INVESTIGATING, RECONSTRUCTING AND PRESERVING THE PAST

Changing methods of 19th and 20th century archaeologists and their contribution to our understanding of Pompeii and Herculaneum

Giuseppe Fiorelli

• Inspector of Excavations at P in 1860• He is known as a pioneer of modern archaeology

because of the methods he introduced at P

Numbering Houses

• Fiorelli introduced the system for the numbering and naming of excavated houses & buildings

• He divided P into 9 regions, each containing up to 22 blocks or INSULAE, and numbered the entrance to each building in each block

• Buildings were identified by 3 numbers – region, block and entrance

• This system made it easier for archaeologists to accurately record where objects were found

• Fiorelli also gave names to the streets and city gates

Systematic Excavation

• Under Fiorelli, excavations were conducted in a systematic way• He removed debris from earlier excavations and approached new excavations

according to a plan, rather than randomly searching for special objects• He carefully and completely uncovered each building within a block before moving

on to the next block

Early finds using the methodical Fiorelli

method

Top-Down Excavation

• Before Fiorelli, most buildings were excavated from the side• This often resulted in the destruction of the walls and other valuable evidence• Fiorelli introduced top-down excavation which did less damage to wall structures

and made it possible to identify and record evidence which could be used in restoration

Note the walls still standing. This method

employed by Fioelli saved thousands of artefacts and wall

paintings from destruction

Plaster Casts

• Fiorelli observed cavities in the hardened ash deposit left by the decomposed bodies or objects made from organic materials

• He poured plaster into the cavities which acted like moulds

• The plaster set and when the surrounding ash was chipped away, the shape of the body or object was revealed

• This method preserved impressions of wooden furniture and fittings – as well as the impression of people and animals that had died in the eruption

August Mau

• This German archaeologist originally worked on the inscriptions from P

• But his main interest was in art and architecture

• He made a study of the frescoes of P and classified them into 4 styles

• He also provided a date range for each style which aided in the dating of buildings

Mau’s Classification of Pompeian Wall Painting

Style and date range

Characteristics Examples

First style – 2nd C BCE

Wall surface divided in to sections painted to look like blocks of stone or marble. Also known as MASONRY STYLE

House of the Faun - P Samnite House - H

Second style – 1st C BCE

More elaborate representation of architectural features – columns and windows opening onto painted scenes, creating a 3D effect. Some panels have paintings of mythological scenes

Villa of the Mysteries – P

Third style – Late 1st C BCE – Early 1st C CE

Walls divided into 3 horizontal bands, each with a distinctive colour scheme. Mythological scenes often appear in panels in the middle band. Motifs such as fountains, columns and candelabras are used decoratively and in a 2-dimensional way, rather than to create a 3D illusion of depth or space

House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto – P

Fourth style – After CE45

Combines elements of 2 & 3: walls are divided into 3 horizontal bands and feature similar motifs or mythological scenes. Elaborate architectural features painted to create the illusion of depth and space. More imaginative than realistic in effect. Also known as the INTRICATE STYLE

House of the Vettii – PHouse of Meleager - P

August Mau

Wall painted in the First Style from the Casa Sannita, Herculaneum

Fresco in Second Style, Villa of the Mysteries

August Mau

August Mau

Painting in the Third Style, Archaeological Museum, Naples

August Mau

Architectural View, Fourth Style, Herculaneum

• Mau published his work in 2 important books • The History of Decorative Wall Painting in Pompeii (1882)• Pompeii in Life and Art (1903)

August Mau

Painting from the "Villa of Mysteries," Pompeii, thought to portray initiation into the mysterious Dionysion cult

• Although there were some overlapping of the 4 styles and periods, research has generally supported Mau’s general classification which is still in use today.

