Pompeii

I will set out Pompeii’s location firstly, then its plan and then a plan of the Forum. Please note that you can zoom in on all images.

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Location:Pompeii is located on the Bay of Naples in southern Italy, in the region of Campania and the province of Napoli, on the southwest slope of Mount Vesuvius at the mouth of the Sarno River.

Reasons why people settled there are simple to explain: There was a settlement here because of

defence - promontory the fertile soil - volcanic ash - crops trade - River Sarno and seaport pleasant climate the scenic setting adjacent to Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples

Layout:

As you will see from the second image above, there is a grid system (though some parts are dictated by terrain). It is believed to have been devised by the fifth century BC architect Hippodamus of Miletos.

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Features and Origins

Once you look at the Picture on page One you will note that the city is surrounded by a wall. They are pre-roman walls as it was conquered by Rome well after its foundation. In the 5th century BC, the Samnites conquered it (and all the other towns of Campania); the new rulers imposed their architecture and enlarged the town. After the Samnite Wars (4th century BC), Pompeii was forced to accept the status of socium of Rome, maintaining, however, linguistic and administrative autonomy. In the 4th century BC, it was fortified. Pompeii remained faithful to Rome during the Second Punic War.

Pompeii took part in the war that the towns of Campania initiated against Rome, but in 89 BC it was besieged by Sulla. Although the blunts of the Social League, headed by Lucius Cluentius, helped in resisting the Romans, in 80 BC Pompeii was forced to surrender after the conquest of Nola, culminating in many of Sulla's veterans being given land and property, while many of those who went against Rome were ousted from their homes. It became a Roman colony with the name of Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum. The town became an important passage for goods that arrived by sea and had to be sent toward Rome or Southern Italy along the nearby Appian Way. Agriculture, water and wine production were also important.

It was fed with water by a spur from Aqua Augusta (Naples) built c. 20 BC by Agrippa; the main line supplied several other large towns, and finally the naval base at Misenum. The castellum in Pompeii is well preserved, and includes many interesting details of the distribution network and its controls.

The city has seven gates, and I have a powerpoint on moodle which looks at the gates and names. L Sull is inscribed outside the Herculaneum Gate and may refer to the tomb of Lucius Sulla. Other important features of the city is the aquaduct, the water distribution system including distribution towers and fountains at the crossroads, some of which are marked with human heads and others the heads of animals. The streets were paved though there are grooves in the paving from years of chariot wheels. The streets having stepping stones to cross from one path to the other as the roads also acted as drainage and indeed sewage systems!

The Forum

As you will see from the Forum plan on page 2, the Forum was a rectangular area which was pedestrianised. It was the centre of religious, political, economic and social life and therefore the heart of any Roman city. It had a peristyle (a courtyard with a covered walkway all the way around it) which consisted of two-tier columns, with Doric below and Ionic above.

two-tier Columns

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Statues of important people and gods were placed in the Forum.

Apollo

Buildings of the Forum Temple of Jupiter, with arches on each side of the temple (temple dedicated to three

gods - Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva - a Roman custom) Temple of Apollo (bronze statue of Apollo) Ponderaria Table (measures controlled) Basilica - courthouse and business transactions public administration buildings

- Aediles' office (Aediles were in charge of public buildings, roads, corn dole,and shows)

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Senate House (town council met there) Office of Duoviri (the two most important magistrates of the town) Comitium - election building Building of Eumachia (priestess - Guild of Fullones; door with marble surround) Temple of Vespasian (Emperor - marble altar with sacrifice scene) Temple of Lares (spirits of protecting gods of town) Macellum (market with Tholos)

Informal Entertainment in the Forum and City

Basilica - listening to law cases Listening t o philosophers Talking t o friends Informal d e b a t e s and discussions Walking around the shops (markets) Reading the posters and graffiti Enjoying the sculpture, painting, and m o s a i c Watching the craftsmen and tradesmen at work , e.g. jeweller or blacksmith

Temples OUTSIDE of the Forum

Temple of Venus (Patron of the City) Temple of Fortuna Augusta Temple of Isis (Egytian Goddess) Temple of Zeus Milichius

From the temples one can deduce: the importance of religion the religious influence from outside (Egypt and Greece) that the emperors were raised to the level of gods their belief in afterlife (Lares) that there were great architects and builders a concern for aesthetics

Religion In Pompeii

Pompeian religion is evident in public places with examples such as temples, festivals, Villa of the Mysteries.

Villa of Mysteries

The Villa of the Mysteries or Villa dei Misteri is a well preserved ruin of a Roman Villa which lies some 400 meters north-west of Pompeii, southern Italy.

Although covered with meters of ash and other volcanic material, the villa sustained only minor damage in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, and the majority of its walls, ceilings, and most particularly its frescoes survived largely undamaged.

