CITIES OF VESUVIUS REVISION EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE

1. CITIES OF VESUVIUSREVISIONEVIDENCE, EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE

2. KNOW THE SYLLABUS • 1 Geographical context • the physical environment: the geographical setting, natural features and resources of Pompeii and Herculaneum • plans and streetscapes of Pompeii and Herculaneum • 2 The nature of sources and evidence • the range of available sources, both written and archaeological, including ancient writers, official inscriptions, graffiti, wall paintings, statues, mosaics, human and animal remains • the limitations, reliability and evaluation of sources • the evidence provided by the sources from Pompeii and Herculaneum for: • the eruption • the economy: trade, commerce, industries, occupations • social structure; men, women, freedmen, slaves • local political life • everyday life: leisure activities, food and dining, clothing, health, baths, water supply and sanitation 2006(4) 2007 (4) • public buildings – basilicas, temples, fora, theatres, palaestra, amphitheatres 2006 (8 ) • private buildings – villas, houses, shops • influence of Greek and Egyptian cultures: art, architecture, religion • religion: temples, household gods, foreign cults, tombs. 2007 (8) • 3 Investigating, reconstructing and preserving the past • changing methods and contributions of nineteenth and twentieth century archaeologists to our understanding of Pompeii and Herculaneum 2006 (10) 2007 (10) • changing interpretations: impact of new research and technologies 2006 (10) • issues of conservation and reconstruction: Italian and international contributions and responsibilities; impact of tourism • ethical issues: study and display of human remains

3. Answering Core questions • Given the restrictions of space, answers need to be concise and factual • In the 8 and 10 mark questions you only need an opening sentence which addresses the question • Always address the fragmentary nature of the archaeological and written evidence

4. Geographical context

6. Influence of Greek and Egyptian cultures

7. Limitations, reliability and usefulness of sources • In assessing the reliability of sources the following things need to be taken into consideration • The context in which objects are found. Are they related to the things around them or have they been moved • The reliability of dating methods • Artefacts are in themselves, not evidence. They are open to interpretation and manipulation • Both sites are only partially excavated ( Pompeii 66% and Herculaneum 30% ) and therefore huge gaps of evidence exist. We cannot make generalizations about a limited site

8. PLANS • Pompeii is a walled ( 3.5km) urban area of approximately 66 hectares of which 45 has been excavated. Herculaneum smaller about 20 hectares. Herc had a town wall and sea wall • 8 Gateways link the urban area to the hinterland and surrounding regions • Both towns consist of long rectangular grid patterns intersecting at right angles, to form insulae. • Eachinsulaecomprises housing of both rich and poor, suburban villas, ships, taverns and workshops • Pompeii was a thriving port, due to location on the sea and Sarno river • Herculaneum smaller resort with fewer public buildings • The political, administrative, social and religious hub of the urban area was the Forum, located in the South West of the town ( Old City )

9. Streetscape • Elevated sidewalks: due to sewage & litter in streets • Street width: smaller streets  residential; larger streets  commercial, reflected the relative volume of pedestrian & wheeled traffic • Street curve: slight curve to facilitate drainage, indicates which way traffic turned • Crosswalks: large stepping stones across the streets, ancient wagons could clear the stones, made from volcanic tufa, often found outside houses of the rich as they did not want to get wet feet – signs that influential people were nearby. • Herculaneum was richer & had underground drainage – no crosswalks • Street ruts: from wagon wheels • Pompeians drove on the right side of the road ~ Eric Poehler • Pompeii was heavily built up & bustling with commerce & movement – traffic jams were imminent ~ Eric Poehler – University of Virginia • Paving: centre of the road is raised to allow water to run into the gutters

10. Small white stones ingeniously inserted randomly between large stones, allowed people and animals to see the road after dark. Sidewalks also contained small white stones for night time visibility • The closer to the forum, the more frequent the white stones • Pavers were particularly well fitted together with gaps of less than 3mm. • Iron spikes pounded between stones to wedge them even more tightly • Fountains: at many intersections, fountains with sculpted headstones over rectangular stone troughs provided water for inhabitants • Fed by lead pipes running beneath sidewalks from 2 cisterns, one at the Vesuvius Gate & one at the Forum baths – fed by aqueduct • So far 42 fountains have been found at Pompeii & 3 at Herculaneum • People using the same fountains would share a close knit sense of identity • Location of fountains could indicate neighbourhood groupings & status of neighbourhood; statue of patron of fountain carved from limestone eg juncture of the forum & beginning of Via Dell’ Abbondanza ~ Ray Laurence

