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Ancient History

Pompeii and Herculaneum

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Ancient History

Glossary Terms Key Term

Definition

Insula (Insulae)

A multi-storeyed apartment or tenement block with taverns, shops and businesses on the ground floor and living space on the higher floors; the name also refers to a block of various buildings at Pompeii surrounded on four side by streets

Tufa

Volcanic ash hardened with water

Aedile

A magistrate whose duties included maintenance of town infrastructure

Stratigraphic

Relating to the order or arrangement of strata or layers, in this case the layers of volcanic ash deposited on Pompeii

Strata (stratum)

The layers of material built up or deposited at a site

Pyroclastic Surge

A low-density turbulent cloud of hot ash and rock that billows over the ground travelling at incredibly high speeds of up to 300km per hour

Pyroclastic Flow

A dense, hot, dry avalanche of ground-hugging molten rock, pumice, and gas that moves more slowly than a surge, reaching up to 50km per hour

Nuées Ardentes

French for ‘burning clouds’, these are white-hot clouds of gas, ash, and lava fragments ejected from a volcano, typically as part of a pyroclasts flow

Garum

Thick, salty fish sauce

Imperator

A Latin word originally meaning commander, but later incorporated into the titles of the emperor

Epigraphic/ epigraphical

The study of inscriptions on stone or metal

Thermal Shock

A large and rapid change in temperature that can have dangerous effects on living organisms

Fulminant Shock

A cause of death associated with intense heat

Doric Column

A type of Ancient Greek column featuring a smooth or fluted column and a smooth, round capital

Hellenistic

Relating to Greek and Mediterranean history between 323 and 31 BC

Travertine

A type of marble used for building

Suggestum

A platform where political candidates gave speeches and canvassed support for elections

Mensa Ponderaria

A table of official weights and measures A bench with nine holes of varying sizes for different measured amounts

Macellium

A rectangular courtyard with a circular building or tholoa in the centre Market stalls and shops on the north and south sides

Tholos

a circular-shaped building from the ancient world

Forum Holitorium

Located on the west side of the Forum

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Ancient History Amphora (amphorae)

A two-handled pottery storage jar with an oval body tapering to a point at the base

Thermopolium (Thermopolia)

Food stall

Peristyle

A row of columns enclosing a court or other space, or the space surrounded by these columns

Cache

Valuable items concealed in a hiding place

Putti

A representation of a naked child, especially a cherub

Sesterce

A bronze or silver Roman coin valued at a quarter of a denarius; also referred to as a ‘sestertius’

Counsul

One of two annually elected chief magistrates in the Roman political system

Officinae

Workshops

Dolia

Large round pottery containers

Aediles

magistrates (in Pompeii there was two of them)

Pulses

Edible seeds such as peas or beans

Itinerant

Traveling

Programmata

Public notices advertising candidates in forthcoming elections

Wet Nurse

A woman employed to suckle another woman’s child

Guilds

Associations of craftsmen or merchants

Vestibulum

Entrance

Fauces

Hallway

Atrium

Religious and social centre of a Roman house, clients waited here to pay their respects (salutario) to the master of the house (or patron)

Compluvium

Rectangular hole in the roof, provided lighting for the interior of the house, inward-slopping roof designed to catch maximum amount of rainwater

Impluvium

A large pool sunk into the Atrium floor, water was channelled into a cistern beneath the Atrium floor.

Triclinium

Dining room, winter dining room inside, summer dining room in garden or open onto garden

Herm

A rectangular, tapered stone base supporting a creed head or bust

Fourth Style

One of the four styles of Pompeian art described by August Mau: characterised by the painting of framed scenes, often featuring human figures and architectural motifs

Proscenium

Stage area of an ancient Greek or Roman theatre

Greave

Armour worn to protect the lower leg

Tunic

A rectangle of wool or linen pinned at the shoulder

Toga

Worn over the tunic and often made from wool

Toga Praetexta

Broad purple border and was worn by magistrates and some high priest in formal settings

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Ancient History Toga CAndida

Bright white toga worn by candidates for public office

Fibulae

clasp to pin a woman’s stola on one shoulder

Gargoyle

A carving of an ugly human or animal head or figure projecting from the gutter of a building, acting as a spout

Hypocaust

An Ancient Roman heating system whereby air heated by furnaces was directed into hollow spaces beneath the floors of buildings

Stucco Bas Relief

A render applied wet to a sculpture in low relief, in which the forms project slightly from the background

Triton

A Greek god, messenger of the sea, son of Neptune and Amphirite.