The Villa is named for the paintings in one room of the residence. This space may have been a triclinium, and is decorated with very fine frescoes. Although the actual subject of the frescoes is hotly debated, the most common interpretation of the images is scenes of the

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initiation of a woman into a special cult of Dionysus, a mystery cult that required specific rites and rituals to become a member. Of all other interpretations, the most notable is that of Paul Veyne, who believes that it depicts a young woman undergoing the rites of marriage.

The Villa had both very fine rooms for dining and entertaining and more functional spaces. A wine-press was discovered when the Villa was excavated and has been restored in its original location. It was not uncommon for the homes of the very wealthy to include areas for the production of wine, olive oil, or other agricultural products, especially since many elite Romans owned farmland or orchards in the immediate vicinity of their villas.

The villa may be accessed from Pompeii. The villa is outside the main town, separated from it by a road with funerary monuments on either side (a necropolis) as well as the city walls. The Villa of the Mysteries is considered a suburban villa (Latin: Villa Suburbana), with a close relationship to the city, but outside the town.

The ownership of the Villa is unknown, as is the case with many private homes in the city of Pompeii. However, certain artifacts give tantalizing clues. A bronze seal found in the villa names L. Istacidius Zosimus, a freedman of the powerful Istacidii family. Scholars have proposed him as the owner of the villa or overseer of reconstruction after the earthquake of 62. The presence of a statue of Livia, wife of Augustus, has caused some historians to instead declare her to be the owner.

As in other areas of Pompeii and Herculaneum, a number of bodies were found in this villa, and plaster-of-paris casts were made of them.

There are many different interpretations of the frescoes, but they are commonly believed to depict a religious rite.

Religion in the Home

For Romans being civilized very much meant living in a home. If the saying states that 'an Englishman's home is his castle', then this very much also was true for the Roman.And the very spiritual center of his home was the hearth. This will no doubt have gone back to ancient times, when the peasants on the hills of Rome lived in primitive round houses, huddling around the fire in the middle of their hut during cold and rainy days.The fire of the hearth was something the woman of the house were to guard over. Just as Rome itself had its eternal flame burning in the Temple of Vesta, then so too the hearth was meant to be kept alight. Before the house retired to bed the fire would be stocked up, so it had fuel to burn alone during the night. In the morning it would be built up anew from what little fire was left.If the fire was to burn on forever, then it was only when the family moved away to another home, that the fire would be put out with wine in a small ritual.

It was at the hearth sacrifices were made to the gods and the spirits of the families ancestors.

Household Gods

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Two gods of the Roman state cult guarded the private homes of the Roman citizen. One was Janus, the god of doorways and beginnings. It was he who was seen as the chief guardian of the home. His was the passage through the door, he was both inside and outside the house at once. Hence he was its guardian.And yet he was not to be the only god in care of the door to a Roman's home. There was Cardea, the goddess of hinges, Forculus, god of the door leaves, and Limentius, the god of the threshold.

The second official deity of the home, next to Janus, was Vesta. She was the goddess of the hearth. As the hearth was of practical importance (for cooking) and of spiritual significance (sacrifices) it is quite understandable that Vesta was seen to be of great importance to a Roman's home.Every day prayers would be said to Vesta. During meals some food might be set aside and passed into the fire as an offering to the goddess.

Household Spirits

The spirits of the household were the lares and penates. The lares were the spirits of the families ancestors. They were represented by little figurines which would be kept in a special cupboard. Among them the lar familiaris, the family spirit, was the most important.On a everyday bases short prayers and small offerings would be made to the lares. And on the more sacred days of the month - the calends, ides and nones - or on special days like a wedding, birth or birthday, more elaborate rituals were held in their honour.

Meanwhile the penates were the spirits of the larder. thanks were given to them for keeping the family fed. They too were represented by little figurines and they too had their own little cupboard they resided in. But they would tend to be taken out and placed on the table during mealtimes.

When the family ever moved house, then its lares and penates invariably moved with them.

The third household spirit of note was the genius, who was usually represented in form of a snake.This genius was in a sense the 'manhood' of the family, which empowered the husband to father children. Naturally the place of its greatest influence within the house was in the marital bed.The genius of the household was particularly celebrated on the head of the family's birthday.

Apart from friendly spirits there were also ghostly spirits of the dead which might haunt a house. They were the so-called larvae and lemures. These could be driven out of the house by ritual, performed by the head of the family, which involved spitting our black beans and noisily bashing together metal pots.

Births, Marriages and Deaths

Births, marriages and deaths all were of great spiritual significance.Juno Lucina was the goddess who watched over the birth of a child. But ever since its very conception a fetus had a whole host of spirits guarding over it.After a birth a meal would always be made for the gods, Picumnus and Pilumnus in thanks for their services.