11. The Eruption • August 24th- earthquake tremors for 4 days, springs dry up, minor explosions on the morning of 24th • Phases as determined by Sigurdsson; • Plinian phase- huge cloud rose 20-30 kilometres. This column produced grey, white pumice which because of the wind direction fell to the SE • Pompeii covered 2.5-2.8 metres • Buildings begin to collapse • Herculaneum experience only light ash fall • NueesArdentes- hot gas avalanches. The ash column collapsed under its own weight giving rise to a series of pyroclastic surges and flows, comprised of red hot ash • The 1st and 2nd surge destroyed Herculaneum • The remaining 4 surges destroyed Pompeii

12. THE ERUPTION

13. The Physical evidence • Sigurddson’sstratigraphic study , commissioned by National Geographic to corroborate Pliny’s description limits the reliability of his work • Based assumptions on the similarity with the Mount St Helen’s eruption in the 1980’s. No 2 eruptions are identical • Assumed an even rate of ash fall over time???

14. The value of Pliny’s Letters • Problems with reliability- purpose to eulogize his Uncle and reliant on memory • As a writer, had good eye for detail and recorded mushroom cloud and physical evidence of fires • Most valuable because it records the human reaction, panic, cries and chaos of escape

15. A QUESTION ON THE ECONOMY • Opening sentence: “ The location of Pompeii as a port and central to the fertile Campanian hinterland and Italian penninsula ensured its vibrant and cosmopolitan economic activity in primary secondary and tertiary activity. The excavation of up to 600 shops indicates the scale of such economic activity ” • Give a brief description of major industries textiles, wine and oil, garum, bakeries and a couple of minor ones like perfume( recent excavation) and pottery ( Jaye Pont study) • With each industry be able to give at least one piece of specific supporting evidence eg The Bakery of Modestus where 81 loaves of bread were recovered. • If space allows mention market days, numismatical evidence and the shops • The wax tablets of CaeciliusJacundus records commercial transactions recording receipts for loans and rent is valuable supporting evidence

17. ECONOMY; DOMESTIC OR EXPORT? Jongmanvs Moeller • Pompeii was a consumer city, economically dependant on the agricultural products of the hinterland ~ Weber • No. of production facilities within the region is sufficient for Pompeii & an export market ~ Moeller • Jongman believes that spinning and weaving were household crafts • Small no. of workshops would service city not export market~ Jongman • Presence of looms in houses indicates weaving was small scale ~ Jongman • Inscriptions record the use of wool in private residences • Unclear if the industry supported only Pompeii or produced goods for export • Six dye houses found in Pompeii ~ Moeller • Moeller identified a number of workshops in the archaeological record with processes associated with wool and cloth cleaning. ~ Ray Lawrence • Involves 700 – 1000 workers ~ Moeller • Large flocks of sheep for wool • Limited numbers of sheep as 600 sheep perished in the earthquake of 62AD ~ Seneca • No. of sheep was minimal because in order to provide food for such a densely populated city, the land would have to have been used for farming, not grazing ~ Jongman • Implication of commercial & ornamental gardening shows the distinction between town & country is blurred ~ Jashemski

18. Social Structure • Questions could ask about social structure in general or could specifically require information about 1 group. You need to have at least 2 pieces of evidence for each level. • ‘The boundaries between slave manumitted slaves & freeborn were often exceedingly fluid.’ ~ Pamela Bradley • ‘Wealthy freedmen imitated the cultural language of the nobility in order to establish their membership in that society.’ ~ Andrew Wallace-Hadrill • Cicero and Pliny the Elder criticised the tendency of the rich, successful freedmen to ‘ape the aristocracy.’

20. SOCIAL STRUCTURE

21. Local Political LifeInscriptions, electoral graffiti( programmata)

22. Food and Dining • Food & Dining: ~ Robert Curtis • All kinds of food were available to people of all social levels • Many foods were eaten raw with minimum preparation or cooking • Meat animals were butchered, then roasted, boiled or cooked in a stew • Fish were scaled, gutted, perhaps filleted & similarly prepared • Fruit was consumed raw • Vegetables were cooked or boiled, nuts were eaten raw after shelling • Grapes could be eaten raw or treaded, fermented & aged to make wine • Ancient food technologies include grinding, pounding, crushing, pressing, salting, drying, smoking, storing, transporting – evidence found in Campania • Olives were soaked in brine then eaten by themselves or with other dishes, or used to make olive oil • Fishing was an active occupation – archaeological finds of nets, sinkers, hooks, fishermen ate or sold their catch in the town market

