the beach front (West of Vesuvius)
- Allowed for economy to be based on fishing
- Allowed for a natural and beautiful holiday sight for Senators
● Pompeii lies on a plateau about 30 meters higher than Vesuvius (South of Vesuvius)
- Plateau was believed to be created from a lava flow, which also explains the immense
fertility of the land (Virigls Georgics)
Natural Features of Pompeii and Herculaneum
● B oth towns benefited from easy access to mediterraneum, allowing for trade and a self
sustaining, localised economy
● The Sarnus river ran south of Pompeii, towards the ocean
● Highly fertile soil → easy to grow crops
● North west of Vesuvius were the Phlegraean Fields
- Contained sulfurous lagoons and bubbling muds; Romans were convinced it was the
entrance to the underworld
● Strabo
- “Next is Herculaneum on the headland that juts out into the sea and wonderfully
catches the breezes of the southeast wind…lying above these places is Vesuvius,
which, except for its summit, as houses all around and beautiful fields
● Seneca
- “ The city is in a delightful bay, set back from the open sea, encircled by the coast of
Surrentum and Stabiae on the one side and the coast of Herculaneum on the other,
and situated where they meet together
Natural Resources
● Climate
- Mild winters and early springs (ideal for agriculture)
● Soil
- Rich in minerals from the ash and lava of Vesuvius
- Allowed the growth of wheat, barely, chickpeas, beans, dates, figs, and olives
- Able to produce olive oil and wine and sell locally and externally
● Areas for grazing
- Allowed for sheep to eat and produce wool and mutton
● Fish
- Close proximity to the ocean allowed for fish that could be traded or consumed
● Salt
- Pompeians collected salt from evaporated pools of sea water
,The Eruption
, Evidence Preceding the Eruption
● Seismic disturbances a few days before the eruption
- 62 AD Earthquake
1) Damaged building & Reconstruction
2) Seneca
- Pliny the Elder (unreliable)
1) Witnessed from across the bay in Misenum
Plinian Phase
● A huge column of ash and pumice rose about 33km high from Vesuvius
- Resulted in a layer of pumice stone, or lapilli, falling on Pompeii for several hours
- The Stones fell on the city at a rate of about 12-15m p/h
- By the time it was over, Pompeii was covered in a layer of ash about 2.5-2.8m high
- More in Pompeii due to wind and topography
- “Its appearance and shape are best described as being like a pine tree, for it rose to a
great height as though on a very long trunk and spread out its branches… ashes were
falling hotter and thicker. Now pumice blackened and charred and cracked by fire… it
was daylight else were by here it was night blacker and denser than any other night”
(Pliny the Elder)
- “An extraordinary crash was heard as if the mountains were falling down and huge
stones were hurled up… a great amount of fire and never ending smoke, so that the
whole atmosphere was darkened”(Dio Cassius)
Pyroclastic Surges
6
● Pyroclastic surges → Haruldur Sigurdsson
● First Surge
- Buried Herculaneum, killing inhabitants instantly
- Missed Pompeii
- Flowed down at a rate of 300km p/h
- 400˚c
- Carbonised everything organic
● Second and Third Surges
- Buried Herculaneum further
- Missed Pompeii
● Fourth Surge
- Covered Pompeii in extremely hot gas
● Fifth and Sixth Surges
- Further buried Pompeii under layers of Volcanic rock
,Causes of Death (Pompeii)
● Human remains
- Ash and pumice cooled around the dead bodies, forming moulds
- Giuseppe Fiorelli developed a system by which plaster was poured into these moulds to
form casts
- There are over1000 casts in Pompeii
● Crushed by roofs
- Roofs collapsed under the weight of pumice during the plinian phase
- People were crushed under their weight
● Asphyxiation
- Sigurdsson compared the victims of the Mt St Helen’s eruption with the victims of Mt
Vesuvius
- Pompeiians would’ve breathed the ash in the air, forming a paste in their lungs that
suffocated them
- Bodies found with their mouths open, suggesting that they were struggling for air when
they died
Causes of Death (Herculaneum)
● Human remains
- Previously believed that everyone had escaped before the town was buried mainly
because no bones had been found on site
- Sarah Biselhowever excavated boat sheds on ancientbeachfront at Herculaneum,
revealing139 skeletons
● Thermal Shock
- The extremely high temperatures caused brains to boil and skulls to explode
- They become skeletons instantly as their soft tissue vaporised
,Changing Nature of Excavations
,Early History of the Site
● T he cities were first officially “discovered” when the Bourbon dynasty led large scale excavations
in the 18th century
- These excavations were extremely haphazard
- Focused on uncovering treasure, rather than systematic conservation
- Many buildings were found, and countless others were lost, destroyed, or misplaced
- Access was restricted to the Bourbon’s monarchy team, meaning no archaeologists,
scientists, tourists, etc.
