Geographical Setting & Natural Features
Identify the region Pompeii and Herculaneum are located.
Pompeii and Herculaneum are situated in the Campania Region or Campania Felix (Lucky Campania)
Identify the volcano that erupted which buried Pompeii and the year of the eruption
Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD burying Pompeii in pumice
Identify the revolutionary technique pioneered by Giuseppe Fiorelli in excavating Pompeii
The pouring of Plaster of Paris into empty cavities found the ash layer of Pompeii to create a plaster cast of the decomposed bodies of victims.
Identify an example of a contemporary song which focuses on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on the Campania region
A song called 'Pompeii' was released by Bastille in 2013 which contains lyrics that focus on the nature and destruction of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on the city of Pompeii and how the city reflects continuity from ancient societies into the modern world.
Outline the geographical location of the Campania region
The Campania region is a fertile crescent-shaped volcanic plain in southern Italy. It is located at the foot of the Apennine escarpment and extends from the Volturno River in the north to the mountains of the Sorrentine Peninsula in the south.
Outline the historian who recorded their first hand account of the eruption
Pliny the Younger captures his eyewitness account of the eruption in his letters to Tacitus. His description of the eruption resembling a 'pine tree' is referred to as the 'Plinian phase' of the eruption in 79 AD.
Outline the classification system established by August Mau for wall paintings
First style = c. 175-80 BCE (incrustation or masonry style where shiny stucco wall decorations in the form of solid colours represent stone or marble). Second style = c. 80-10 BCE (architectural style featuring columns, porticoes and niches to create three dimensional illusions of extended spaces using arches and painted windows). Third style = 10 BCE - 50 AD (ornamental style were the wall is divided into three horizontal zones and two pairs of narrow vertical panes creating a large central area used for mythological paintings. These are sometimes accompanied by smaller panels on each side featuring paintings of theatre masks, fantastic figures, imaginary gardens and features of the natural world). Fourth style = 50-79 AD (intricate style were bright shimmering colours created a theatrical fantasy with a greater range of motifs, framework and colour. Most of the surviving works of Pompeii are in this style)
Outline the two European movements that influenced the representations of Pompeii and Herculaneum over the 18th and 19th centuries.
Neoclassicism is a movement in the decorative and visual arts, theatre, music and architecture that drew its inspiration from ancient Greece and Rome while Romanticism is an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement characterised by its emphasis on emotion, imagination, individualism and glorification of the past and nature.
Describe the significant uses of the geographical features of the Bay of Naples for Pompeii and Herculaneum.
The Bay provides a number of safe anchorages, particularly at Misenum on the western extremity of the Gulf of Puteoli where a perfect natural harbour was reinforced by Augustus to become the main naval base of the Roman fleet. Access to the Sarno River in the south where the river widens into a lagoon-like estuary provided an ideal harbour and port for inland settlement and accommodated for traffic of both imports and exports. The rich waters of the bay supported a thriving fishing and shellfish industry as salt pans formed where the waters of the bay washed into a depression near Herculaneum providing access to oily fish including tuna, mackerel, anchovies and moray eels which were all used in the production of the regions famous garum fish sauce.
Describe what a pyroclastic density current (pyroclastic flow or surge) is and the impact it caused to Pompeii and Herculaneum.
A Pyroclastic density current is the moving wall of volcanic material that progresses at different paces depending on its density (lighter material will move quickly while heavy material like lava moves more slowly). The PDC's were between 380°C and 500°C with all 6 waves/surges hitting Herculaneum but only the final 4 reaching Pompeii. Herculaneum was covered in volcanic material (1.5m from the first wave and 7m from the second) which left many buildings and structures intact. Evidence of the third wave reaching 200 metres into the city of Pompeii has been discovered with the fourth wave being so powerful it slid several layers of blocks on Mercury Tower (to the north of the city) by 10cm indicating that the winds were approx 300km/h and carrying dense volcanic material. The final two surges left Pompeii covered in 2-5 metres of volcanic material. The ground floors were generally well preserved due to being covered in pumice while the second storeys of buildings were destroyed by the Pyroclastic surges.
Describe the excavations of Vittorio Spinazzola between 1910-1923
Vittorio Spinazzola chose to focus on the excavations of a 600 metre length of the main commercial road - the 'Via dell'Abbondanza' or 'Street of Abundance' that ran west to east through Pompeii, linking the Forum with the Amphitheatre and the Sarnian Gate. These 'New Excavations' as they came to be called, revealed a Pompeii that had been scarcely dreamed of with its election posters, popular paintings and numerous shops and workshops, such as the Laundry of Stephanus and the Inn of Asellina, interspersed with the fine houses. His meticulous excavation method showed how the buildings along the main east-west street had been buried, and allowed him to reconstruct their facades as fully as possible, particularly the upper floors, with their windows, balconies and roofs. However, by focusing on unearthing the frontages only, he was forced to shore them up to prevent them collapsing from the weight of the earth behind. Also, he could only guess at the exact function of many of the shops. By the time he retired in 1923, the town's most important business artery, the Street of Abundance, had been cleared for the most of its length. It was left up to his successor, Amedo Maiuri, to bring it to the condition that visitors enjoy today.