August Mau

The First Style Roman wall painting, "Incrustation" is thought to imitate Greek painting that created flat areas of colour and

'faux" finishes (like a fake marble or oak finish)

Vittorio Spinazzola• Superintendent of Excavations at P

between 1911 & 1924• Like Fiorelli, he excavated carefully and

systematically, however, rather than clearing whole blocks, Spinazzola excavated streetscapes to reveal the external appearance of buildings

• He excavated a considerable length of one of the main streets – via dell’ Abbondanza (street of Abundance)

• He carefully restored the facades of the buildings, revealing houses, shops, taverns and workshops

Vittorio Spinazzola

via dell’ Abbondanza

• Spinazzola used evidence from the remains of buildings and paintings of Roman houses to reconstruct upper storeys and balconies which had been destroyed during the eruption

Vittorio Spinazzola

• Spinazzola used photography to record the stages of his excavation• These photographs have provided valuable information for conservators working to

repair 20th century damage to buildings from theft, vandalism, war, earthquakes and exposure to the elements

Vittorio Spinazzola

An original photo of excavations in the House of Octavius Quartio by Vittorio Spinazzola

Amedeo Maiuri

• Superintendent of Excavations from 1924-1961

• Oversaw the most extensive period of excavation

• Was interrupted by the Allied bombing of Pompeii in WWII

• He uncovered significant new areas including a number of insulae along the via dell’ Abbondanza, the amphitheatre and the large palaestra

Amedeo Maiuri

The huge square area, called the Palaestra, to the

southwest of the Amphitheatre was built in

the days of Augustus Caesar. This Palaestra

served as a gymnasium and a place to indoctrinate the young people in Augustan ideals. In the centre was a

huge swimming pool, sloping from 3 feet to 8 feet

deep.

• Maiuri was also interested in P’s pre-Roman history• He excavated right around the walls of P and established the sequence of

construction• He also uncovered the cemetery along the southern wall

Amedeo Maiuri

• He excavated several large houses including the Villa of the Mysteries and the estate of Julia Felix

Amedeo Maiuri

Villa of the Mysteries

The Villa of the Mysteries featured a large hall with this mural encircling it. The mural is painted in the Second Style of Roman painting. The mural in the Villa of the Mysteries is thought to depict the initiation rituals of a mystery religion. For this reason, it has been conjectured that the hall was

used for cult rituals

The great frieze of the Dionysian mysteries

Praedia of Julia Felix

A married couple, probably the lawyer Terentius Neo and his wife from the House of

Julia Felix.

Still life with eggs, birds and bronze dishes. Roman fresco from the Praedia of Julia Felix

in Pompeii

• Maiuri used mechanical equipment to clear away debris from earlier excavations and to assist in the areas that been considered too hard to excavate

• He protected some excavated buildings by building roofs over them

Amedeo Maiuri

Insula of Julia Felix

• Maiuri was criticised for excavations that were done too quickly and with very little documentation

• Some excavated buildings were unprotected and unrecorded• Wall paintings in such buildings faded without ever being recorded

Amedeo Maiuri

• However Maiuri’s great enthusiasm for the site and the important buildings he uncovered attracted many tourists and made P well-known internationally

Amedeo Maiuri

Giuseppe Fiorelli

•Identified regions, named streets and gates, numbered houses•Systematic, careful excavation, top-down excavation of buildings•Plaster casts revealed impressions of humans and animals

August Mau •Classified frescoes into 4 styles of Pompeian painting•Attributed a date range for each style which assisted in dating buildings

Vitorrio Spinazzola

•Excavated and reconstructed facades and streetscapes, reconstructed upper storeys•Recorded phases of excavations in photographs

Amedeo Maiuri •Established sequence for the construction of the walls of Pompeii•Excavated the amphitheatre and palaestra of Pompeii•Excavated and restored several large houses (eg. Villa of the Mysteries)•Re-excavated and documented the estate of Julia Felix

Fausto Zevi •Halted excavations, concentrated instead on protecting and conserving•Photographed wall paintings and mosaic floors

Giovanni Guzzo •Attracted international teams to carry out specialist projects