Fiorelli vs Pliny Flashcards
What is the Fiorelli Process?
This involved pouring plaster of paris into the cavities left by the decomposed bodies, animals and plants
What does the Fiorelli Process tell us?
It shows the manner in which people died and even the clothes they wore; we can tell slaves for example by the belt worn around the body. The animals still tethered up may indicate panic, and the money found alongside some bodies may indicate looting
How did excavations change under Fiorelli?
He prevented people removing artifacts from the site, removed debris from previous excavations and built roofs to protect houses and other buildings from the climate.
He kept detailed records of his excavations and identified different regions, insulae and individual doorways
What were the other achievements of Fiorelli?
He removed expensive items to Naples Museum and put replicas in their place, e.g. the mosaic of Alexander, the statue of the Faun, mosaics from the House of the Faun
What are the advantages of this account?
It is an eye witness account - providing personal testimony of his own observations and his uncle’s rescue attempt. It is both emotional & detailed! Furthermore it allows us to give a date of the eruption and its duration
What does Pliny tell us about the eruption?
He indicates there was a growing ash cloud which eventually developed into the shape of an umbrella pine. By the afternoon the sun had been blocked out, darkness fell followed by earth tremors. He tells us of ash and pumice falling from the sky, and of roofs collapsing and buildings shaking due to the tremors. Later on he tells us of fires on the mountainside and lightning in the ash column; he does not however provide details of the pyroclastic surges
What does Pliny tell us about how people reacted to the eruption?
Plinyl gives us much detail of his uncle’s fateful rescue attempt, even that he had a bath upon reaching Stabiae and later choking and collapsing on the beach whilst continuing to watch the eruption. We know from him that
access to the shore was blocked by pumice, preventing rescue attempts. Furthermore he tells us about people fleeing into the countryside, some with pillows on their heads to protect themselves against the falling
debris. Some were praying for a quick death; others lost faith in the gods. Slaves were rebelling and leaving their households despite the dire consequences if caught.
What does Pliny not tell us about?
We still need archaeology to inform us about how people died - this is evident through the casts of Fiorelli. Archaeology also informs us about the pyroclastic flows and how buildings collapsed under the weight of ash
and pumice
