Pompeii (Archaeology)

Quelles pièces composaient la maison romaine et comment y
vivait-on ? Dès les XVIIIe et XIXe siècles, des savants passionnés
par l’Antiquité se sont intéressés à la domus, établissant une
grille de lecture – longtemps immuable – de son plan, de ses
espaces et de leur fonction. Aujourd’hui, les récentes recherches archéologiques couplées à une approche différente, anthropologique et
sociologique, offrent des clefs de compréhension renouvelées
de la structure – ou plutôt des structures – de la domus
romaine et de la manière dont on y vivait.

A fiercely debated aspect of Pompeii's history, is the nature of the city's textile economy. This paper presents a new perspective, in which the Pompeian textile economy is contextualized and discussed in relation to local, regional and supra-regional economic networks.

Cette contribution étudie les références au paysage dans les épigrammes de Léonidas de Tarente sous trois angles principaux : quelles sont les techniques d'enargeia employées par le poète tarentin dans ses épigrammes évoquant un paysage ? Comment inclut-il dans ces textes des références au regard d'un éventuel spectateur ? Comment expliquer la fortune de certaines de ses épigrammes à Rome et leur reprise, sous forme de traduction, dans une élégie de Properce ou encore dans des inscriptions peintes destinées à accompagner des décors du Ier s. av J.-C. (Maison des épigrammes à Pompéi et fragment d'enduit retrouvé à Suasa) ?

Pasakojimą apie Pompėjus paprastai mėgstu pradėti citata iš klasikinio miesto studijoms skirto Camillo Sitte (1843–1903) veikalo „The City Reader“ , kuriame Pompėjai tampa racionalios miesto erdvės pavyzdžiu, kuriame susipina urbanistinis, topografinis, gamtinis elementai, ir teigia: „Kelionės prisiminimas – šviesiausių svajonių akstinas. Didingi miestai, aikštės, paminklai, kraštovaizdžiai praskrieja pro akis, ir vėl džiugina žavingi ir įspūdingi anksčiau išvysti reginiai. (...) Iš tiesų netrikdomas helėniškų pietų pakrančių lengvabūdiškumas žemutinėje Italijoje ir kiti malonūs kraštai – didžiausios gamtos dovanos, o senieji jų miestai, pastatyti sekant pačios gamtos grožį, sustiprina švelnų ir nenugalimą gamtos poveikį sielai. Tik niekuomet nepajutęs senovinio miesto grožio žmogus galėtų prieštarauti šiai minčiai.“ Greogoris Aldrete pavadino Pompėjus kasdienio romėniško gyvenimo laiko kapsule , suteikiančia progą įsivaizduoti, pajusti miesto kasdienybę.

This chapter discusses gardens excavated in Pompeii and Oplontis since the beginning of the 19th century to the present. The chapter is based on my Ph.D. thesis submitted to King's College London, but there are additional information for readers who are not familiar with the topic.

Στο νοτιο-ανατολικό τμήμα της πόλης της Πομπηίας υπήρχε μία περιοχή 40.000 τετραγωνικών μέτρων αποκλειστικά προορισμένη για τις δύο αγαπημένες δραστηριότητες των κατοίκων της Πομπηίας: την άθληση και την παρακολούθηση θεαμάτων στο αμφιθέατρο.

The visual devices used by Tony Blair and George Bush to get themselves elected and maintain power, come not from modern times, but a world that is thousands of years old. How Art Made the World ventures back to the creation of Stonehenge and the reign of Alexander the Great to reveal how imagery became an indispensable weapon in every leader's political armoury.

This episode explores how art can be used as a persuasion device by those in power and when did we learn to use images, to create a powerful icon or symbol, this way?

The use of art as a tool for those in power, started at different times, in different cultures. Near Stonehenge the grave of the Amesbury Archer was discovered in 2002, the grave was different to those previously found near the site, as this one was not Roman, but much earlier, dating to when the first sarsen stones were erected. What made him interesting were his gold hair tresses, possibly the oldest dated gold objects in Britain, and the fact that he was a foreigner, from the region that is now Germany / Switzerland. The archer had completed an epic journey for the time, and the treasures in his grave show a man of status. Art for personal adornment, like these hair clasps, elevated him above his peers.

As time progressed, art became a political tool, kings competed for more dazzling adornments. As kingdoms got bigger the kings had to overcome communication issues. Darius the Great of Persia, ruled over 20 nations from Persepolis. As very few people could read, Darius had stone reliefs created that combined styles from all over the empire, the carvings showed each nation bring tributes to their king. This showed respect, and the carvings communicated that Darius admired and respected his people. Darius created a symbol for himself, that of the archer, symbolic to Persians of leadership and wisdom, central to the concept of kingship. Darius embossed this symbol on gold coins, which became the currency to trade within the empire.

