Rediscovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum:
Both cities Pompeii and Herculaneum were rediscovered by accident. The rediscovery of Pompeii occurred when workmen who were digging a canal uncovered walls that were decorated with paintings. Two Latin inscriptions were discovered many years after that. These finds were recorded but not considered significant. Herculaneum was rediscovered in 1709, when Prince D’Elboeuf built a villa overlooking the sea nearby. During the digging of an artesian well, the Prince’s workers recovered marble fragments that were later revealed to have come from the theatre of Herculaneum.
Excavations of Pompeii:
The first phase of the excavation in Pompeii started in 1748, when Rocco Gioacchino de Alcubierre located the area where the Latin inscriptions had previously been discovered. Rocco Gioacchino de Alcubierre believed that he had found the site of Stabiae, a Roman town that had also been destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD, and he began to excavate. In 1763 the site was identified as Pompeii when a Latin inscription was found that mentioned ‘res publica Pompeianorum’ which translates to the ‘state of the Pompeians’. Excavations continued over the next 20 years and several areas of Pompeii were found. These discoveries included the Street of the Tombs, the Temple of Isis and a theatre. However during the first phase of excavation of the sites featured ‘treasure hunting’ archaeology. Both Pompeii and Herculaneum were looted, where many paintings, mosaics, statues, columns, vases, coins and other objects were removed from the sites to be added to private collections of kings and wealthy individuals, and also to be featured in museums[1]. Because many of these artefacts were taken from the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum without their removal being documented, a lot of valuable information that was associated with the artefacts was lost. During this time, (the first century of excavations), a lot was uncovered by the excavation teams. The forum, which was a public marketplace for Romans to gather, was uncovered. Major houses were also uncovered including the House of the Faun in 1829, and the House of the Painted Capitals in 1832. In 1860, Giuseppe Fiorelli became the director of excavations. Fiorelli excavated Pompeii in a different approach, instead of randomly looking for special or valuable objects and buildings he moved from house to house and street to street in a systematic way. Fiorelli was the first to approach the significance of the cavities that were left in the hardened ash[2]. He poured plaster into the cavities and after it set, the surrounding ash was chipped away to reveal shapes of humans, animals, food and other perishable items. Fiorelli also was the first to introduce a system for naming and numbering the houses and buildings that were excavated; he divided the town into nine regions with each region then separated into twenty-two blocks. This system was effective in that each building could be easily identified. The next phase of excavations in Pompeii focused more on the human aspects of life that were revealed. Archaeologists and historians attempted to reconstruct the lives and identities of the people of Pompeii. Several houses were reconstructed including the House of the Silver Wedding and the House of the Vettii to help this process. From 1910 to 1923 Vittorio Spinazzola was the leader of excavations in Pompeii. Under his direction most of Via dell’Abbondanza, Pompeii’s main street, was cleared along with a number of Pompeii’s important buildings. Spinazzola was one of the first archaeologists who recorded their phases of excavations in photographs[3]. From 1923 Amedeo Maiuri took over from Spinazzola and the excavations continued until work was suspended due to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Allied bombing in 1943 considerably damaged the excavation site of Pompeii. Maiuri resumed the excavations after the end of World War II and continued for the next ten years, however his methods have been criticised, especially in his lack of systematic recording of the excavations. Fausto Zevi became the director of the site in 1977 and decided to focus his attention on restoring and documenting what had already been uncovered, so he stopped all excavations on government owned land. During the next three years all mosaic floors and wall paintings were photograph documented and taken an inventory of. This process resulted in about eighteen thousand photographs. In 1980 an earthquake hit Pompeii with led to an assessment of the site. This revealed that many buildings were in a serious state of decay. French archaeologist Jean-Pierre Adam was asked in 1983 to consider possible methods of restoring and conserving the decaying buildings.
