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1. ROMAN TIME CAPSULE
The Ancient City of Pompeii
Professor Will Adams
Valencia College

2. Pompeii and
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.

3. THE CITY OF
HERCULANEUM
§ Much less is known
about Herculaneum
because:
v Part is under very
hard volcanic rock.
v Part is under the
modern city of
Naples. Italy.

4. 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).

5. 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.

6. MISCONCEPTIONS
§ Some misconceptions about
Pompeii are:
vThe victims were “buried
alive;” they had no chance of
escape.
vThe city was buried “as it
was;” the victims were caught
completely unaware.
vPompeii was never again
explored after ancient times.

7. MISCONCEPTIONS
§ There are even some doubts
about the date of the eruption
because:
vThe historical text that gives
the date is corrupt.
vRemains of fruit that are
more suitable for autumn
have been found at the site.
vMany victims were found
“bundled up” in warmer,
autumn clothes.

8. REALITIES
§ Some of the realities about
Pompeii include:
vThe eruption did not occur
without warning; there were
many earthquakes in the
week leading up to the
eruption.
vMany people did escape;
some of those who did not
may have been looters or
were simply unwilling to
leave.

9. REALITIES
§ Pompeii as it appears today is not
an exact reflection of a typical
Roman city:
vIt was a city from which
people were trying to escape.
vA 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.

10. REALITIES
§ Some parts of Pompeii
have been rebuilt because:
vIt needs to look
sensible and attractive
to tourists.
vSome of it was
destroyed by Allied
bombs during World
War II and it had to be
“re-built”.

11. REALITIES
§ The victims were not “buried
alive” as they were going
about their days:
vVictims were killed by the
thermal heat of Vesuvius’s
pyroclastic flow as they tried to
escape
vIn fact, the heat was so intense
that it killed them instantly; it
was not the volcanic ash.

12. REALITIES
§ Pompeii was explored shortly after
the eruption:
vPompeii’s inhabitants went back
to look for their belongings.
vTreasure hunters dug tunnels
into the site to look for
treasures.
vThere are signs of their
presence, and some of the
remains may be looters.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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
remove the positive model of
what was once actually
contained there.
§ The following are some
examples:

16. THE PLASTER MOLDS

17. 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:

18. THE SITE OF POMPEII

19. THE ENTRANCE TO THE
SITE

20. 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:

21. THE FORUM AT
POMPEII

22. THE FORUM AT
POMPEII

23. THE FORUM AT
POMPEII

24. RECONSTRUCTED FORUM
AT POMPEII

25. RECONSTRUCTRED FORUM AT POMPEII

26. 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.

27. THE STREETS OF POMPEII

28. 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.

29. THE AMPHITHEATER AT
POMPEII

30. THE AMPHITHEATRE AT POMPEII

31. 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:

32. THE THEATRE AT POMPEII

33. THE PALESTRA
§ Also found at Pompeii is something called
the palestra.
§ The palestra was a large open field
surrounded by colonnades.
§ The palestra was originally used as a school,
as Roman education stressed both the mental
and the physical aspects of existence.

34. 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.

35. 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!

36. 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?

37. THE PALESTRA AT POMPEII

38. 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 remains in certain
areas of Pompeii.

39. PISTRINUm - (A BAKERY)

40. THERMOPOLIUM -
FAST FOOD
RESTAURANT)

41. THERMAE (- Public BATH)

42. ROMAN Domus - HOUSE
§ Because of its inhabitants’ wealth, Pompeii
also has some of the most magnificent
houses in Rome’s history
§ Among the more famous homes are:
v The Villa of the Mysteries
v The House of the Faun
v The House of the Vettii

43. A TYPICAL ROMAN Domus

44. A TYPICAL ROMAN Domus

45. Roman Domus Spaces
§ 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.

46. SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE
Domus
§ 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.

47. 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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48. HOUSE OF THE VETTII
§ The house was owned by
two brothers, Aulus Vettius
Restitutus and Aulus Vettius
Conviva, 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.

49. ROMAN Domus
DECORATION
§ These houses also contain a number of
magnificently preserved decorative elements
in the form of:
v Frescoes: Wall paintings created by painting
into wet plaster to create a bonded image &
wall.
v Mosaics: Images created from tiny, tiny pieces
of glass or tile that are called tesserae.

50. FRESCOES FROM THE VILLA OF
THE MYSTERIES

51. FRESCOES FROM THE HOUSE
OF THE VETII

52. ALEXANDER THE GREAT MOSAIC
FROM THE HOUSE OF THE FAUN

53. DETAILS OF THE MOSAIC

54. A VIRTUAL ROMAN DOMUS

55. ACTA EST FABULA