Darius’ conqueror, Alexander the Great, took this concept further. From an early age, Alexander’s image was being made for him. In his fathers tomb, an Ivory head recognisable as Alexander’s was found, showing that his image had been made for him in advance of him becoming king. In Pompeii, a copy of an original Macedonian painting, shows Alexander the Great, fearless, fixated on his enemy and leading from the front. He is in the midst of battle with king Darius, shown fearful and panicking. Where Darius had used a symbol to communicate his power, Alexander used his face. On defeating the Persians, Alexander melted down all their coins replacing them with coins bearing his head. Tests have shown that people are more influenced by the image of the head and this technique has endured 2500 years and still used today.

This artistic power can be used for sinister purposes, to persuade us to see things a certain way or even deceive us. The earliest known use of this dates back to the Romans. In 40BC Rome was in crisis, the city state was split between royalists and republicans. You could tell people’s political allegiance by how they dressed. Octavian (Augustus) understood the power of art and used it to his advantage. He needed to persuade his opponents ,and used artists to create a less threatening image, one that won over the republicans. Although the image showed him as a powerful general, it didn’t show any military arms, and his gestures were more about humility than power. His armour breast plates show him accepting surrender of the Parthian Empire, with the gods looking on approvingly. The statue offered reassurance, but it was all a lie. While he portrayed himself as a peace maker, he was getting rid of the opposition; while he was preaching humility, he lived like corrupt royalty and while pretending to hand power to the people he reinstated himself as a king.

The leaders of past used paint and marble, today we use digital manipulation. But as humans we still remain vulnerable to the persuasive power of art.

Focusing on perishable materials is one of the reasons why our recent knowledge of ancient Roman furniture is limited. Besides figurative (wall paintings, reliefs) and literary sources, or splendid luxury furniture made of marble or bronze, there are further small finds which can give us information. They are often less observed at sites like Pompeii, because the excavations have not traditionally focused on these kinds of materials, with more spectacular finds receiving greater attention.
The Insula of the Menander (I, 10) at Pompeii, however, represents an exception to this rule. Compared to other insulae, the small finds are well documented. Here it is possible to gather different types of small finds and fragments together, for example fulcra, table-legs and stool attachments and from them gain a better understanding of ancient interior fittings. In addition to linking the small finds to particular pieces of furniture, this contribution will deal with the question of aesthetic and semantic interconnections between these objects and their function or use.

This chapter examines the figural graffiti that may have been the work of children at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae through a theoretical framework of agency and considering patterns as to the subject matter of the graffiti and its locations within the towns and buildings.

When one thinks of the so-called “vesuvian archaeology”, the first image
is always the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In the best way, Oplontis could be added to this list but mainly, it is the most overlooked.
Even the declaration of the World Heritage site, UNESCO (With the
official name: Archaeological Areas of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre
Annunziata” (Ref. Nº 829) 1-6 December 1997), only affects the
archaeological sites of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata
(Oplontis) while Stabiae is no longer considered today.
In the case of Stabiae, its chronology goes back to the VII century BC. Its
history is older than other settlements as Pompeii and Herculaneum and
it brings us very useful archaeological information of the protohistoric
situation in the Sarno plain. Previous investigations to the Borbonic
excavations were carried through Tommasso Milante. He was interested
in the area on account of the archaeological remains appeared in the hills
of Varano and Gragnano. He pointed out the identification of this area
with the ancient city of Stabiae. But the start date of the Borbonic
excavation was a couple of years later. In 1749, Roque Joaquin de
Alcubierre, a Spanish military engineer, directed the labours of digging
and swiftly discovered important archaeological remains. This Borbonic
excavation in the ancient Stabiae happened through phases of interest and
abandonment (around 30 years). After the death of Alcubierre in 1780 the
excavation was abandoned until 1950. In this time, in around 1881, only
Michele Ruggiero was interested in the history of excavation at Stabiae
in a documentary way.
Between 1950 and 1862, Libero D’Orsi took the baton of the Stabiae
archaeological history. He worked to bring the Stabian village to light.
After him, an abandonment period occurred again (excluding any
occasional intervention). In 1998 until present, the RAS project initiated
a new period for Stabiae focusing on academic research and touristic
promotion.
Compared to that, the history of Oplontis is more much limited. If Stabiae
was a city, the Oplontis archaeological site is just a three (documented)
village. Just two of them have been excavated. The so-called village A
was discovered in the XVI century but it was not partially excavated until
XIX century. In XX century, village A and B were more sternly
excavated. Currently, this settlement is involved in a recovery project
named the “Oplontis Project”. It started in 2006 and is developing new
documental and archaeological researches of the villae.