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Thereafter a boatload of other minor gods all played theri part, overseeing matters such as breast feeding, the growth of bones, drinking, eating - even talking.The naming of a child (on the ninth day for a boy, the eighth for a girl) was watched over by the goddess Nundina. The child would then be given an amulet, the bulla, which a girl would wear until she married and a boy would wear until he reached manhood and was given his toga virilis, at an age between 14 and 17 .

Enacting a marriage could be done in several ways:

1 Simple consent of both sides, without any rituals or any festivities.

2 After a couple had cohabited a year, the woman not having been absent for more than three nights.

3 A symbolic purchase of the bride, with a holder of a pair of scales and five witnesses present.

4 With full religious ritual and elaborate ceremonies in the presence of the pontifex maximus. This was a legal requirement for patrician families.

The early forms of religious ritual for a marriage included prayers, sacrifice, the sharing and sacrificing of sacred bread and the taking of auspices, while the couple sat on chairs covered with lambskin and tied together. This type of marriage lasted until about the second century AD, after which it was superceded by a new kind of rite.At an official betrothal ceremony the bride had a ring placed on her finger in front of the gathered guests.At the later wedding she would wear a bright red/orange veil, crowned by a wreath made of blossom. Animal sacrifice was made and the entrails of the animal were then examined for any omens. Thereafter the bride and groom would exchange vows and thus be married.

If all through a Roman's life spirits watched over him, then when he died, he died without any such guardians.Once the corpse was cremated or buried its spirit joined all the other spirits of the dead, which were known collectively as manes. Of course it now also became one of the family lares.If the funeral sought to honour the deceased, there were no spirits to be pleased to watch over him. And so the rituals of the funeral sought rather to help purify the living members of the surviving family. Family members were sprinkled with water and bid to step across the ceremonial fire.Thereafter there was a feast in honour of the deceased.To help cleanse the house of death a pig was sacrificed to the goddess Ceres and the house was thoroughly swept.

Entertainment in Pompeii

Theatres

The theatre was the place where performances of comedies and tragedies were held. It included a semi-circular cavea from which led the series of steps divided into sections on which the spectators sat. Below was the area for the orchestra (the part intended for the chorus) and the scena, that is the stage where the actors performed. The theatre in Pompeii

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shows the features of Greek models in that it exploits the natural inclination of the terrain. The Roman-type theatre on the other hand depends on an architectural structure.

SMALL THEATRE OR ODEONEstablished in the 1st century B.C., it represents one of the most harmonious and well-balanced examples of architecture of this type. It could hold up to 1,000 spectators and could be covered permanently. It is well preserved and shows the typical design of the Greek theatre with its structure deeply embanked in the natural slope of the terrain. It was used to host plays and musical events. In addition it was used for the performance of mimes.Mime was a special theatrical performance of a comical or even bawdy nature, inspired by aspects and incidents of everyday life. Usually it only lasted for a short time.The actors used masks as a rule and women were also admitted to the performance, which was not otherwise the case. Mime originated as farce in Sicily and was later modified in the Roman age.

LARGE THEATRE - POMPEII

Although it is actually the only theatre in Pompeii, it was given this name to distinguish it from the nearby Odeion, which is much smaller and was used for different purpose. It was built in the 2nd century B.C. more or less according to traditional Greek canons in so far as the tiered seating makes use of natural slope and the orchestra is arranged in a horse-shoe shape. It was extended and restored during the reign of Augustus at the personal expense of the Holconius brothers, who were rich Pompeian vine growers. An inscription tell us that the entire seating area had been resurfaced in marble, but this was removed and carried off after the destruction of the town. The upper circle was added to increase the seating capacity and the two side boxes above the entrance to the orchestra were reserved for the guest of honour. In this way the theatre of Pompeii could accommodate 5,000 people seated in three different areas which were separated by corridors. The first (called the ima cavea) was situated in the orchestra itself and had four rows of seats which were reserved for the decurions, while the first rows of the media cavea were for the representative of the corporations: one of these was reserved for the eldest of the Holconium brothers and was identified by an inscription in bronze letters. The remaining places right up to the top part (summa cavea) were designated for the ordinary townspeople. The final tier had stone rings fitted into the walls which were used to support the poles which held the large canopy covering the theatre to protect the audience from the sun. The stone stage was rebuilt after the earthquake of 62 A.D. in imitation of the façade of an important building decorated with column, niches and statues,. To the rear was a small and unusual-shaped dressing room running the whole width of the

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stage area, which could be reached by three doors directly from the stage. A further three doors lead out onto a large courtyard.

