2. THE NATURE AND SOURCES AND EVIDENCE: ph

Question 1

Epigraphic sources

Answer 1

The epigraphic archives of Pompeii and Herculaneum include formal inscriptions, public notices and graffiti.

Question 2

Formal inscriptions

Answer 2

are sources of evidence for the structure of Pompeian government, prominent families, and financial contributions to the construction of public buildings as well as evidence of economic, political and social transformations in society.


Question 3

Public notices and graffiti

Answer 3

public notices were electoral manifestos or slogans known and programmata that urged citizens to vote for a particular candidate. They were written in red or black ink on whitewashed walls and were painted by professionals called scriptures.

Question 4

Literary sources

Answer 4

Apart from the account of Pliny the Younger of the eruption of Vesuvius, most of the written texts from the time, while containing useful information, had a particular focus:
• Strabo – geography
• Vitruvius – Architecture
• Seneca – details of the earthquake in AD 62
• Tacitus – annals of Julio/Claudians

Question 5

significance of Pliny the Younger: Letters to Tacitus 


Answer 5

• The letters are valuable because: Pliny was an eyewitness to the eruption of Vesuvius
• He personally experienced the effects of the eruption at Misenum

Question 6

probs with Pliny the Younger: Letters to Tacitus 


Answer 6

• His account has been tested and largely reconciled with the geographical 
deposits across the Vesuvian plain
However, despite their invaluable nature as historical and scientific documents and their contribution to our understanding of the eruption, the letters lack important information and raise questions about their reliability.
Problems:
• description of his uncle’s experiences, behaviour and death were 
second-­‐hand. He would have had to rely on the reports of those who 
survived.
• He did not document the events until AD 103-­‐7, about a quarter of a 
century later (25 years)
• His purpose of the letters was to commemorate Pliny the Elder’s bravery.
• He also fails to mention the year of the eruption.

Question 7

Despite the abundance of architectural evidence, there are many discrepancies and problems involved.

Answer 7

1. -­‐ Many of the 800 houses and 600 shops were not documented accurately, if at all.
2. -­‐ A great deal of the material recorded about the buildings was based on ‘subjective impression and uncontrolled conjecture’ (A. Wallace-­‐Hadrill)
3. -­‐ Early interpretations of the material remains were based on the politics and ideologies of the time. 
Although there are problems with archaeological sources they still give us great insight into:
4. -­‐ The stages of occupation of the city
5. -­‐ Influx of wealth and the influence of the Hellenistic world
6. -­‐ The lack of distinction between upper and lower classes and residential 
and commercial areas
7. -­‐ The standard of living among certain groups in society
8. -­‐ Defences, transport and water supply structures
9. -­‐ And the attempts at rebuilding the cities after the earthquake of 62 AD

Question 8

• Human, Animal and Plant remains-

Answer 8

1. ­‐ Human skeletal remains from the beach at Herculaneum.
2. -­‐ Disarticulated bones from Pompeii.
3. -­‐ The plaster/resin casts from Pompeii. 
Human, animal and plant remains have provided evidence for:
4. -­‐ Sex, age, appearance and general height of the population
5. -­‐ Population affinities
6. -­‐ Probable occupations and social status
7. -­‐ Exact cause of death (e.g. suffocation from ash-­‐ asphyxiation, or unable to 
stand extreme temperatures-­‐ thermal shock)
8. -­‐ Type of vegetation and plant species in the area