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Geographical Context The physical environment 

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Both Pompeii and Herculaneum were port cities. Herculaneum was on the coast, with boatsheds at its edge. Indeed, it was so close to the sea that it had problems with rising water levels, due to seismic activity in the region. (The people did not realise it was the volcano that was causing this problem.) Pompeii was near the coast or on a river. We don’t know exactly which, as the evidence has been destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius. Pompeii’s population is estimated to have been between 10,000 and 15,000, though some archaeologists put the figure as low as 6,600 and as high as 30,000. Herculaneum’s population is believed to have been between 4,000 and 5,000. Mount Vesuvius dominates the region. Pompeii is 15 km from the volcano; Herculaneum is 9 km away. The two cities are about 9 km from each other. There is very fertile soil in the Campania region, due to the presence of the volcano. For this reason, its population was dense by ancient standards. Local resources include olives, fruits, cereals, fish (used in the local specialty – garum sauce), wool, pumice (for construction). People were farming almost all the way to the top of the volcano at that time, unaware that it was still active. The last time it had erupted was almost 1,300 years earlier.

Plans and streetscapes of Pompeii 

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The city is 163 acres in size – 900 m x 600 m. About two thirds of it has been excavated. The rest has been left untouched so far because much of the area that has been exposed has not been looked after properly. Archaeologists are also hoping that new scientific techniques in the future will make excavation more effective. Pompeii was surrounded by a defensive wall, with eight gates giving access to different parts of the city. By the time of the eruption, this wall was largely ceremonial, as the city faced no conceivable external threat. By modern convention, the city has been divided into nine regions (I to IX), with each of these divided into numbered insulae (street blocks). At each street corner, a modern sign has been placed. e.g. REG VI INS II (Region 6, second insula). Entranceways in buildings in each insula also have numbers. So, for example, the House of the Faun is VI. Xii. 2, 5, 7 – that is, region 7, block 12, entrances 2, 5 and 7. Individual houses are named according to what was found in the house (e.g. the House of the Faun). We don’t know who owned most of the houses. Unlike most modern cities, Pompeii is not divided into districts (i.e. industrial areas, commercial areas, residential areas, recreational areas, etc.). The wealthy lived alongside the poor; industries operated alongside people’s homes, and often inside them; people often lived above their places of work. The houses all front onto footpaths very close to the street. There are few windows onto the street. Those that exist are very small, mainly for reasons of security. The houses were built facing inwards. Light entered via courtyards in the middle of the house.

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All the streets were paved with stone, meaning they were solid and well drained. This is in contrast to later (medieval and early modern) cities, which had dirt roads, which would turn to mud when it rained. Pompeii was relatively flat, so did not have a good drainage system. Drains were under the footpaths, but could not cope adequately when it rained heavily. To deal with this, Pompeii’s streets were set below the level of the footpath, allowing them also to serve as stormwater drains. When it rained heavily, both the streets and the drains would take the water away, depositing it outside the city walls. Stepping stones allowed people to cross the street without getting their feet dirty or wet. Cart wheels could pass between these. Water was brought to the city via an aqueduct, then distributed to the various districts via a system of pipes. Some homes had water on tap. Homes also used water collected from their roofs, and stored in a cistern below the atrium.

Plans and streetscapes of Herculaneum: 

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Herculaneum is estimated to be 40-55 acres in size. Only a third of the city has been excavated; the rest is beneath the town of Ercolano (formerly called Resina). The excavated region measures 200 m x 140 m. Because the city is so small, only insula (city blocks) and building numbers are used. Herculaneum was a wealthier city than Pompeii, so it has many two storey houses. Quite a few of these survived the eruption. Others have been reconstructed, using some of the original materials. Like Pompeii, there were no zones for industry, housing, etc. People lived, worked, shopped and entertained themselves in the same district. Herculaneum had a very sophisticated underground sewerage and drainage system, so the roads were not sunken, like in Pompeii. The city had piped water from the same aqueduct as Pompeii, and paved streets.

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