Uraeus

A protective device on the front of a pharaoh’s headers in the form of a cobra

Divination

Telling the will of the gods from signs and omens, reading the entrails of sacrificed animals

Paterfamilias

head of the Roman family

Lares

household deities who protected the family, headed by the family spirit (lar familiarise, had their own shrine in a cupboard, any food dropped at a meal was offered to them

Genius

the god of the male line o descent worshipped on the birthday of the paterfamilias, sometimes represented as a snake

Penates

gods of the larder or food store, their statuettes were placed on the table at mealtimes

Quadriporticus

A rectangular area surrounded on all sides by a colonnade or covered walkway

Quadriporticus

A rectangular area surrounded on all sides by a colonnade or covered walkway

Motif

A decorative image or design, usually repeated to form a pattern.

Fullonicae

art of fulling

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Ancient History

Geographical Context Physical Environment Fertile, crescent shapes volcanic plain in Southern Italy (Campania) and had two seasons (hot dry summers and wet, mild winters)

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NATURAL FEATURES 30 Eruptions since its explosion in 79AD Diodorus wrote “The Greeks knew of the manta’s active nature” Strabo commented “Ash-coloured summit, as it shows pore-like cavities in masses of rock that are sootcoloured, these masses looking they have been eaten out by fire”

Mt Vesuvius

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Bay of Naples

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Provided safe anchorage for boats and became the main naval station of the Roman fleet

River Sarno

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Supported the fishing and shellfish industry

EVIDENCE

Pliny the Ender - Campania was “one of the loveliest places on earth … a fertile region so bless with pleasant scenery that it was manifestly the work of nature in a happy mood”

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Plans and Streetscapes Pompeii • • •

• • • •

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Greek influenced Population in 79AD was 20,000 Main streets • Via dell’Abbondanza (Street of abundance • Via di Nola • Via Stabiana Raised foot paths and stepping stones (due to poor drainage) Numbering system - regions - insulae Defensive walls (semi-destroyed) Seven Gates • Marine • Herculaneum • Vesuvius • Nola • Sarno • Nocera • Stabia Roads were 2.5m wide and experience heavy traffic due to evidence of cart grooves

Herculaneum • • • • • • •

Population in 79AD was 5,000 More residential than commercial Had a sea wall Only 30% has been excavated Underneath modern city of Erculano Superior sewage system Much smaller than Pompeii

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Ancient History

The Nature of Sources and Evidence The Eruption Buildings that were in the process of repairs or needed to be repaired - The temple of Isis due to the 62 AD earthquake Plinian Phase - 24th August Pompeii • Mainly impacted Pompeii and rained down Pumic, ash and gas which was breathed in by the people the pumic expanded inside their lungs choking them • Pompeii was covered in 6 metres of pumic before this, buildings began to collapse under the weight • Pliny the Youngers letters • “Described as an umbrella pine • Fiorelli’s plaster casts • dying dog - suffering in pain • Pelean Phase - Herculaneum • Pyroclastic flow - hot gas travelling at 100-200km/h • Buried Herculaneum under 20m • People had time to escape since they could see Vesuvius erupting • People in the boat sheds • Woman with femur through her torso shows a brutal fast death • Discolouration of skulls of the people in boat sheds shows that their brains ‘exploded’, and quick death • •

