Frozen in time, the city of Pompeii has proved important to the study of Roman History. This article explores how the eruption of Mount Vesuvius changed our perspective on the Roman world forever.
The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, by English painter John Martin, depicting an apocalyptic eruption of pyroclastic flows that hit the two cities.
During the reign of Emperor Titus in 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius, which towered the city of Pompeii, erupted. The unleashing pyroclastic flows destroyed and consumed the villas, neighborhoods, and towns around it. In ash, the cities were buried for thousands of years, and all traces of the city were lost to historical accounts. It stayed this way, until 1600 years after the eruption, it was rediscovered, with preserved paintings, streets, and buildings revealing traces of how the people of the cities lived their lives.
Since then, archaeologists have been excavating and uncovering remains of the ancient Roman city. But how exactly did this city help archaeologists reveal a lost Roman world?
The first attempts at excavating began as early as the early 3rd century, during the reign of Severus Alexander (r.222-235 CE), who ordered that the down be opened through and uncovered. Due to the materials and technology and the time, the workers couldn't excavate due to the thick and impenetrable layers of lapilli and ash present. So, the effort was ultimately abandoned. Further eruptions in the late 5th century and early 6th century buried the city even more.
Over 1000 years later, in 1592, architect Domenico Fontana was digging an aqueduct when he discovered walls adorned with paintings and inscriptions. Later on, in 1763, an inscription was found confirming that it was the lost city of Pompeii.
Eventually, more excavations began to take place due to the increased interest in the Roman city. Artifacts, houses and villas, frescoes, and statues were found, and thus information and findings were documented.
The Excavation of Pompeii, Filippo Palizzi (1818-1899), one of the best depictions showing how excavations in the 19th century would've looked like.
Giuseppe Fiorelli, who found the voids of human remains, injected plaster into them to recreate the body forms – a technique even used today. These plaster bodies are known as "plaster casts".
Infographic explanation as to how archaeologists make plaster casts. Photo Credit: How it Works Magazine
The plaster casts help us determine the last moments of the people, their feelings, and how they reacted to the eruption, thus forming a keystone to help us reconstruct the lost city piece by piece. Casts
Furthermore, the process of excavating and the paintings found, many of which have, unfortunately, partly due to the World War II bombings, gone lost. A good example is the frescoes of the Pompeii amphitheater, which decorated the lower sides of the inner walls, giving us a glimpse into what major amphitheaters like the Colosseum must have looked like.
Reconstruction drawing of the Inner Walls of the Pompeiian Amphitheatre. Photo Credit: Pompeii in Pictures
We now know the history of the city, and it's excavation process, but what is it's actual importance? How has it shaped our knowledge of the Roman world? What can this tell us about Roman life, art, and culture?
Excavations in a house previously discovered in 1770, the House of the Surgeon (named due to the surgical equipment found here), were restarted in 1926 by the teams of Amadeo Maiuri, a person who's legacy in preserving the city of Pompeii is undeniable. This revealed periods and stages before the year 79 CE (dating back to the third century BCE) and taught us much about the development of the town previous to the Roman period.
The excavations gave us a proper plan of a Roman city. In the 1950s, when Maiuri and his teams had cleared most of the debris outside the city, multiple regions and sections of Pompeii were revealed, and the Nuceria gate and a necropolis were discovered just outside of the city walls.
Hundreds of shops, baths, houses, gardens, and public areas were discovered, along with the aforementioned fresco paintings that adorned the city's homes and public spaces. It gave us a good view of how a Roman house was designed, helping archaeologists understand the lives of the ancients which they only read in texts.
When it comes to the lives of the ancients, human bones and remains tell us about the nutrition, diet, and day-to-day lifestyle of Pompeii's residents. The markings of shoes and clothes were discovered, which helped us identify what type of lifestyle people lived or their social, and paintings, such as that of Terentius Neo, give an identity to the people of this ancient civilization cut short.
When it comes to the lives of the ancients, human bones and remains tell us about the nutrition, diet, and day-to-day lifestyle of Pompeii's residents. The markings of shoes and clothes were discovered, which helped us identify what type of lifestyle people lived or their social, and paintings, such as that of Terentius Neo, give an identity to the people of this ancient civilization cut short.
That being said, this is the end of the blog-article, see you in the next one.
Dedicated to a child named Anthus by his father, depicting him along with his pet dog
Everything here is a complete artistic interpretation and based on assumptions from research, and some analysis of visible pigments that I could do with a naked eye.
You can view my full, detailed analysis and how I came to make this reconstruction on this X (Twitter) thread.
Anyways, enjoy!