Giuseppe Fiorelli (1860—1875)
E xcavations became more organised and he managed to excavate one third of Pompeii
●
● He opened the site to the visitors
● Fiorelli’s excavations were characterised by four significant contributions
- The advent of the Fiorellian system which saw Pompeii divided into nine regions, each
containing insular
- Excavations from the top-down to prevent walls from collapsing
- A better focus on preservation and keeping objects in site
- Introduction to the famous plaster casts
August Mau (1873—1909)
M
● ain contribution was the creation of a classification system for frescoes
● He characterises them according to styles. Key examples include
- First Style: Hellenistic decorations and imitation marble
- Second style: 3D illusions
- Third style: Colours and decorative motifs on the wall
- Fourth style: Combination of second and third styles
Vittorio Soinazzola (1911—1924)
G
● ave us a better understanding of how the site as a whole would have appeared
● He did this through two ways:
- Via dell'Abbondanza (the Street of Abundance; main street of Pompeii)
- Reconstruction of the second storeys of buildings in Pompeii
- He based his projects on Roman paintings however, not on archaeological
evidence,meaning the reconstructions may not be entirely accurate
Amedeo Maiuri (1924—1961)
● Two phases due to the interference of war
- 1924-1941: He excavated insulae on either side of the via d’abbondanza, amphitheatre,
palestra, Villa of Mysteries, and City walls
- 1951-161: HE conducted excavations very quickly to cater demand from tourists and
returning soldiers, including regions 1 and 2, and the estate of julia felix
, - hile Mairuri was able to excavate a large amount of the site, many of his efforts were
W
tourist-oriented, meaning his excavations used quick fixes rather than long term
solutions
,
,Natural Features
, Natural Features → Bay of Naples
S tretches from Misenum from the north to Sorrento in the south → 200km coastline
●
● Mount Vesuvius is slightly inland and dominates the region
● Herculaneum lies on a natural terrace about 20 meters from the beach front (West of Vesuvius)
- Allowed for economy to be based on fishing
- Allowed for a natural and beautiful holiday sight for Senators
● Pompeii lies on a plateau about 30 meters higher than Vesuvius (South of Vesuvius)
- Plateau was believed to be created from a lava flow, which also explains the immense
fertility of the land (Virigls Georgics)
Natural Features of Pompeii and Herculaneum
● B oth towns benefited from easy access to mediterraneum, allowing for trade and a self
sustaining, localised economy
● The Sarnus river ran south of Pompeii, towards the ocean
● Highly fertile soil → easy to grow crops
● North west of Vesuvius were the Phlegraean Fields
- Contained sulfurous lagoons and bubbling muds; Romans were convinced it was the
entrance to the underworld
● Strabo
- “Next is Herculaneum on the headland that juts out into the sea and wonderfully
catches the breezes of the southeast wind…lying above these places is Vesuvius,
which, except for its summit, as houses all around and beautiful fields
● Seneca
- “ The city is in a delightful bay, set back from the open sea, encircled by the coast of
Surrentum and Stabiae on the one side and the coast of Herculaneum on the other,
and situated where they meet together
Natural Resources
● Climate
- Mild winters and early springs (ideal for agriculture)
● Soil
- Rich in minerals from the ash and lava of Vesuvius
- Allowed the growth of wheat, barely, chickpeas, beans, dates, figs, and olives
- Able to produce olive oil and wine and sell locally and externally
● Areas for grazing
- Allowed for sheep to eat and produce wool and mutton
● Fish
- Close proximity to the ocean allowed for fish that could be traded or consumed
● Salt
- Pompeians collected salt from evaporated pools of sea water
,The Eruption
, Evidence Preceding the Eruption
● Seismic disturbances a few days before the eruption
- 62 AD Earthquake
1) Damaged building & Reconstruction
2) Seneca
- Pliny the Elder (unreliable)
1) Witnessed from across the bay in Misenum
Plinian Phase
● A huge column of ash and pumice rose about 33km high from Vesuvius
- Resulted in a layer of pumice stone, or lapilli, falling on Pompeii for several hours
- The Stones fell on the city at a rate of about 12-15m p/h
- By the time it was over, Pompeii was covered in a layer of ash about 2.5-2.8m high
- More in Pompeii due to wind and topography