23. Dining Out • Skeletal evidence suggests that P& H were well nourished • Houses had at least 1 triclinium so named from the couches for reclining • Dinner was the main meal of the day and began at 4.00. In wealthy homes, satirized in Trimalchio’s Feast the meal began with Gustatio( eggs, olives, sausage), Fercula( dishes that are carried), fish, shellfish, poultry, pork, lamb and finish with Mensa Secundae, freash fruit, nuts and cheese, all with wine • Metal braziers found in various rooms, including peristyle gardens suggested a flexible attitude to dining. • Collections of pottery dinner platters by Allison suggests that food was served communally from large platters rather than individually. Silver, bronze and glass dinner ware has also been found • Public eating took place at Thermopolia ( snack bars)and Tabernae, in which large dolia in a marble bench held hot drinks and dishes. 200 found in Pompeii. One of the largest found in Herc opposite Palaestra had 2 entrances

24. Clothing • During the year of office, the duumviri and Aediles wore the purple bordered toga, the toga praetexta • The dress of upper-class Roman males had distinctive features which made their rank immediately visible to all around them • Equestrians wore the tunic with narrow stripes (angusta clavi) and a gold ring • Women belonged to the social class of their father & husbands, but had no special clothes to indicate their status • The special mark of dress for citizen males was the toga • Freed people had no distinctive dress but their names indicated their status • Slaves who had run away were sometimes required to wear a metal collar with inscriptions such as ‘I have run away. Capture me. When you have returned me to my master, Zoninus, you will receive an award.’

25. Leisure and Entertainment

26. BATHS, AMPHITHEATRE. THEATRES • Know architecture and layout of each of these and any inscriptions associated • Mention seating approximations reflective, not of town size but servicing region • Mention Amphitheatre fight, painting and ban by Nero for 10 years

27. Importance of Leisure & Entertainment • Opening sentence would address the question eg “ Menssana in corporesano”; sound mind and a sound body illustrates the Roman enthusiasm for physical exercise while the number of religious holidays provided an opportunity for theatre and spectacles • Ancient terms and concepts to include would be otium and negotum; leisure and work; • Know the layout and terminology of the bath complexes/ theatres/ palaestra and amphitheatre ( seating capacities) and be able to know at least 1 piece of graffiti from each( mention Greek architecture, comedy and tragedies) • Be able to explain who gladiators were, what they wore and how they fought. • Be able to give specific examples of mozaics and paintings eg theatre masks in Naples Museum and painting of the Amphitheatre fight between Pompeians and Nucerians • Remember gambling, not just dice but cock fighting was also popular • Prostitution could double for economy and leisure and entertainment

28. Forum Function • The Function of the Forum in Roman times is reflected in the various types of its associated buildings, economic, religious, political . The Forum space however was equally vital in meeting the social needs of its citizens. The space provided a focal point for patron and client to be seen, important and ambitious politicians to make speeches and above all, festivals and processions to be seen by all its citizens.

30. Pompeii Forum ProjectCarroll William Westfall • “Roman culture was distinguished from other ancient cultures by the enlarged role the public life played in private affairs. Roman society was more extensively stratified and more wealth and public honors were available to each of the various grades….Architecture was the most effective means of making this point. The Roman city had more public buildings and a more obvious public character in its public places…Roman Pompeii used civic activity and urban architecture to show that the religious and civic life gave order and vitality to private and commercial affairs….” • GREAT QUOTE FOR ALMOST ANYTHING!!!!!!!

31. Public Buildings • “From then on sponsors and donors had more in mind than simply the effect of their gifts on their fellow citizens; their gaze was fixed on places farther afield, especially Rome. The resulting spirit of competition then spread from the elite to all strata of society. On all sides we see the need for exhibition and self promotion growing, reflected in public statues and private tombs, ..” • Paul Zanker Pompeii, Public and Private Spaces

32. 62-79 AD URBAN RENEWAL OR DECAY? • “The conventional view is that the state of the Forum in 79AD was still in disrepair from the impact of the earthquake of 62AD . The Pompeians had neglected the city’s buildings and the Forum was nothing more than a builders yard. The alleged absence of recovery has been seen as symptomatic of the general state of economic depression at the site • The buildings themselves tell a different story. Newly interpreted evidence points to a post earthquake plan for the Forum, a design whose hallmarks are the unification and monumentalizatiion of the urban centre. These goals were achieved by blocking off the streets, linking facades, upgrading building materials and emphasizing the entrance that now provided major access to the Forum. It is possible that such a program was beyond the means of the Pompeian treasury. It is possible that assistance was given by Rome as there is ample evidence that this was the policy. The current perspective due to the work of the Forum Project is that rather than being a symbol of economic depression its vigorous post earthquake building program revealed a desire to build on a grand scale.” Penelope Allison

33. Private BuildingsIf I were a gambler this would be a good bet!!!! • Remember any description of houses and their use is highly interprative.Zarmati describes the “domus as a microcosm of the public world of business, politics and civic duty” • Based on Wallace Hadrill’s classification, Houses can be divided into 4 groups: • Shops & workshops with 1 or 2 roomed residences behind or above • Larger workshop residences of 2-7 rooms, some with an atrium & even richly decorated • Average house: 8 -13 rooms, most with an integrated workshop or shop, symmetrical plan & common architectural features eg atrium & gardens • Largest houses ( villa urbana) designed for hospitality & large-scale admission of visitors, separate space for slaves; 2 atria; ornamental gardens, peristyles; decorated • Villa Rustica

