Pompeii and Herculeneum: Archaelogists

Question 1

Who was the first archaeologist to excavate the site of Pompeii?

Answer 1

Giuseppe Fiorelli was the first archaeologist who excavated the site of Pompeii.

Question 2

What is Fiorelli remembered for?

Answer 2

Fiorelli is particularly remembered for his technique to make plaster casts of the bodies of the people who were killed in the eruption.

Question 3

Who was responsible for the more scientific oriented excavations on Herculaneum?

Answer 3

Karl Weber was the man responsible for keeping track of publishing multiples sources of information about his discoveries.

Question 4

What did Fiorelli introduce in the Archaeology practise at Pompeii?

Answer 4

Fiorelli introduced the systematic methods of recovering the ruins and recording the details and a method of naming and numbering houses and buildings.

Question 5

How’s does Fiorelli’s systematic system work?

Answer 5

Fiorelli divided the town into nine regions, each containing up to 22 blocks or insulate and entrances.

1 letter and 2 numbers are given for each house. E.g. V = region, 13 = block and 26 = the entrance.

Question 6

What archaeological practise was the first one that was done by Fiorelli?

Answer 6

Fiorelli was the first one to excavate houses from the top rather than from the sides and to ensure that each house was adequately shored up after it was excavated.

Question 7

What is the title of Fiorelli’s published journal in 1876, on the monthly updates of excavations?

Answer 7

Fiorelli’s journal is called “Notes on Excavations of Antiquity”

Question 8

Who was the one that was responsible for the chronological typology of the wall paintings?

Answer 8

August Mau was the one who studied the art and architecture of Pompeii and categorises them into different categories.

Question 9

What were August Mau’s four categories of art?

Answer 9

August Mae’s categorised art styles are First Style/Masonry Style, Second Style/Architectural Style, Third Style and Fourth Style/Intricate Style.

Question 10

What was the First Style estimated to be around?

Answer 10

The First Style is estimated to be around 175BC to 80BC.

Question 11

What was the Second Style estimated to be around?

Answer 11

The Second Style is estimated to be around 80BC to 10BC.

Question 12

What is the Third Style estimated to be around?

Answer 12

The Third Style is estimated to be from 10BC to 50AD.

Question 13

What is the Fourth Style estimated to be around?

Answer 13

The Fourth Style is estimated to be from 50AD to 79AD.

Question 14

What is the technique of the First Style?

Answer 14

The First Style works by dividing walls into panels of colour to represent stone or marble blocks.

Question 15

What is the technique of the Second Style?

Answer 15

The technique of the Second Style is formed by creating an illusion of space and depth with the use of perspective. There could be framework of columns to illustrate a garden or distant landscape.

Question 16

What is the technique of the Third Style?

Answer 16

The technique of the Third Style is more reliant on the two dimensional artstyle, dividing the wall into separate zones., accompanied with slender painted columns and architraves.

Question 17

What is the technique of the Fourth Style?

Answer 17

The technique of the Fourth Style is to use architectural frames and open, airily vistas, combined with mythologically thrown in.

Question 18

Who was responsible for the excavations at Pompeii for 37 years, between 1924 and 1961?

Answer 18

Amedeo Maiuri was in charge of the excavations at Pompeii for 37 years, between 1924 and 1961.

Question 19

What did Amedeo specifically excavate from his time at Pompeii?

Answer 19

Amedeo excavated on the area around the Via dell’Abbondanza, focusing on the Insulae on either side of the road: Insulae 7, 6, 10 and 8.

Question 20

What else did Amedeo excavate at Pompeii?

Answer 20

Amedeo excavated the 140 metres of the road to the Amphitheatre, the Palaestra, the House of Menander and the House of the Surgeons.

Question 21

How did Amedeo excavate the city wall of Pompeii?

Answer 21

Amedeo excavated the city wall by digging an eight meter wide ditch around the entire wall, three kilometres in distance

Question 22

When did the Italian government decided to receive help from international teams on archaeological sites like Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Answer 22

The Italian government received help from international teams around the 1980’s.

Question 23

What kind of help did the Italian government receive from International organisations on their archaeological sites.

Answer 23

The Italian government received 36 billion lire from the European Economic Community and joint venture projects between Italian archaeologists, conservators and universities with university based teams from around the world.

Question 24

When has the focus of the excavation changed from uncovering new areas of the site to reinvestigating and conserving exposed areas of the site.

Answer 24

The focus has changed since this 1990’s.

Question 25

What are the four steps of project work at Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Answer 25

1. Archival research into the original excavation and the artefacts then excavated.
2. Recording and analysis of standing remains.
3. Excavation of levels below 79AD.
4. Publication of the findings.

Question 26

What had came out of the first phrase on the excavations?

Answer 26

What came out of it is the exhibition “Unpeeling Pompeii”, held in Pompeii at the end of 1998.

Question 27

What has been the focus of the Anglo-American project?

Answer 27

The focus of the Anglo American project has been to investigating the urban development of Region VI, Insula 1 in Pompeii, including the House of the Vestals and the House of the Surgeons.

Question 28

How does the Anglo American team develop a chronology of the history of buildings that were constructed on the site.

Answer 28

The Anglo American team investigated the stratigraphy below the 79AD surface as well as using the changes in deposits and datable objects within the deposits.

Question 29

What does the excavations beneath the House of the Vestals reveal about the history of Pompeii?

Answer 29

The excavations reveals that Pompeii was occupied from the fourth century and extensive changes had been made to the city in the second century BC.

Question 30

What challenges Maiuri’s dating of the House of the Surgeons and why?

Answer 30

The pieces of Pottery that were located beneath the 79AD surface and the reason is that Maiuri didn’t consider these pieces of evidence in their stratigraphic sequence and he didn’t write down what he had discovered in his foundation trench.

Question 31

What happen at Pompeii in the first century BC, as a result of Roman occupation?

Answer 31

The House of the Vestals were separated from its original commercial area, and within the house, the family’s living quarters were separated from the service areas.

Question 32

When was the House of the Vestals connected to the new water supply provided by the Roman build Aqueduct?

Answer 32

The House of the Vestals was connected to the water supply system provided by the Aqueduct in 20BC.

Question 33

When was the Pompeiian water supply system damaged from the earthquake.

Answer 33

The Pompeiian water system was damaged in the earthquake of 62AD and was still being repaired, as well as mosaic floors and elaborate wall paintings in 79AD.

Question 34

What is one of the projects’ goals, undertaken by the British School at Rome?

Answer 34

One of the things the British School at Rome was tasked with is tracing the urban development of Region I, Insula 9, including the House of the Beautiful Impluvium, the House of the Fruit Orchard and the House and Bar of Amarantus.

Question 35

Who was responsible for the first offical excavation on Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Answer 35

Rocco Alcubierre was responsible for the first offical archaeological excavation on 1748?

Question 36

When did the first offical excavation happen on Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Answer 36

The first offical excavation on Pompeii and Herculaneum happen in 1748.

Question 37

What did Rocco do with the archaeological artefacts he found at Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Answer 37

He sent them to his king, which is now stored at the Naples museum.

Question 38

Who are the important archaeologists related to Pompeii/Herculaneum?

Answer 38

Giuseppe Fiorelli
Vittorio Spinazzola
August Mau
Amedeo Maiuri 
Fausto Zevi
Amedeo Maiuri