Ancient sources on Pompeii and Herculaneum PDF

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Ancient sources on Pompeii and Herculaneum Primary and secondary sources 

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Primary sources date from the time of the events in question. They include monuments, inscriptions, human remains and accounts written by people who witnessed those events. Secondary sources date from after the events. They include accounts written by modern and ancient historians. Even ancient accounts written by people who witnessed certain events are usually regarded as secondary sources, since those accounts have been copied and translated many times over the centuries, and may not be accurate. Pompeii and Herculaneum were relatively insignificant cities in the Roman Empire, so there are few references to them in the literature. Most of the evidence is archaeological. Pompeii was a commercial centre; Herculaneum was a resort town. Pompeii and Herculaneum appear to be preserved at a moment in time. However, Pompeii was badly damaged by the earthquake of AD 62, and had not been properly rebuilt at the time of the eruption, so we are not seeing a city at its height. It was also looted soon after the eruption, and was bombed during World War II. Herculaneum was also damaged in the quake, but not as badly. Unlike Pompeii, it was never looted or bombed, so it is far better preserved. Even so, both give us an insight into everyday life in the Roman Empire – housing, sanitation, religion, food, commerce, entertainment, elections.

Ancient writers 

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Pliny the Younger (AD 61 – 113) is our main source on the eruption in AD 79. His uncle (Pliny the Elder) was a naval commander based at Misenum, across the bay from Herculaneum. He and his uncle both witnessed the eruption. Pliny the Elder then set out by boat to rescue his friend Pomponianus who was trapped in Herculaneum. He reached the city but died, apparently from asphyxiation (he was asthmatic). In about 112 AD Pliny the Younger wrote a letter to the historian Tacitus describing the eruption and recounting his uncle’s rescue attempt. Although he glorifies his uncle’s role in the rescue, the facts he presents are supported by archaeological evidence. Pliny the Elder (c. AD 23 – 79), as well as being a prefect in the Roman navy, was also a noted naturalist who wrote about the geography and economy of Campania. It was pure coincidence that he was present at the time of the eruption. Strabo (64/63 BC- c. AD 24) was a Greek geographer, who wrote about Campania. Cassius Dio (c. AD 155 – 235), also known as Dio Cassius, was a Roman politician who wrote an 80 volume history of Rome. The volumes covering the period between 63 BC and AD 54 are almost complete; however, the other volumes exist only in fragments. In one of the volumes he mentions the destruction of Pompeii, but his account is not entirely credible. Seneca (c. 4 BC – AD 65) was a Roman philosopher and naturalist who wrote about the earthquake that damaged Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 62. Tacitus (c. AD 56 – after 117) was a Roman senator who wrote two histories of the Roman Empire, covering the period from AD 14 – 69. Not all of his works survive. He mentions a fight between rival spectators at the gladiatorial games in Pompeii in AD 59, which caused the emperor Nero to ban all such games in the city for ten years. 1

Official Inscriptions 

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Official inscriptions were created by the Romans to record events, decrees, regulations, financial records, locations in cities, towns and the countryside, and magisterial positions. Regulations and civic charters were carved onto bronze plates, and fixed to the walls of public buildings. An example relevant to Pompeii is the Nero’s decree banning gladiatorial games in the city for ten years, following a fight between Pompeiian and Nucerian spectators. Plaques were set up in public buildings financed by wealthy individuals in the city, making it clear who had provided the money for their construction. There were also funerary inscriptions on tombs outside the walls of Pompeii.

Wall notices   

Public notices were painted on walls throughout the city. The wall would be whitewashed, then painted by a professional scribe. Most wall notices were political posters, put up by family, friends and clients of the candidates. Other types of notices included announcements about upcoming shows in the amphitheatre, plus upcoming property sales and rentals.

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Since there was no other means of mass communication, graffiti was everywhere. It was scratched into walls with a stylus, nail or piece of sharpened wood. Some was painted on walls, but paint was expensive so there was less of this. The most common topic of graffiti was gladiators, who were like modern day sports champions. Other topics included sex, love, drinking, gambling, plus advertising for bars, shops and brothels. People also denounced each other on walls (e.g. “Samius to Cornelius: Go hang yourself”, a piece found in Pompeii near the basilica, where justice was carried out.) We do not know when most of this graffiti was written. Much of the painted graffiti was political, urging citizens to vote for particular candidates or groups of candidates in upcoming local elections. Clients (often former slaves) would promote their patrons in political contests. Almost all this type of graffiti was very recent to the eruption, as walls would be painted over so new political slogans could appear. Graffiti give us an insight into how ordinary Romans lived. Clearly, there was a very high level of literacy in Pompeii and Herculaneum. We can assume this was true of the empire as a whole, but cannot be certain.