34. Concepts you must know! • FAUCES, • ATRIUM • TABLINUM • TRICLINIUM • CUBICULUM • SALUTATIO • PATERFAMILIA • IMPLUVIUM/COMPLUVIUM

35. Characteristics and room function( specific examples) • Houses represent 1/3 of all buildings in Pompeii. Windows looked inward • Key feature in design for the elite is the long axis running from street entry to the garden. The axis ties the fauces, atrium, tablinum and peristyle areas where vision was often framed by the placement of columns, usually Ionic or Corinthian. These were the more publically visible areas ( salutatio ). According to Cicero in his De Officiis, a man of rank needed housing to fit his social standing • To the side were the more private leisure areas of Tricliniums and Cubiculums, although client access was sometimes acceptable. Wallace Hadrill states “Romans lacked our distinction of place of work from place of leisure.” ( OTIUM/NEGOTUM) • The most private areas, unseen and undecorated were the slave quarters and kitchen areas, located towards the back or side of houses.

36. Public and private architecture merged when allusions to forum architecture was included in the layout of tablinums • Gymnasia and porticoe architecture was also integrated in the outdoor garden and pool construction • “The villas of the Roman elite provided conscious models for the houses of Pompeian shopkeepers, let alone those of the heavily Roman focused local elite” Hadrill • “The use of water in Roman private houses has been identified as a highly visible status symbol” Rick Jones

37. Evolution of the DomusRomanus

38. Decoration • ‘The function of mythological paintings in the houses pf P&H was to represent the status of the house to the exterior world.’ ~ Rachel Goff

40. House Contents-P Allison • Evidence for Cloth production: loom weights, spindles needles in Casa De Princeps de Napoli; 50 loom weights were needed for 2 rooms and as spinning was a Roman activity this cannot be evidence for commercial use. Looms were not found in service areas ~ Penelope Alison • Consumption of food: popular images of food in still life paintings; braziers were found in Casa del Menandro, used for cooking, heating, warming; red slip pottery largest and smallest sizes used for cooking; size 4 bowls showed olive, fig and plum residue ~ Penelope Alison • Toilet and Medical items: spatulums, probes, cosmetic containers, strigils, tweezers (>10cm=forceps function; <10cm=domestic use); not all medical items indicate doctors: “this is one example of how we bring our own personal bias of interpretation to the study of Pompeian households.”~Penelope Alison

41. Changing Methods of Archaeology and Technology

42. Conservation issues; Italian and International Efforts “To dig is to Destroy” Sir Mortimer Wheeler“Just when Pompeii was being discovered it began to die its second death” Blanquat

45. Ethical Issues • Over the last 50 years attitudes towards the display of human remains have changed, particularly influenced by reconciliation with indigenous communities • Since the commencement of excavation human remains have been viewed, firstly as objects for display and more recently as resources for research. • Skeletons and casts have been displayed in Pompeii either in the houses in which they were found or in other protected buildings. Some have been displayed in museums, most recently in travelling exhibitions • In more recent years the problem has been addressed by the use of casts, used to create replicas of human remains, which can be displayed on site, while the original material Can be studied and stored appropriately.

46. The ICOM Code of Ethics does not ban the display of human remains, rather it encourages sensitivity to community reactions. • The debate about whether human remains are primarily of scientific or cultural significance is an ongoing debate. Advances in medical and forensic technology adds pressure to the debate since bodies can now yield so much more information than in the past. • “The bodies of Pompeii are still in the public eye, thanks to Giuseppe Fiorelli. The public display of these human remains reveals the fragility and pathos of the figures and there is little evidence of the tact, respect or feelings of human dignity required by the ICOM Code of Ethics relating to the display of human remains” ~ Alan Wheatland

47. Ownership and Excavation Future • The question of whether a site , geographically located inside a country, having international significance and supported internationally, must be owned exclusively by one country, is open to debate • Many great museums, such as the British Museum and the Louvre are full of priceless objects from foreign countries. Some were given as gifts, purchased legally during Imperial times and some were stolen. Like many countries Italy has passed laws banning the trade in stolen antiquities. Some countries also seek the return of artifacts held in foreign countries. • The question of whether to continue excavation or leave it for future , more technologically advanced generations applies to the Villa of Papyri where it is widely believed a twin library of Roman texts exists beneath the rubble. The discovery of a lower terrace and the possibility of a further eruption which could rebury the two towns gives the question more immediacy. Hewlett Packard has offered the funds for its excavation.