Economy • •

Pompeii had an active and healthy economy as Pompeii’s population was large and more diverse Ideally positioned for trade • River Sarno have access to the town allowing trade. Seen as the trading centre of Campania • Agriculture - known for producing raw materials (wine, olive oil, cereals, fruit, vegetables, meat and wool) for the retail and industrial workforce • Evidence : Amphorae which were labelled showing origin and type of wine contained • Two large dole that could hold 100 gallons • “Never stopped growing” - Pliny the elder • Wall painting showing Bacchus in front of vineyard and covered with grapes • Fishing - fished crustaceans, molluscs and fish to make Garum or fish sauce which Pompeii was known for • Garum vessels wth inscriptions • “No other liquid except unguents has come to be more highly valued” - Pliny • Fish of the sea fresco depicting many types of sea creatures • Pottery • Shows that Pompeiians imported a limited range of goods from other places and mainly made their own • There were plenty of workshops that had pottery and was locally made • Wool/Fullery - a building in the Pompeiian forum called the Edifice of Eumachia is where they dyed the wool where it would also be sold • The fullers did the laundering, bleaching, and recolouring of clothes. Pee was used to clean the clothes and they were dried on brick pillars in an atrium • Evidence - Fresco’s showing manufacturing processes almost like instructions • Bakeries - where bread was made and there was over 30 in Pompeii • Evidence - grain mills made from volcanic rock used to grind the grain, spun by donkeys attached to a wooden piece • Also the preserved bread loaves that had probably been baked the morning of the eruptions

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Ancient History Brothels - there was only one brothel found but prostitutes were in high demand and the aediles decided to tag them Graffiti of sexual comments regarding women Commerce • • Forum was where the largest and most prominent businesses were • There was two market places in the forum - two permanent and one weekly • The Macellum (meat and fish) • Forum Holitorim (dry food - cereals) • No forum excavated in Herculaneum but a few Thermopolis and a tavern was found • Herculaneum was more residential/holiday town for the richer people as it was near the ocean • Had a fishing economy for the local population but didn’t trade very much •

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Social Structure PEOPLE •

There are no definitive numbers for the Population of Pompeii or Herculaneum but it is estimated around 10,000 people lived in Pompeii

Freeborn

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People who were free and ranged from people who were elite or people who Pliny referred to be as ‘plebs’ Could run for office but women could not

Freemen

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Slaves that are freed, some become wealthy and influential Many were involved in crafts, trade, and commerce Wealthy free men ‘imitated the cultural language of nobility in order to establish membership in society’ • Epitaphs show that patrons often paid for the graves of deserving freemen

Slaves

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Women

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Large population of Pompeii was slaves Played the role of the washers, over stokers, servers, cooks, entertainers, tutors, nurses, clerks, etc Not really mentioned in historical sources and it is hard to determine who is a slave from archaeological evidence • Poppaea Note, “a freed woman of Priscus … had slaves of her own” Women were supposed to stay at home and look after the household as well as the children Influential woman such as Eumachia (Priestess) < Julia Felix and Maria had great influence in society Could not vote Lower class run shops and engage in crafts and trades to each profits Buildings were dedicated to some women such as the Edifice of Eumachia and the Temple of Lares Women were educated and used wealth through architecture and building • Evidence - “women could on property, do business, pay for construction, hold honorific and cultic office and go about in public” • Fresco’s show women with pens and ballots or a book

Political Life Aediles

• • • •

Junior magistrates There were two Elected annually by voting assembly Supervisors of public works, maintenance of public buildings, market/temples/street activity, regulation of festivals and enforcing order • “Elect, I pray you, … Aedile. He makes good bread” - Graffiti

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Ancient History Duumvir

• • • • •

Highest judicial magistrates Must have been aedile before as the power is much more extensive Power to govern community, preside over courts and council and oversaw tax and revenue Does not have military power Funded public works to remain popular • “The duumvirs stood at the summit of the political life” - Estelle Lazer

Duum Quinquenales • Always males • Elected every 5 years • Conducted census • Could banish any aedile or duumvir

