Archeological Remains Flashcards
where are they in P and H? what do they provide?
Pompeii: unearthed below 4m of pumice, ash and other volcanic debris at
Herculaneum: under 20m of solidified volcanic material
provide insight/evidence for life in these Vesuvian towns during the 1st century D.
Quote to provide evidence of lack of documentation of artfeacts?
Andrew Wallace Hadrill - “ Each gen. discovers with horror the extent which info has been ignored, neglected, destroyed and left unreported and unpublished”
Public and Private Architectural Structures and Spaces
- survived the AD 79 eruption
- public buildings: walls/gates, fountains, temples, the forum, bathhouses, latrines, ampitheatre and paleastra
- private buildings: town houses, villas, shops, tavern/inns, workshops: brothels, tombs
Formal Inscriptions on?
stone, marble, bronze
what types of formal inscriptions are there?
- civic charters/regulations on bronze plates fixed to walls of public buildings.
- dedications by wealthy citizens, social duty to provide buildings and festivals, support imperial cult.
- > commemorative plaques found in prominent positions within city: public buildings, temples and pedestals for statues around forum e.g. Marcus Porcius who paid for ampitheatre - funery inscriptions found on tombs lining both sides of road outside H Gate in Pompeii.
What can historians learn form the formal inscriptions?
who prominent fam were in various periods, structure of gov., main political players, when buildings constructed/renovated, economic/social/political transformations in society, esp. in AD 1st C.
What do Public notices and graffiti refer to?
activities and events in years immediately preceding the eruption of AD79.
Public Notices: how written?
brush in red/black on whitewashed walls outside house or on buildings at person’s disposal
painted themselves or hired professional scribers at night
Public Notices: 3 types?
- Electoral posters (progammata) - urged citizens to vote for partic. politcal candidate. -> signed by fam, friends, clients, women,
- Programs announce shows coming to ampitheatre (edicta munerum) (important as electoral posters) local magistrates - editores munerum - responsible for paying gladiatorial shows/spectacles= popularity boost
- notices for property sales and rentals, also painted on city walls, e.g. Julia Felix before eruption advertised part of her property for rent.
Graffiti: what is it?
inscriptions/drawings scratched into surface of any avail. walls.
Graffiti: P dedicated to Venus?
graffiti concerning love, devotion, jealousy, bitterness, sexual frustration scattered across city.
Graffiti: what is the most common type?
greatest amt related to gladiators, adored by Pompeian women, and gladiatorial spectacles = concentrated near ampitheatre.
Graffiti: most explicit found in?
brothels, baths and public latrines
Graffiti: What was it used for?
- businesses promote their services, with customers not hesitating to responding/expressing their opinion.
- comments about drinking and gambling
- random declarations offering political opinions everywhere, angrier ones concentrated around basilica in P where justice, trials and business activities carried out. e.g. ‘Samius to Cornelius: go hang yourself’
- express deepest opinions, feelings, gossip, threaten enemy, advertise.
Graffiti: What did ppl at time think of them?
writing on wall widespread. Ppl at time believed it to be ‘trash’/nonsense but today, invaluable source of info bout inhabitant of roman towns.