Discovery, Looting, Treasure Hunting
What happened to the theatre of Herculaneum which was discovered in 1709 by Austrian general Count D'Elbeuf?
It was mined of its marble facing and statuary. The site was plundered using gunpowder.
Name one of Giuseppe Fiorelli's significant achievements.
1. He introduced a uniform numbering and naming system for the houses and buildings.
2. He introduced a more systemic approach to excavation and connected different parts of the site.
3. He began slowly uncovering the houses from the top down rather than digging straight through them.
4. He left painting in situ when possible, although the best ones were still cut from walls.
5. He discovered the cavities left by bodies and injected them with plaster to create the casts.
6. He introduced a new system for recording work.
7. According to Alison Cooley: "Fiorelli remains the individual who had the greatest impact upon the way in which Pompeii has been excavated and perceived".
Why must today's archaeologists be able to justify the need to excavate?
Archaeology is publicly funded which means they need to justify spending public funds.
They need to justify the need to expose antiquities and lead them to degrade.
What does Alison Cooley say was the aim of the early excavations?
"The aim of the excavations was not primarily to gain knowledge about the past, but to gain prestige for the present, and it is this that overwhelmingly influenced the progress of the excavations throughout the rest of the 18th century".
Name one of August Mau's significant achievements.
1. He developed a sequential classification of wall paintings.
2. He proposed leaving the paintings in situ rather than cutting them from walls.
What are the current projects focussed on?
Conservation and studying what is already uncovered in further depth. Nothing new is being uncovered.
Describe de Alcubierre's "excavation" process.
He dug tunnels randomly, breaking through painted walls and tunnelling into houses. They took all of the fine objects they could find and then backfilled their tunnels with rubble. He kept no records.
Name one of Vittorio Spinazzola's achievements.
1. He focused on the main commercial road and found shops, workshops, election posters and paintings.
2. He reconstructed the facades of the buildings on the Main Street.
What is the Philodemus Project investigating.
They are using multispectral imaging to isolate writing from the charred background of the papyri found at the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum in order to read and translate them.
What changes did Karl Weber attempt to make to De Alcubierre's techniques?
He drew up plans and maps and recorded artefacts and paintings. He systematic process led to the discovery of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum which contained 1800 carbonised papyrus rolls.
Name one of Amedeo Maiuri's achievements.
1. He continued the work of Spinazzola.
2. He worked on the famous mansions such as the House of Menander.3. He built a ditch around the walls to expose the sequence of construction.
4. He began restoring buildings.
5. He reopened the excavations of Herculaneum.
Name a conservation issue facing Pompeii today.
What happened to the excavations at Pompeii during the political unrest in Naples of the 1840s and 1850s?
The director of the sites, Carl Bonucci was corrupt and incompetent and had no concern for the preservation of finds. Theft was rife in the museums and the excavation sites.
Name a criticism of Amedeo Maiuri's work.
His excavations were rushed, there was no documentation or publication and they were left unprotected.
The things he did publish lack detail and scientific precision.
His interpretations of social and economic transformation were based on false assumptions rather than evidence.
Restricting tourists
Shelters/roofs
Replacing rotten wood to prevent collapse
Sealing paintings
Eagles to scare off birds