The ancient city of Pompeii in Campania is the most visited archaeological site in the world thanks to the well-preserved ruins of the city buried by the volcanic eruption in 79 d.c. He caused his tragic end. Become Unesco in 1997 has always been a fascinating place for those who want to learn about the daily life in ancient times.
Osca hometown, after the social war Pompeii became a Roman colony under the name of Cornelia Venera Pompeiana. Partially destroyed by an earthquake in 62 d.C.l’intera city and its beautiful suburban villas were buried while reconstruction was underway. And it was the large amount of volcanic material that covered it in a few moments to determine the state of conservation of buildings, furnishings and bodies delivering it to posterity almost intact as in a time capsule.
Starting from the position of the unearthed bodies, those of the “family of Polybius,” the owner of a dry cleaner, a woman fleeing with her jewelery and many others, scholars have been able to reconstruct the last moments of life of the population.
Its inhabitants did not know they live in the shadow of a volcano dormant for over 1500 years and therefore were unable to flee in time despite Pliny the Elder, admiral of the Roman fleet tried to take them to safety following the eruption.
The city was erased from the collective memory for hundreds of years until the early excavations.
Pompeii, which was a thriving port and Mediterranean market, a holiday resort for wealthy Romans, remains so famous for the extraordinary state of preservation of civil buildings, located along well-maintained roads, such as the House of the Surgeon, that the Faun, of the Chaste Lovers and the famous Villa of the Mysteries. The latter is named after the murals that depict the initiation rites to the cult of Dionysus.
Characteristic are the graffiti on the outside walls of the buildings that instead inside were decorated with frescoes of great taste and scenes of daily life from which archaeologists have deduced the mundane nature of life that place and still bear witness to the luxury and love for art and beauty of the ancient Romans.
In good condition they are also remained the main forum and public buildings such as the Capitol, the Basilica, the public baths, the triangular hole, the two theaters and the Baths Stabiane.
Pompeii, along with the lost city of Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata (the suburban area of the ancient Oplontis) has been inserted in 1997 in the UNESCO World Heritage because of this: to be a witness unparalleled in the world of past societies.
Pompeii: Archaeological Site
The ancient Pompeii is located on a plateau about 30 meters above sea level, formed by a lava flow Vesuvius, in control of the Sarno River Valley, whose mouth there was a thriving port.
Uncertain are the news about the origins of the city. The oldest date from between the late seventh and the first half of the sixth century. BC, when it builds the first city wall in tuff said ‘pappamonte’, which enclosed an area of 63.5 hectares. A civilization ‘mixed’, in which were fused indigenous elements, Etruscans and Greeks, led to the development of the city.
Towards the end of the fifth century. BC, the tribes of Samnites descended from the mountains of Irpinia and Sannio, swept the plains of the Campania (meaning ‘fertile plain’), conquering and entering the Vesuvian and coastal cities in a league with Nuceria capital.
In Samnite Pompeii vintage receives a strong impetus to urbanization: even dates back to the fifth century. B.C. the construction of a new fortification in Sarno limestone, that was to follow a path similar to the previous.
Towards the end of the fourth century. BC, following a new pressure Samnite populations, Rome faces in southern Italy: systems of alliances and successful military campaigns will make it (343-290 BC) hegemonic throughout Campania. Pompei came then as a partner (allied) in the political organization of the Roman res publica, which, however, in 90-89 BC He rebelled with other Italic peoples, who demanded in Rome equal social and political dignity.
under siege by the troops of P. Cornelius Sulla, the city capitulated and became a Roman colony under the name of Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum (80 BC). After the “deduction” of the colony, Pompeii was enriched by private and public buildings, and further embellished especially in the age of the emperors Octavian Augustus (27 BC-14 A.D.) and Tiberius (A.D. 14-37).
In 62 A.D. a massive earthquake struck the whole Vesuvian area. In Pompeii the Reconstruction began immediately, but, for the extent of damage, and the seismic swarm that followed, it took a long time seventeen years later, when on August 24, AD 79 the sudden eruption of Vesuvius buried the ashes and lava, Pompeii was presented as a construction site still open.
His rediscovered in the sixteenth century, but in 1748 began the exploration, with the King of Naples Charles III of Bourbon, and continued systematically in the nineteenth century, to the most recent excavations, restoration and enhancement of the ancient city and the its exceptional heritage of architecture, sculptures, paintings, mosaics.
The archaeological area of Pompeii extends for about sixty of which has about forty-five have been excavated. The division of the city into regiones (neighborhoods) and insulae (blocks) was made by G. Fiorelli in 1858, for study and guidance needs.
The names of the houses, when it is known the owner, were minted by burrowing under the particular findings or other circumstances.
Pompeii: Excavations
The excavations began in 1748, during the reign of Charles of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies, with the primary intent to confer prestige to the royal house.
One operated intermittently and in different locations in which only a few years later was identified as Pompeii, without a systematic plan. They were thus brought to light part of the necropolis outside the Herculaneum Gate, the temple of Isis, the theater district.
The period of French occupation at the beginning of 1800, saw an increase of the excavations, which gradually slowed down with the return of the Bourbons. He worked in the area of the amphitheater and the Forum and even in that of Porta Ercolano and the theaters. He aroused great echo the discovery of the House of the Faun, with a large mosaic depicting the battle of Alexander.
After the unification of Italy and the appointment of Giuseppe Fiorelli as director of the excavations (1861) there was a change in the method of work. He tried to connect the cores that had been exposed and to proceed in a systematic way, to keep more detailed records, to leave in place the paintings (were detached and taken to the Naples Museum). It was also introduced the method of plaster casts, which allowed to recover the image of the victims of the eruption.
At the beginning of ‘900, the explorations spread following the principal streets, towards the eastern part of the city, paying more attention was paid to the remains of the upper floor of the houses.
This leads to long period (1924-1961) marked by Amedeo Maiuri. In his intense activity, in addition to the discovery of prestigious buildings (as exemplified by the Villa of the Mysteries) is to report the completion of the demarcation of the city, the extensive excavation of the regions I and II and the necropolis of Porta Nocera, the ‘methodical exploration beginning of the layers below the level of 79 AD, in search of the oldest phases of Pompeii.
In recent decades, the excavation has gradually reduced, in order to concentrate available resources on the restoration and maintenance of the buildings already unearthed.
Source: website