Herculaneum Excavations
Excavations in Herculaneum began after it’s rediscovery in 1711, for five years the site was excavated and statues, column and pieces of carved marble were uncovered. Some of theses pieces were given to European royal families and private collections of wealthy Europeans[4]. Herculaneum was a hard town to excavate because of the mass of solid molten rock that had encased it from the eruption in 79AD. Another problem that faced the excavators was that the town of Resina lay above the buried ancient town, which complicated access to the site. The landowners of Resina protested against having their property destroyed for the excavation of Herculaneum. In 1738, Charles Bourbon became the King of Naples and resumed excavations. In that same year a Latin inscription was discovered that named the town as Herculaneum. Rocco Gioacchino de Alcubierre became the director of excavations at the site. Under his lead, the excavations during this period were undertaken with little care and the uncovered artefacts were taken to the Royal Palace at Portici. These artefacts later became the basis of the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Because of the minimal amount of records that were kept and the careless excavations, many of the information that could have been drawn from these excavations were lost. In 1950, when Swiss architect, Karl Weber took over the site, he introduced a proper plan and disciplined approach to uncovering the town. Many of the artefacts that were uncovered from 1750 to 1765 now reside in the Naples Archaeological Museum. An important discovery in 1753 was the villa library that was revealed to have contained 1000 carbonised papyrus scrolls, which were mostly the philosophical works of Philodemus of Gadara. In 1780, the excavations ceased due to the shift of archaeological interest from Herculaneum to Pompeii. It wasn’t resumed until 1828. Open digging instead of the damaging tunnels and shafts now underwent the excavations. Due to the difficulty of excavating the solidified molten rock and mud many of the buildings in Herculaneum were damaged and destroyed as they were being uncovered. Excavations were ceased during World War II. The recommencement of excavations in 1975 lead to the discovery of skeletal remains in the boat chambers of Herculaneum during the 1980s. Much of the site of Herculaneum is yet to be excavated due to the area being underneath the modern town of Ercolano.
[1]http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_rediscovery_01.shtml
[2]http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469420/Pompeii/5860/History-of-excavations
[3] Secrets of Vesuvius
[4] Secrets of Vesuvius
Both cities Pompeii and Herculaneum were rediscovered by accident. The rediscovery of Pompeii occurred when workmen who were digging a canal uncovered walls that were decorated with paintings. Two Latin inscriptions were discovered many years after that. These finds were recorded but not considered significant. Herculaneum was rediscovered in 1709, when Prince D’Elboeuf built a villa overlooking the sea nearby. During the digging of an artesian well, the Prince’s workers recovered marble fragments that were later revealed to have come from the theatre of Herculaneum.
Excavations of Pompeii:
The first phase of the excavation in Pompeii started in 1748, when Rocco Gioacchino de Alcubierre located the area where the Latin inscriptions had previously been discovered. Rocco Gioacchino de Alcubierre believed that he had found the site of Stabiae, a Roman town that had also been destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD, and he began to excavate. In 1763 the site was identified as Pompeii when a Latin inscription was found that mentioned ‘res publica Pompeianorum’ which translates to the ‘state of the Pompeians’. Excavations continued over the next 20 years and several areas of Pompeii were found. These discoveries included the Street of the Tombs, the Temple of Isis and a theatre. However during the first phase of excavation of the sites featured ‘treasure hunting’ archaeology. Both Pompeii and Herculaneum were looted, where many paintings, mosaics, statues, columns, vases, coins and other objects were removed from the sites to be added to private collections of kings and wealthy individuals, and also to be featured in museums[1]. Because many of these artefacts were taken from the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum without their removal being documented, a lot of valuable information that was associated with the artefacts was lost. During this time, (the first century of excavations), a lot was uncovered by the excavation teams. The forum, which was a public marketplace for Romans to gather, was uncovered. Major houses were also uncovered including the House of the Faun in 1829, and the House of the Painted Capitals in 1832. In 1860, Giuseppe Fiorelli became the director of excavations. Fiorelli excavated Pompeii in a different approach, instead of randomly looking for special or valuable objects and buildings he moved