Wax tablets and rolls of papyri 

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Wooden tablets covered in wax have been recovered from Pompeii. These reveal the business activities of two merchants Sulpicius Cinnamus and Sulpicius Faustus. They give us extensive details about the legal status of freed slaves, family structures, land disputes and relations between neighbours. 1,800 rolls of carbonised papyri were recovered from Herculaneum. These turned out to be the writings of Philodemus, a Greek philosopher. Until recently it has not been possible to read them, but this is now changing due to new technology.

Statues and sculptures 2

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These were normally carved in marble or cast in bronze. Subject matter included famous Romans (such as emperors), deities and family members. They were placed in temples, public squares and private homes. Only wealthy or famous individuals had statues devoted to them.

Frescoes     

Frescoes were wall paintings made on wet plaster. The walls of most houses were decorated with frescoes – even those of the poor. Only kitchens and slave quarters were not. Frescoes varied from elaborate scenes of mythology in wealthy houses, to simple decorations in poor ones. Augusto Mau, the 19th century art historian, divided the Pompeian frescoes into four categories. The frescoes in Pompeii and Herculaneum show which elements of life were important to ordinary Romans.

Mosaics    

Mosaics are pictures and patterns made from thousands of chips of coloured glass, stone or pottery. They are found on floors, roofs and walls. In wealthy homes, they depict elaborate mythological scenes. In poor ones, they are simply black and white patterns. The most famous mosaic in Pompeii (and possibly in the world) is the depiction of Alexander the Great facing King Darius at the Battle of Issus. It was found in the House of the Faun, but is now in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. (The one now in Pompeii is a replica.)

Garden and household belongings    

The gardens of greater houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum were decorated with statues of deities like Bacchus, Venus, Hercules and Eros. These same houses contained elaborate ceramics, ornaments, vases, cutlery, jewellery, mirrors and other household items. Tables, chairs, beds and even a baby’s cradle were found. All these give a unique insight into everyday life in the Roman Empire.

Human and animal remains Pompeii:  Very few skeletons survived intact in Pompeii. Most were destroyed during early excavations, due to carelessness on the part of the excavators. Bones from a maximum of 500 people exist.  Many skeletal remains also decayed following the eruption, as they were not buried deeply enough to seal them from contact with oxygen.  Giuseppe Fiorelli (supervisor of excavations between 1860 and 1875) put liquid plaster into the cavities he found in the hardened ash, and produced moulds of the bodies in the exact positions they were when they died. These casts are of people, horses, mules, dogs, cats and farm animals. They tell us a lot about how the people died. 3

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More recently, Estelle Lazer of Sydney University has used translucent epoxy resin on new skeletal discoveries, with spectacularly good results. Using this technique plus MRI scanning, it is possible to tell the age, height, sex, appearance, health and even possible occupation of these victims of the eruption.

Herculaneum:  Few human remains were initially found in Herculaneum, leading archaeologists to believe that there had been time for a large-scale evacuation there. However, in 1982, many skeletons were discovered in boathouses at the edge of the ancient beach. It is expected that many more will be discovered on the beach itself, as excavation continues.  These skeletons were better preserved than those in Pompeii, due to the depth at which they were buried.  Dr Sarah Bisel has subjected the skeletons to modern scientific techniques, and has concluded that the people came from a broad spectrum of society.

The limitations, reliability and evaluation of sources 

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Much of the evidence at Pompeii and Herculaneum has been stolen, lost or destroyed. People dug into the soft ash in the years after the eruption, to recover items and valuables. Similar things happened after the cities were rediscovered in the 18th century. Even when proper archaeological research was begun, mistakes were made, leading to the destruction of much evidence. Digging destroyed structures, others collapsed due to negligence, skeletal remains were lost or destroyed – all before the finds were properly documented. Finally, tourists have also caused considerable damage, as has exposure of the sites to the elements. There is also not enough money available to properly preserve the site. It is for this reason that a third of Pompeii remains untouched. Archaeologists are waiting until better technology is available. There is also too little written evidence to back up the archaeological evidence, as Pompeii and Herculaneum were backwaters in the Roman Empire. For these reasons, we cannot be certain that all our conclusions about the cities are true.

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