YOU MUST ENSURE THAT YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ROMAN AND GREEK THEATRE WHICH IS SET OUT BELOW!

Greek Roman1. Circular orchestra 1. D - shaped orchestra2. Passage between orchestra 2. Stage joined to auditorium and stage (parados)3. Built into hill 3. Auditorium raised on arches4. Example :Epidaurus 4. Example: Pompeii

The Romans, however, continued to use Greek theatres where these already existed butoften reconstructed them, changing the shape of the orchestra and joining the stage tothe auditorium.

The word Amphith means double theatre. The amphitheatre was in Pompeii before Rome - oldest stone built amphitheatre in the world.

Pompeii’s Amphitheatre

Situated in the south eastern corner of the city, Pompeii’s amphitheatre dates to 70BC. It survived the eruption of Vesuvius almost intact, making it the world’s oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre. It also offers fascinating insight into the design of amphitheatres and their importance to Roman society.

The History of Pompeii’s Amphitheatre

According to inscriptions, Pompeii’s amphitheatre was built by C. Quintius Valgus and M Procius, two of Sulla’s commanders who became the city’s magistrates after its subjugation by the Romans. This dates the amphitheatre to 70AD, making it one of the earliest constructed Roman amphitheatres and the oldest one left standing.

The amphitheatre was central to life in Pompeii. It was amongst the first buildings reconstructed following the earthquake in 62AD, despite the fact that no games had been held there for 3 years. In 59AD, a ten year ban was placed on gladiatorial contests in the city after riots broke out amongst Pompeian spectators and those from nearby Nuceria. The ban was no doubt revoked early following the earthquake as a way of lifting the moral of Pompeii’s citizen’s.

The fatal eruption of 79AD did not destroy the amphitheatre. Whilst most of it was buried by volcanic debris, its uppermost parts remained partially exposed up until the middle ages. It is these areas that display the most damage, with the holes for the crowd shading awnings known as velaria partially eroded.

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The amphitheatre was initially exposed in 1823 when it was cleared of overlying material by Antonio Bonnucci and Michele Arditi. It was not until the twentieth century that it was systematically excavated by the great pioneer of Pompeian archaeology Amedeo Maiuri.

The Structure and Design of Pompeii’s Amphitheatre

In contrast to later amphitheatres, Pompeii’s is very simple and represents and example of the earliest style of amphitheatre. It measures 135m long and 104m wide. Its arena was a pit excavated 6m below ground level with earth from the excavations heaped up into embankments that served as a seating area. All that divided the audience from the spectacle below them was a 2 metre balustrade which would have offered poor protection for those on the nearest seats during wild beats fights

The south and east sides of the structure were contained by the city walls which were joined by purpose built retaining walls to enclose the north and west. External staircases built into the walls were the earliest access ways to the seating areas which was initially wooden. There were only two entrances to the arena itself: the Porta Triumphalis which was used for the opening ceremony procession of gladiators and the Porta Libitinensis which was the exit point for the dead.

Improvements were made to the design and appearance of the amphitheatre during the repairs of 62AD. A new seating area was constructed and brick buttresses were added to support the access tunnels. A covered walkway was added in the seating area allowing access via stairways to the internal access corridor to allow the city’s elite to enter the amphitheatre through the main arena entrances rather than the external stairways.The balsrade of the arena was painted with bright panels depicting gladiator fights. Two inscribed statue niches over the northern entrance indicate this was funded by C. Crispus Pansa and his son.

The chief difference between Pompeii’s amphitheatre and later design is the lack of external structures. The arena is built on solid ground, without the underground vaults and cells for the containment of gladiators and animals found in later amphitheatres. The only internal feature was a simple corridor cut into the earth base of the cavea. Running the circumference of the amphitheatre, it was used to access to the arena.

The Popularity of the Games in Pompeii

The arena accommodated all social classes, demonstrating the universal popularity of the games. The 35 rows of seats which could accommodate 20000 people were divided into three areas to accommodate three distinct social groupings of spectators from the city and its outlying regions: the ima, media and summa cavea. The media was kept for the general populace whilst the ima cavae ran around the arena and was kept for well to do. Slaves and women and the lowest classes viewed the games form the summa cavae, at a distance from the show. Protection from the sun was provided by velaria suspended above the crowd from the top of the arena.

The external walls of the amphitheatre were covered with posters praising the gladiators and recording the outcome of the contests. The Thracian Celadus is described as the ‘hero’ and ‘heartthrob of the girls’. The area around the amphitheatre developed into an area of taverns and eateries to provide pre and post games’ refreshment. Signs painted on the arena walls

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marking out rented spaces indicate that temporary booths were set up just outside the arena walls, selling souvenirs, food and drink.