Everyday Life Leisure Activities • The Odeon - seated 1200 people. Wall paintings and mosaics show supports holding up a canvas roof for protection against the elements • The Grand Theatre - seated 5000. Had entertainment such as miming, acting, clowning, dancing, juggling and musical entertainment • The Grand Palaestra - surrounded by a portico and had a large swimming pool in the centre. Young boy were also schooled in the covered portico. Events such as discus, wrestling, javelin and athletics took place on the grassed area • Amphitheatre - seated 20,000 people. Where people would watch gladiatorial contests but may only contest 2-3 times a year and could also be seen in the amphitheatre People reclined while eating (adopted by Romans from Greeks) In more well off houses, dining rooms (Triclinium) were overlooking the garden Most Triclinium were small and had three couches holding thee people. The small table in front of the couches (Mensa) • Dinner parties - Bound a patron to his large network of clients and was an essential ‘Tool of social and political control’. Diners wore fine white togas

Dining

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Food

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Baths

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Ate cheese, beans, grapes, wine, olives, fresh fruits, bread, fish, pine nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc Rich people ate milk, water, bread and cheese for breaky Three phases of dinner • Gustatio - Eggs, vegetables, olives, sausages with honeyed wine • Mensa - fish, shellfish, poultry, stuffed roasts of meat and vegetables served with wine • Mensae Secundae - fresh dried fruits, nuts, cheese followed by salty dishes, snails, oyster olives • Thermopolia - ancient snack bars with doll sunk into a counter containing hot food. You could either sit in the lounging dining area for lengthy eating or the more ‘fast food’ eating Three different baths - central baths, forum baths and Stabian baths Had different sections from cold to hot - frigidarium (cold), tepidarium (tepid), Calidarium (hot). Achieved by running pipes through the wall cavities • Men • Bathing was a communal activity but the men separated from the women in most cases • Forum baths - men’s part is the better preserved part • Women • Were less grand than the men’s but was still a communal activity • 1300 lamps were discovered suggesting bathing may have been a night time activity

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Ancient History Pompeii • Didn’t have a good drainage system and this is proved by looking at how flooded Pompeii becomes after it rains. Had drainage but wasn’t very good. Stones across roads to allow people to wall across • Had the Augustus Aqueduct which brought water into the pipes and to the houses, service areas and gardens • Herculaneum • Had subterranean sewers allowing for better drainage and better sanitation

Water Supply and Sanitation

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Clothing

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Fashion was a cultural element of both Pompeii and Herculaneum Upper class - off white, knee length tunics with a belt Official positions - often wore purple Women - wore stola and jewellery was considered a common accessory Slaves - wore hats

Public Buildings Pompeii Basilica

• • • • •

Temples

• • •

Fora - Forum (Pompeii)

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Theatres

Palaestra

Originally a market place, it was changed in the first century to become the law courts Main entrance was through the forum Was covered by a large tiled roof Large hall was surrounded by twenty eight Ionic columns Was built in hellenistic style with corinthian ionic columns

Temple of Isis - Roman temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis. First temple found in Pompeii Temple of Apollo Temple of the Capitoline Triad - Jupiter: Protector of the state, Juno: Protector of women, Minerva: Patroness of craftsmen • Temple of Lares Large rectangle space surrounded Yet to be uncovered in herculaneum The Macellum - market specialising in fish, meat and vegetables The Edifice of Eumachia - dedicated to the Imperial Julian clan. Where the cloth and wool merchants were • A possible voting hall • A granary • Municipal offices The large theatre and the odeon The large theatre was constructed on the greek model with semicircular, tiered seating with a capacity of 5000 • The lower tiers were clad in marble and were reserved for the elite members of society • The odeon was a covered structure of smaller capacity • It was roofed and was well suited for poetry and concerts • •

• • • •

Was used for an exercise ground for the military Spacious, open air arena In centre was swimming pool fed with fresh water from nearby aqueduct Herculaneum palaestra was slightly smaller than at Pompeii

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