Describe the typical mediums used and representations of Pompeii and Herculaneum over the 18th and 19th centuries
Poets and artists associated with the 'romantic' movement revelled in the melancholy engendered by the aspects of ruins as they recorded what they felt rather than what they saw presenting interpretations based on moods and memories where they added characteristic touches of their own. Jakob Phillip Hackert as the official painter of Naples was one of the first to record his impression of the state of the excavations in 1799 with his painting 'The Excavations at Pompeii' contrasting the ruins of the city with the peaceful landscape of the region. Architect and artist Francois Mazois constructed 454 drawings entitled 'The Ruins of Pompeii' in 1812 focusing on the poetry of the ruins. Staged grisly scenes (tableaux) were often arranged for 'discovery' where the mysterious and macabre skeletal remains often incited fascination from visiting dignitaries. Many operas were written during the 19th century such as Giovanni Puccini's 'The Last Day of Pompeii' which was an immediate hit. Many other paintings from this time period emphasise the destruction of the city using themes and motifs of hell to capture the chaos and terror experienced by those devastated by the 79 AD eruption including artworks like John Martin's 1822 painting 'The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum'.
Explain how the geographical setting and natural features of the Campania region influenced the everyday life of the region.
The pleasant temperatures throughout the year and the coastal sea breeze from the Bay of Naples made it a popular holiday destination for Roman residents to escape Roman politics (examples include philosophers Seneca and Lucan as well as the Emperor Nero and his mother Agrippina the Younger). It's position along the coastline made it ideal for engaging with trade with popular exports such as wine, wheat, oil and other products being traded around the Mediterranean. Pompeii's position along the Sarno River allowed it to also trade inland allowing for further economic activity. The volcanic rock on which Campania was situated was an important item of trade, as it was used in building structures and in machines that pressed oil or ground grain in addition to the fertile soil surrounding Mount Vesuvius allowing for extensive agricultural production.
Explain how the positions of bodies (both skeletal and plaster casts) provide insights into how victims died during the eruption
Almost 1/3 of victims at Pompeii were found outside of buildings on top of pumice and encased in ash suggesting that many people tried to escape only to be caught up in subsequent pyroclastic surges. Many of these remains are in the 'boxer pose' where the arms are pulled up to cover their face which is a physical response/reflex caused by the contraction of muscles in the extreme heat of the pyroclastic surges. Most of the victims found outside in Herculaneum, many of which were found on the beach or in nearby buildings were also discovered in the 'boxer pose' indicating the same type of death. Examinations of bones has revealed that those who died inside buildings from temperatures of up to 240°C (less than previously thought) died a slower death indicated by the blackening of bones (previously attributed to a sudden death from Pyroclastic surges) with the 'boxer pose' being a result of their body tissue drying out.
Explain some of the significant achievements of Giuseppe Fiorelli who worked on excavations at the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum between 1860-1875
Fiorelli introduced a uniform numbering and naming system for houses and buildings. Previously, the houses were given names according to notable features or possible owners but this led to confusion when some houses had several names. He divided the topography of the site including those areas not yet excavated into 9 regions each containing up to 22 blocks (insulae) and every entrance within each insula was given a number. Making it easier to draw up plans, locate individual structures and record where objects were found which is still used today by those working on site and their publications. He introduced a more systematic approach to excavation with a workforce of 500 people and following the line of the roads, he connected different parts of the site. He imposed a system of slowly uncovering the houses from top down, unlike those before him who dug straight down to the ground level of 79 AD, extracting anything of interest shovelling the debris aside. This enabled more data to be collected to help restore ancient buildings and their interiors and gain a better understanding of the process of burial. After excavations he made sure that buildings were shored up. Wherever possible he left paintings in situ although the best ones continued to be cut from the walls and shipped off to Naples other objects were removed for display to the small antiquarium built on site. He devised a method of injecting liquid plaster into cavities in ash enabling them to recover not only the shapes of humans and animals as they died, but other objects made of perishable material. A new system of recording the work in progress using day books and diaries to include the date, number of workers employed, times the jobs started and finished, exact place of excavations and precise descriptions of the number, type and quality of the objects found. An architect had to add to his observations and a superintendent stamped every page before it was submitted to the inspector of excavations. He published his finds in a journal with monthly updates. He changed the character of Pompeii by introducing an entrance fee for access to the site, opening it up to a wider cross-section of society.