Gymnasium (Palaestra)

SAMNITE GYMNASIUM - POMPEII

The discovery of the statue of Doriphorus, the symbol of youth and strength and a roman copy of the original of Polycletus, led early archaeologists to define this space with its surrounding colonnades beside the Large Theatre as a gymnasium (palestra). However, it was actually the headquarters of a military association of noble Pompeian youths who used to train here for parades and official competitions. The limited space available meant that certain kinds of training probably took place in the adjoining area of the Triangular Forum. The building dates back to the 2nd century B.C. and is enclosed by tuff-stone Doric columns on three sides only as, after the earthquake of 62 A.D., the nearby Temple of Isis was extended into the gymnasium area. Opposite the entrance there are two pedestals, the larger of which most probably housed the statue of Doriphorus. Beside it was a flight of steps which allowed the young athletes to place crowns on the statue. The lower pedestal was used for placing gift.

Palaestra

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The Palaestra is situated in the eastern periphery of the city, near the Amphitheatre. It was created during the Augustan period, one of the projects of imperial propaganda which led to the founding of the ‘collegia iuvenum’, organizations of young people whose prime scope have been that of furthering sports but whose secondary scope was that of providing an atmosphere of adhesion to the principles of the new political ideology in which the future citizens would be formed. The palaestra of the ‘Iuventus Pompeiana’ occupies a vast area, 141 x 137 meter, and consists of a central space for gymnastic exercises, surrounded by a tall perimeter wall with ten monumental entrance gateways. Inside, on three sides, runs a portico of 118 columns in brick covered with stucco. Originally there were two rows of plane trees, of which the impression of the roots still exist. At the centre of the courtyard was a large swimming pool from one m. to two m. in depth. A room preceded by two columns off the south-west side, with the base for a statue near the back wall. This was probably the space dedicated to the cult of Augustus, patron of the ‘collegia’. A large latrine was on the southeast side. The Palaestra had been heavily damaged in the earthquake of A.D. 62 and was still being restored when the eruption of A.D. 79 took place.

Baths of PompeiiThere are three main public baths in Pompeii: the Stabian baths, the Forum baths, and the

Central baths.

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The oldest of the thermae in Pompeii is the Stabian baths, and four different building stages can be identified. The bath is located at the Holconius intersection, which is where the decumanus maximus (Via dell'Abbondanza) crosses the cardo maximus (Via Stabiana). During the earliest stage, which dates to the late 4th century BC, a trapezoidal exercise field (palaestra) and colonnade were constructed, and a series of cells with tubs was built along the north side. The general layout of the bath dates to the 2nd century BC, when the palaestra was reconfigured and additional features were added. After the earthquake of AD 62, dressing rooms (apodyteria) were included. The bath was divided into two opposing, separate sections, one for men and one for women.

The Forum Baths are the smallest, but the most elegant of the thermae. They were built shortly after the establishment of Sullla's colony in 80 BC. An inscription credits the duovir Lucius Caesius and the aediles Caius Occius and Lucius Niraemius. Despite their small size, they contained everything necessary for the full bathing ritual: dressing rooms, hot, tepid and cold rooms, exercise field, and toilets. These baths were also divided into separate facilities for men and women. They were the only baths still functioning in Pompeii after the earthquake of AD 62.

The Central Baths are the most recent version of thermae in Pompeii. When the social-economic axis of Pompeii moved towards the intersection of the Via Stabiana and Via di Nola, a new bath complex was designed, and it replaced an entire block (insula) of the town. The baths were constructed after the earthquake of AD 62, but were never completed before the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. It is notable that separate sections for men and women were not provided, nor did it have a frigidarium, but it did have a laconicum instead.

Gladiators and Gladitorial Barracks

Who were the Gladiators?

In the main, gladiators were slaves purchased for their strength by local businessmen. They were trained in troupes and then hired them out to fight in the games.

Many gladiators had single names like ‘Princeps’ and 'Hilarius’ which indicated that they were slaves. Some gladiators were also free. The gladiator Lucius Raecius Felix was

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probably a freedman. Felix was a common slave name and his other two names were probably adopted from his former master’s name and added after his freedom.

Some gladiators were also freeborn. Graffiti in Pompeii records the name of a gladiator Marcus Attilius. His name is not that of a slave and does not indicate he was a freedman, suggesting he signed up to the arena for profit.

The House of the Gladiators

Before 62 AD, this was the original gladiator’s barracks and training area for gladiators in Pompeii. A converted house, it consisted of a central peristyle surrounded by rooms. Graffiti on the pillars of the peristyle informs on the types of gladiators who appeared in Pompeii and how the gladiators themselves saw each other.