- “Its appearance and shape are best described as being like a pine tree, for it rose to a
great height as though on a very long trunk and spread out its branches… ashes were
falling hotter and thicker. Now pumice blackened and charred and cracked by fire… it
was daylight else were by here it was night blacker and denser than any other night”
(Pliny the Elder)
- “An extraordinary crash was heard as if the mountains were falling down and huge
stones were hurled up… a great amount of fire and never ending smoke, so that the
whole atmosphere was darkened”(Dio Cassius)
Pyroclastic Surges
6
● Pyroclastic surges → Haruldur Sigurdsson
● First Surge
- Buried Herculaneum, killing inhabitants instantly
- Missed Pompeii
- Flowed down at a rate of 300km p/h
- 400˚c
- Carbonised everything organic
● Second and Third Surges
- Buried Herculaneum further
- Missed Pompeii
● Fourth Surge
- Covered Pompeii in extremely hot gas
● Fifth and Sixth Surges
- Further buried Pompeii under layers of Volcanic rock
,Causes of Death (Pompeii)
● Human remains
- Ash and pumice cooled around the dead bodies, forming moulds
- Giuseppe Fiorelli developed a system by which plaster was poured into these moulds to
form casts
- There are over1000 casts in Pompeii
● Crushed by roofs
- Roofs collapsed under the weight of pumice during the plinian phase
- People were crushed under their weight
● Asphyxiation
- Sigurdsson compared the victims of the Mt St Helen’s eruption with the victims of Mt
Vesuvius
- Pompeiians would’ve breathed the ash in the air, forming a paste in their lungs that
suffocated them
- Bodies found with their mouths open, suggesting that they were struggling for air when
they died
Causes of Death (Herculaneum)
● Human remains
- Previously believed that everyone had escaped before the town was buried mainly
because no bones had been found on site
- Sarah Biselhowever excavated boat sheds on ancientbeachfront at Herculaneum,
revealing139 skeletons
● Thermal Shock
- The extremely high temperatures caused brains to boil and skulls to explode
- They become skeletons instantly as their soft tissue vaporised
,Changing Nature of Excavations
,Early History of the Site
● T he cities were first officially “discovered” when the Bourbon dynasty led large scale excavations
in the 18th century
- These excavations were extremely haphazard
- Focused on uncovering treasure, rather than systematic conservation
- Many buildings were found, and countless others were lost, destroyed, or misplaced
- Access was restricted to the Bourbon’s monarchy team, meaning no archaeologists,
scientists, tourists, etc.
Giuseppe Fiorelli (1860—1875)
E xcavations became more organised and he managed to excavate one third of Pompeii
●
● He opened the site to the visitors
● Fiorelli’s excavations were characterised by four significant contributions
- The advent of the Fiorellian system which saw Pompeii divided into nine regions, each
containing insular
- Excavations from the top-down to prevent walls from collapsing
- A better focus on preservation and keeping objects in site
- Introduction to the famous plaster casts
August Mau (1873—1909)
M
● ain contribution was the creation of a classification system for frescoes
● He characterises them according to styles. Key examples include
- First Style: Hellenistic decorations and imitation marble
- Second style: 3D illusions
- Third style: Colours and decorative motifs on the wall
- Fourth style: Combination of second and third styles
Vittorio Soinazzola (1911—1924)
G
● ave us a better understanding of how the site as a whole would have appeared
● He did this through two ways:
- Via dell'Abbondanza (the Street of Abundance; main street of Pompeii)
- Reconstruction of the second storeys of buildings in Pompeii
- He based his projects on Roman paintings however, not on archaeological
evidence,meaning the reconstructions may not be entirely accurate
Amedeo Maiuri (1924—1961)
● Two phases due to the interference of war
- 1924-1941: He excavated insulae on either side of the via d’abbondanza, amphitheatre,
palestra, Villa of Mysteries, and City walls
- 1951-161: HE conducted excavations very quickly to cater demand from tourists and
returning soldiers, including regions 1 and 2, and the estate of julia felix
, - hile Mairuri was able to excavate a large amount of the site, many of his efforts were
W
tourist-oriented, meaning his excavations used quick fixes rather than long term
solutions