De Carolis Ernesto , Patricelli Giovanni

Anno di Edizione: 2018
Edizione: L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER
Collane:
Pompei - Guide Tematiche., 7
ISBN: 978-88-913-1703-2
Rilegatura: Brossura
Pagine: 136, 50 ill. B/N, 40 ill. Col.
Formato: 21 x 24 cm
La notorieta' di Pompei, fin dai primi rinvenimenti nel 1748, fu talmente ampia da diventare una meta imperdibile del Grand Tour. Il suo primato, fra i numerosi siti archeologici di epoca romana, deriva indubbiamente dalla tragica eruzione del Vesuvio del 79 d.C. narrata nelle due lettere che scrisse Plinio il Giovane allo storico Tacito descrivendo, con una attenta osservazione dell' incalzante susseguirsi delle fasi eruttive, il viaggio da Miseno a Stabia di suo zio, Plinio il Vecchio, e la sua morte all' alba del 25 agosto dopo aver trascorso la notte nella Villa del suo amico Pomponiano.
Da sempre Pompei, ma anche Ercolano e gli altri siti vesuviani, hanno colpito l' immaginario collettivo per la loro improvvisa scomparsa insieme all' annientamento di ogni forma di vita a causa di un incontrollabile e catastrofico evento naturale. Luoghi dove risuonava spensierata la vita si trasformarono cos in luoghi dove regnava incontrastata la morte.
I continui rinvenimenti di corpi, a partire dal primo tornato alla luce il 19 aprile del 1748, segnarono la storia della riscoperta di Pompei suscitando un generale interesse dove prendeva il sopravvento l' aspetto emotivo rispetto all' importanza del dato scientifico.
Un momento fondamentale fu la geniale intuizione di Giuseppe Fiorelli, al di la' delle polemiche iniziali che suscito' sulla paternita' del metodo, di versare del gesso allo stato liquido nelle cavit rinvenute nello strato di cenere. E cos fra il 3 ed il 7 febbraio del 1863 risorsero le vittime dell' eruzione mostrando i lineamenti dei volti e la forma dei corpi oltre ai vestiti che indossavano in quel fatale giorno.
Le impronte cosi' ottenute entrarono immediatamente nell' immaginario di quanti si recavano a Pompei e furono riprodotte dai piu' celebri fotografi della seconda meta' dell' Ottocento ed inseriti negli Album che venivano acquistati dai visitatori come ricordo del loro viaggio in Italia.
Le sensazioni a volte morbose che suscitavano le impronte, come nel romanzo Nerinda di Norman Douglas, accompagnarono la progressiva riscoperta della citta' e non ci fu rinvenimento che non venisse ricordato nelle relazioni di scavo e nella stampa contemporanea accompagnato da una emozionale ricostruzione degli ultimi attimi di vita e da tentativi di identificazione delle vittime.

Con la presente pubblicazione ci siamo posti l' obiettivo di ricostruire nella prima parte il susseguirsi delle fasi eruttive sulla base delle due lettere di Plinio il Giovane insieme ai piu' recenti dati vulcanologici ed archeologici, facendo riferimento alla data canonica del 24 e 25 agosto, mentre nella seconda parte abbiamo esposto cronologicamente i principali rinvenimenti di impronte a partire dal 1863 fino al 2002.
L' apparato iconografico del testo e' costituito in gran parte dalla documentazione fotografica contemporanea ai rinvenimenti delle impronte ed eseguita, per quanto riguarda la seconda met dell' Ottocento, dagli ateliers di Giorgio Sommer, Robert Rive, Achille Mauri, Giacomo Brogi, Michele Amodio e dei fratelli Achille e Pasquale Esposito.
Il nostro contribuito, ponendoci l' obiettivo di rendere il testo agile e facilmente fruibile al lettore, si inserisce nell' ambito degli studi sui piu' diversi aspetti del patrimonio informativo che ha restituito quanto e' stato riportato alla luce fino ad oggi delle citta' vesuviane e che ancora potrebbero fornire se venissero riprese le campagne di scavo.

The archaeological site of Pompeii is one of the 54 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Italy, thanks to its uniqueness: the town was completely destroyed and buried by a Vesuvius' eruption in 79 AD. In this work, we present a multidisciplinary approach with bioarchaeological and palaeogenomic analyses of two Pompeian human remains from the Casa del Fabbro. We have been able to characterize the genetic profile of the first Pompeian' genome, which has strong affinities with the surrounding central Italian population from the Roman Imperial Age. Our findings suggest that, despite the extensive connection between Rome and other Mediterranean populations, a noticeable degree of genetic homogeneity exists in the Italian peninsula at that time. Moreover, palaeopathological analyses identified the presence of spinal tuberculosis and we further investigated the presence of ancient DNA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In conclusion, our study demonstrates the power of a combined approach to investigate ancient humans and confirms the possibility to retrieve ancient DNA from Pompeii human remains. Our initial findings provide a foundation to promote an intensive and extensive paleogenetic analysis in order to reconstruct the genetic history of population from Pompeii, a unique archaeological site.

La importancia de las fuentes clásicas es clave para entender las artes antiguas. Uno de los casos es el de la pintura mural griega y romana: ¿qué sabemos en realidad de sus orígenes? ¿Quiénes fueron sus pintores más sobresalientes y qué técnicas emplearon? ¿Qué valor podía tener un cuadro en aquella época? ¿Qué diferencias había entre la pintura mural pública y la privada? ¿Hasta qué punto fue importante el descubrimiento de Pompeya para el género pictórico? Este artículo pretende arrojar algo de luz a todos estos interrogantes.

first of a series of recreations in SketchUp in which we imagine the Via dell'Abbondanza of Pompeii 2000 years ago ===///=== primera de una serie de recreaciones en SketchUp en las que queremos imaginar la Via dell'Abbondanza de Pompeya hace 2000 años