Besides the well-known fighters such as Thracians, Murmillos and Retinarii (net men) the House of the Gladiators trained essedarius (chariot fighters) and eques (cavalrymen). There are also various pieces of graffiti that refer to the popularity of certain gladiators with local women, suggesting that the gladiators at least saw themselves as sex symbols.

The Gladiator’s Barracks

After 62 AD, the gladiator’s training venue moved to the portico of the large theatre. This large complex known as the Gladiator’s Barracks was occupied at the time of the 79 AD eruption. Eighteen human skeletons were found on the premises as well as that of a horse.

The barracks consisted of a kitchen, mess hall, stables and armoury for storing the ceremonial armour and helmets that the gladiators wore in processions. Stairs on the east side were believed to lead to the lanista’s quarters on the second floor. A further set of stairs led below the barracks to an ergastulum or slave prison. Four more skeletons were found here. They were unchained despite the provision of iron fetters.

The Mortality Rate Amongst Gladiators

Not every gladiator who lost a fight lost their life.

Graffiti is commonly found on tombs flanking the major routes into the city, detailing the outcome of gladiatorial combat. The equivalent of modern day sports reports, these accounts named the participants, how many bouts they had fought and how many of these fights they had won.

Victors were indicated by the letter ‘v’. Losers could be marked as either ‘m’ for 'missus' indicating that they had lost but been reprieved or ‘p’ for ‘perrit’ indicating they had been killed. Far more gladiator’s names were marked with an m indicating that losers often survived.

Collapse of Gladitorial Barracks 2010

Italy's ancient ruins threatened by neglect

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By Salvatore Laporta, AP

A frescoed house in Pompeii where gladiators prepared for combat survived the furious explosion of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. but apparently could not withstand modern-day neglect.Frances D'Emilio, Associated PressROME — Italy is rich in ancient wonders, but the real wonder may be that so many are still standing given the poor care they get.

The collapse in Pompeii last week of a frescoed house where gladiators prepared for combat was the latest archaeological accident waiting to happen. The structure was a piece of storied past that had survived the furious explosion of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. — but apparently could not withstand modern-day neglect.

"We're stunned when some walls fall down. But these are ruins not systematically maintained, so the miracle is that so few of them collapse," said Andrea Carandini, a world-renowned archaeologist who leads a panel of professional consultants in the Cultural Ministry.

Last spring, a huge segment of the now underground complex of Nero's fabled Golden Palace in Rome gave way, raining down pieces of vaulted ceiling in one of the galleries beneath a garden popular with strollers. Three years ago, a 6-meter (20-foot) section of ancient wall named after the 3rd century Emperor Aurelius, who built it to defend Rome against the first onslaught of barbarians, crumpled into a pile of bricks after days of heavy rain.

A couple of months ago, three chunks of mortar broke off the Colosseum, hours before the symbol of the Eternal City opened its gates to tourists.

While the ancient Roman arena of gladiator battles and other spectacles has survived earthquakes, lightning strikes and pillaging, architects and engineers still fret about the architectural marvel, eroded by pollution, rattled by subway cars running nearby, and still suffering from centuries of poor drainage.

But topping experts' list of potential perils is the Palatine Hill. For years, archaeologists and structural engineers have been issuing alarms that the once palatial homes of Rome's ancient emperors risk collapse because of poor upkeep.

Fissures are apparent in brickwork, and rainwater seeps through stone, forcing the closure of much

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of the hill's expanse to tourists.

Pompeii's gladiator barracks along the doomed city's main street joined a list of other recent victims of neglect in the sprawling remains that were once buried under the volcanic ash of Vesuvius' wrath.

Among the more noted casualties was the collapse in January of the House of the Chaste Lovers, which was excavated in 1987, a relatively recent addition for the 3 million tourists who tread the Pompeii's stone paths each year.

"We are tired of commenting on the continuous collapses and damage to the archaeological heritage of our country," said Giorgia Leoni, president of the Italian Confederation of Archaeologists in a statement after the gladiators' place fell apart on Saturday.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Tuesday decried what he called "terrible negligence" as a chief reason for national embarrassments like the Pompeii collapse.

Carandini, interviewed on Italian radio, warned that should Pompeii be hard hit by an earthquake— "we wouldn't be able to do a (complete) restoration" because no relief map has ever been made of the site. The Naples area, which hosts the ruins, is one of Italy's most earthquake-prone.

Lovers of antiquities here have long bemoaned the chronic shortage of funding — relative crumbs in the national budget pie — for routine maintenance of treasures to shore up shaky structures and save them for posterity.

Italy's Cultural Ministry, whose duties include caring for and repairing ancient monuments and artworks, gets a mere 0.18% of the national budget, compared to roughly 1% for France, according to ministry officials. It's a startling contrast for a nation that boasts the world's highest number of ruins, churches, monasteries and other artistic and architectural treasures — helping to make tourism one of Italy's biggest industries.