from house to house and street to street in a systematic way. Fiorelli was the first to approach the significance of the cavities that were left in the hardened ash[2]. He poured plaster into the cavities and after it set, the surrounding ash was chipped away to reveal shapes of humans, animals, food and other perishable items. Fiorelli also was the first to introduce a system for naming and numbering the houses and buildings that were excavated; he divided the town into nine regions with each region then separated into twenty-two blocks. This system was effective in that each building could be easily identified. The next phase of excavations in Pompeii focused more on the human aspects of life that were revealed. Archaeologists and historians attempted to reconstruct the lives and identities of the people of Pompeii. Several houses were reconstructed including the House of the Silver Wedding and the House of the Vettii to help this process. From 1910 to 1923 Vittorio Spinazzola was the leader of excavations in Pompeii. Under his direction most of Via dell’Abbondanza, Pompeii’s main street, was cleared along with a number of Pompeii’s important buildings. Spinazzola was one of the first archaeologists who recorded their phases of excavations in photographs[3]. From 1923 Amedeo Maiuri took over from Spinazzola and the excavations continued until work was suspended due to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Allied bombing in 1943 considerably damaged the excavation site of Pompeii. Maiuri resumed the excavations after the end of World War II and continued for the next ten years, however his methods have been criticised, especially in his lack of systematic recording of the excavations. Fausto Zevi became the director of the site in 1977 and decided to focus his attention on restoring and documenting what had already been uncovered, so he stopped all excavations on government owned land. During the next three years all mosaic floors and wall paintings were photograph documented and taken an inventory of. This process resulted in about eighteen thousand photographs. In 1980 an earthquake hit Pompeii with led to an assessment of the site. This revealed that many buildings were in a serious state of decay. French archaeologist Jean-Pierre Adam was asked in 1983 to consider possible methods of restoring and conserving the decaying buildings.
Herculaneum Excavations
Excavations in Herculaneum began after it’s rediscovery in 1711, for five years the site was excavated and statues, column and pieces of carved marble were uncovered. Some of theses pieces were given to European royal families and private collections of wealthy Europeans[4]. Herculaneum was a hard town to excavate because of the mass of solid molten rock that had encased it from the eruption in 79AD. Another problem that faced the excavators was that the town of Resina lay above the buried ancient town, which complicated access to the site. The landowners of Resina protested against having their property destroyed for the excavation of Herculaneum. In 1738, Charles Bourbon became the King of Naples and resumed excavations. In that same year a Latin inscription was discovered that named the town as Herculaneum. Rocco Gioacchino de Alcubierre became the director of excavations at the site. Under his lead, the excavations during this period were undertaken with little care and the uncovered artefacts were taken to the Royal Palace at Portici. These artefacts later became the basis of the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Because of the minimal amount of records that were kept and the careless excavations, many of the information that could have been drawn from these excavations were lost. In 1950, when Swiss architect, Karl Weber took over the site, he introduced a proper plan and disciplined approach to uncovering the town. Many of the artefacts that were uncovered from 1750 to 1765 now reside in the Naples Archaeological Museum. An important discovery in 1753 was the villa library that was revealed to have contained 1000 carbonised papyrus scrolls, which were mostly the philosophical works of Philodemus of Gadara. In 1780, the excavations ceased due to the shift of archaeological interest from Herculaneum to Pompeii. It wasn’t resumed until 1828. Open digging instead of the damaging tunnels and shafts now underwent the excavations. Due to the difficulty of excavating the solidified molten rock and mud many of the buildings in Herculaneum were damaged and destroyed as they were being uncovered. Excavations were ceased during World War II. The recommencement of excavations in 1975 lead to the discovery of skeletal remains in the boat chambers of Herculaneum during the 1980s. Much of the site of Herculaneum is yet to be excavated due to the area being underneath the modern town of Ercolano.
[1]http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_rediscovery_01.shtml
[2]http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469420/Pompeii/5860/History-of-excavations
[3] Secrets of Vesuvius
[4] Secrets of Vesuvius