Explain how the 20th and 21st century representations of Pompeii shifted from previous forms of representation
Throughout the 20th century, Pompeii and Herculaneum continued to be represented in both fact and fiction and often sensationalised, mainly through film adaptations of Bulwer-Lytton's 19th century novel. In 2003, author Robert Harris published his best-selling novel 'Pompeii', which gives an entirely different perspective on the eruption as he focuses on the 22nd to 25th of August 79 AD through the eyes of a Roman water engineer. This led to films being produced throughout the 1900s and an American TV mini series titled 'The Last Days of Pompeii' as well as Paul W. S. Anderson's 2014 production of the film 'Pompeii'. For those who will never get the opportunity to see the cities of Vesuvius first-hand there are any number of excellent documentaries and digital tours on YouTube. Those who, unlike the leisurely travellers of the 18th and 19th centuries on the Grand Tour, brave the three million or so tourists who descend on Pompeii annually, can be completely immersed in a three-hour time travel experience on site - a 360 degree virtual reality re-creation of ancient Pompeii as it once was before the eruption via a 3D virtual headsets with accompanying commentary.
Assess the fertility of the soil of the Campania region for supporting a variety of crops and vegetation.
The material that spewed from Mount Vesuvius weathered into deep fertile soils: grey-black and rust-brown, rich in phosphorus and potash which effectively supported a variety of natural vegetation such as poplars, willows, alder, oak and beech. The soil's spongy nature retained enough of the winter rains to produce an impressive array of crops even during the hot rainless days of summer. The slopes of Vesuvius were ideal for viticulture (wine production) and many vineyards flourished in addition to other agricultural industries such as olive and oil production, flowers and roses for perfumes, peaches, apricots, lemons, cherries, plums, pears and figs were also abundantly grown and available throughout the region. Other crops include cabbage, onions, cereals and hay while in the southern regions of the Bay of Naples flocks of sheep roamed the lush fields providing Pompeii with wool for textile production. Many frescoes and mosaics feature abundant agricultural production of the area to support its successful productivity along with comments from a variety of ancient writers including Virgil, Strabo, Plutarch, Pliny the Elder and Martial.
Assess how valuable both written and archaeological evidence have been in historians gaining an understanding of nature and impact of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD
Both the available written evidence from Pliny the Younger's letter to Tacitus and archaeological examinations of the victims and surrounding Campania region provide significant insights into understanding both the nature and impact of the eruption. Pliny the Younger's eyewitness account provides invaluable information about the nature of the eruption through his visual descriptions as well as the immediate impacts caused in the aftermath. Archaeological evidence further validates these findings and provides a more broader understanding of the nature and impacts of the eruption such as the changing of pigmentation in painting with approx 246 walls in Pompeii appearing red and 57 yellow. Yellow pigmentation changes into red between the temperatures of 225°C and 275°C providing potential valuable information about the temperatures of the Pyroclastic surges. Further in the region places including Naples, Nola and Nuceria were extensively damaged by the accompanying earthquakes from the eruption with inscriptions indicating repairs needed. The surrounding Campania region and beyond experienced immense impacts including huge mudslides triggered by rainfall in the aftermath of the eruption which washed away loose volcanic material and ash resulting in the land becoming unsuitable for farming for an extended period of time before becoming even more fertile than before. Water supplies became polluted with toxins released from the explosions making them undrinkable. The eruption displaced 10km of material covering both cities and extending the coastline by up to 1km in some locations making coastal towns like Herculaneum become inland towns by approx 500m.
Assess the criticisms Amedo Maiuri has received for his work on excavations between 1924-1961 at Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Whilst in hindsight it is easy to criticise some of Mauiri's methodology and interpretations he did contribute greatly to our understandings of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Despite this his work has been critiqued for much of his excavations during 1924-1961 being rushed, with few excavated buildings restored or protected, and in the same period there was virtually no documentation, let alone publication of findings. His publication in 1933 of the House of Menander and its treasure, although long and lavish, lacks detail and scientific precision being descriptive rather than analytical. This has led to accusations of him following the old Fascist political line of the time in glorifying the greatness of Italy's past. His interpretation of a social and economic decline after the earthquake of 62 AD, and his disgust at what he believed had happened, was based on anecdotal rather than statistical evidence and on false assumptions about elite trade and the use of property and about the mix of commercial and residential. Professor Wallace-Hadrill says that, although there may be some truth in Mauiri's account of the crisis after the earthquake, 'his model is simply too rigid'.
Assess the historical accuracy of the 2014 film Pompeii
Although this romanticised historical disaster film received generally negative reviews, it did get positive feedback for the visual effects and some historical accuracy including; It seems in part to have been based on Pliny the Younger's account of the eruption and some of the depictions of recent volcanic explosions. According to a volcanologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, it 'realistically captured the earthquakes that preceded the eruption, the explosions and pyroclastic forces of hot ash and gas'. It included some real footage of 'lightning' often seen in ash clouds. The layout and architecture of the city was based on photographs of the actual remains and a computer-generated image placed over the top. Further support for some of the details in and along the streets (stepping stones, graffiti) as well as the Amphitheatre came from an archaeologist who has spent much of her academic life studying Pompeii. However most of this is overshadowed by the Hollywood Romantic narrative that is interwoven throughout the movie leading to a weaker sense of appreciation from historians and experts.