Ironically, experts describe Italy as being "in the avant-garde for programs of prevention, for pinpointing" potential peril with the help of architects and engineers, and drawing up a "kind of map of risk."

Giorgio Croci, one of Italy's best-known engineers for structural problems, said the nation's know-how is so in demand that Turkey has commissioned him to study Istanbul's monuments for potential perils.

"But one of the woes of this country is a bureaucracy that's paralyzing," he said. "In some cases, plans just languish in the drawers of officials or bureaucrats."

Greece, with its legacy of ancient marvels, seems to do a better job at keeping their treasures intact.

On the whole, Greek sites have benefited from generously-funded restoration and conservation program over the past decades. Although Greece is staggering through a severe economic crisis, work has continued on the Acropolis, whose marble temples and monumental gates have been painstakingly taken to pieces, sorted out and stuck together.

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That work started after experts realized, in the 1970s, that quick action was needed because of worsening pollution and damage from past restorations.

In Italy, private sponsors, ranging from utility companies to mattress manufacturers, fill some of the gap. But they pick and choose, often "adopting" only the most high-profile projects, seldom unheralded but crucial work like removing wildflower roots from cracks in millennia old stonework.

Croci said the Pompeii collapse might have been avoided if simple, affordable measures had been taken preventatively — like injecting material to encourage cohesion in the stone or simply covering the structure with some kind of shelter.

"A lot of the interventions are not that costly," said Croci, who has mapped out weak spots in the Colosseum and Palatine Hill ruins.

The structure was repaired in 1947 after damage from World War II bombing, and the use of reinforced concrete in that restoration was cited by some as a possible cause for the collapse.

Inspecting the wreckage on Tuesday, Pompeii's recently appointed superintendent, Jeannette Papadopoulos, said reinforced concrete was "slowly" being removed from some of the earlier restorations but that "unfortunately" restorers hadn't gotten around to tackling the gladiators' building.

Croci, who hasn't inspected the collapsed house, disagreed, citing infiltration of rainwater rather than concrete as the more likely culprit.

During a walkabout through the ruins two days after the collapse, a noted Pompeii expert pointed to rivers of rain runoff — as a state TV camera rolled — pouring through the sprawling site because weeds were clogging gutters and sewers.

"All you need is a team of artisans, carpenters and such to call when you see a simple problem" said Fabrizio Pesando, a professor at Naples University of Oriental Studies

Sample Plan of a Roman House

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A atrium formal entrance hall

Al ala "wings" opening from atrium

C cubiculum small room; bedroom

Cu culina kitchen

E exedra garden room

P peristylium colonnaded garden

T taberna shop

Ta tablinum office; study

Tri triclinium dining room

V vestibulum entrance hall

This reconstructed model of the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii shows the exterior of the house from the front, the back and one side.

THE FRESCOS OF POMPEII

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First style painting from the House of Sallust in Pompeii

Example of II style painting, from the Villa of the Mysteries

Third style from in Pompeii, from the House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto

Fourth style painting in Pompeii, from the Hous of Fabius Rufus

The wall decorations in Roman houses and villas have been classified into four styles according to figural content and chronology.

The First Style, also called encrustation style, was popular from 150 B.C. up to 80 B.C. and can be recognised by the shiny stucco decoration imitating marble lined walls. The final result is achieved by inserting a variety of colours into different partitions for the lower panel, for the smooth paintings and for the rusticated paintings.

The Second Style, also referred to as the architectural style, is characterised by the fact that for the first time the walls of the house create an illusion of being open to the outside world. This style was common between 80 B.C. and 14 A.D. and involved the depiction of architectures which extended the physical space of the house towards imaginary landscapes. The decoration does not merely attempt to imitate marble patterns but makes good use of

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perspective to create two or more levels of depth. These compositions included columns in the foreground and colonnades in perspective disappearing into the distance with the figure subjects or large painting, a mythological, heroic or religious theme, in addition to small panels with doors set between the architectural features. This highly scenographic decoration seems to have been inspired by a growing theatrical taste.

The Third Style, up the year 62 A.D., abandons the use of space and architectural features as the subject matter of the composition with the result that the over-all decoration loses depth. The columns, balustrades, architraves and shelves are flattened against the wall conserve a purely ornamental function. Columns are often used in an elongated form to frame large figure paintings inserted in large areas of plain coloured wall. Landscapes are reduced to miniatures inserted into a single colour background now painted in new shades of sea-green and golden yellow.The Third Style is also referred to as pseudo Egyptian because of the presence of typically Egyptian elements: lotus flowers, small stars, rosettes, coloured fillets and a band running above the skirting with details of still life scenes, gardens with bulrushes and elegant birds in a variety of poses. The wall decorations depicting large scale subjects inspired by gardens with trees, fountains, pools, small columns and birds in flight also belong to this period.

From the earthquake of 62 A.D. up to the town's destruction in 79 A.D., the houses in Pompeii were decorated with Fourth Style paintings. These were also said to be in the ornamental style because the whole wall is treated simply as a free ornamental composition. The architectural features no longer have any reference to reality and are reduced to unreal designs, a mere flight of fancy in which ornamentation is often excessive. There is also frequent use of bas relief stucco work, as in the Second Style. Figure paintings become smaller or disappear altogether. Formal subjects are chosen; often inspired by philosophical or exotic themes, although we still find paintings that draw on the everyday life or news reports of important events, such as the brawl that took place in the Amphitheatre, the painting of which is now displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. The Fourth Style was a sign of wealth that typified the houses of the rich merchants of Pompeii before the catastrophe. Several experts believe that this tendency drew inspiration from the models adopted in the Domus Aurea, the imperia1 palace in Rome, built after Nero had set fire to the capital in 64 A.D. destroying many buildings. Fufidius Successus with his workshop in Via Castrice was the best known painter in Pompeii. The frescoes decorating the houses are not signed by the artist as the work was completed by more than one person, often working in series. However, experts can recognise the work of the individual groups of artists through their representation of certain details.

The wall paintings in Pompeii were executed using the fresco technique, by which the basic outline of the composition was prepared and the colours were then added to the fresh plaster so that, by penetrating inwards, the overall painting would last longer. This greater resistance to the effects of time and wear is due to the protection of a transparent film of calcium carbonate that is formed by the reaction between the slaked lime in the plaster and the air.This natural protection forced painters to use the encaustic technique only to fix the expensive red colour, basically obtained from mercury and known as cinnabar red, which gave a brighter shade of red than the one obtained with an ochre base.When the actual painting was finished a fine layer of wax was passed over the work.

Mosaics

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Mosaic ornamentation was widely used in the decoration of the houses in Pompeii and saw various stages of development. The oldest examples are works executed with simple motifs, using tesserae of rough workmanship and of modest material; those of subsequent epochs, on the other hand, show refinement in their composition, in their taste in colour and in the preciousness of the tesserae used. In the first period the works are characterized by the repetition of simple geometric motifs or they repeat the pictorial patterns of the second, third and fourth phases. Mosaics were often used as flooring. There are some admirable examples: the famous "cave canem" placed at the entrance to many houses is perhaps the best-known among the many which have survived. The panel depicting "The Battle of Alexander" housed in the Archaeological Museum in Naples and originating from the House of the Faun, is, though, one of the most important and magnificent examples.

Important Houses in PompeiiHouse Contained:

House of the Surgeon Surgical Instruments House of Paquius Proculus Portrait of magistrate and his wife (brother of

the house owner who was a baker) House of Venus Frescoes of the birth of Venus (in shell) in

Peristyle

House of Vetti In fourth style as mentioned earlier.Two brothers named VettiFrescoes of Amoretti (cupids):i. Buying Flowersii. Preparing and selling oils and perfumesiii. Chariot Races

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iv. Goldsmiths and metalworkersv. Fullersvi. Making and selling wine

House of the Faun First Style (believed to house Sulla’s nephew)i. Body of lady with jewelsii. Mosaic of Alexander the Greatiii. Cat-and-Partridge mosaic

House of Julia Felix Private Baths House of the Gladiator Painting of the riot in the Amphitheatre House of Menander (poet) 118-piece set of silver.

Villas

The Villas were usually outside the walls.

Villa of Mysteries had a fresco of the initiation of a bride into the mysteries of Dionysus and was designed with the second style

Villa of Cicero used the third style.

Achievements of Architecture

1. Arch decorativeStructuralCould span wide areasCould bear heavy weightAllowed for high buildings

2. Cement inexpensiveLightweightVersatileVaulting, using wooden moulds

Evidence of arches are found in:

Triumphal arches Aquaducts Theatres Amphitheatre Temples Basilicas Circular Buildings (Tholos) Baths (Thermae) Roofs -vault

-dome

Daily Life in Pompeii

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Main officials:

Decurions which were town councillors

Duoviri which were chief magistates in charge of Justice

Aediles which were the two officials in charge of public – buildings, shows,and city maintenance.

State Priests

Classes:

(1) Patricians (aristocrats)(2) Plebeians (ordinary citizens)(3) Slaves

In order to be able to write about life in Pompeii it is also important to know about Roman education, burial customs, etc.

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