Premier’s Westfield History Scholarship
The NSW HSC Ancient History Syllabus:
A justification for the title
‘The Cities of Vesuvius’
Jennifer Anne Parrett
Leeton High School
Sponsored by
The region of Campania
An area that is dominated by volcanic activity takes on a unique character. The particular
nature of the volcanoes themselves has determined the way that settlements have
developed, and how people have migrated to and from the area.
From the first, Vesuvius emerges as the dominant physical feature on the landscape. It is
impossible to miss, and beneath it is the urban sprawl of Naples and Greater Naples.
There is little doubt that the region is now, as it was then, subject to Vesuvius and its
capricious nature, with over 30 eruptions since AD 79.
The eruptions of this particular volcano, Mount Vesuvius, have led to the creation of a
unique food bowl, with terrestrial and marine provisioning for the population.
Environmental archaeologist Robyn Veale with the Anglo–American project (2005) has
been part of a team that has examined man’s interaction with the Campanian
environment during pre-eruption times and concluded that the area was extremely well
provisioned.1 The volcanic region provided excellent sources of timber for building and
heating, soils for intensive agriculture, and the huge Bay of Naples provided fish and
transport routes for the region.
The development of the Campanian settlement has been dominated by the rich sources
of food in this volcanic region. Originally, the area was colonised by Greeks, who found
the area accessible by ship, with all manner of food sources. The discovery of Epicurean
philosophical works in Naples and in the Villa of the Papyrii, Herculaneum,
demonstrates the dominance of food production and consumption in the region.2 The
Neapolitan area has a history of waves of settlement, showing the various interests
groups had in settling such a rich area.
The area has been well documented in Roman times by Pliny the Elder’s Natural History.
Stationing himself at Misenum, he was in an excellent position to enjoy the warm
climates and the outstanding environment:
But how shall I commence this undertaking? So vast is the number of celebrated
places (what man living could enumerate them all?), and so great the renown
attached to each individual nation and subject, that I feel myself quite [p. 1182] at a
loss … And then too the coast of Campania, taken singly by itself! so blest with
natural beauties and opulence, that it is evident that when nature formed it she
took a delight in accumulating all her blessings in a single spot—how am I to do
justice to it?3
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Nevertheless, the pre-eruption supposition that the area of Campania was dominated by
a dormant volcano was erroneous. Strabo, in his work Geography, described the mountain
this way:
Above these places lies Mt. Vesuvius, which, save for its summit, has dwellings all
round, on farm-lands that are absolutely beautiful. As for the summit, a
considerable part of it is flat, but all of it is unfruitful, and looks ash-coloured, and
it shows pore-like cavities in masses of rock that are soot-coloured on the surface,
these masses of rock looking as though they had been eaten out by fire; and hence
one might infer that in earlier times this district was on fire and had craters of fire,
and then, because the fuel gave out, was quenched …4
The eruption of the volcano was therefore unexpected by the region’s inhabitants. The
process of the eruption in AD 79 presents us with a series of catastrophic events that,
later, create a paradigm of archaeological sites,5 including Pompeii, Herculaneum,
Stabiae, Oplontis and Boscoreale, which centres on the eruption and its aftermath.
Layers of ash can be seen here. Gradual build up occurs
continuously. (Scholar’s own photograph 2005)
The name ‘Vesuvius’ means ‘great cone’. On an ascent to the crater, the title seems most
apt. The layers of ash build-up and the steam at the base of the crater show that the
activity is continuous. The Mount Somma complex surrounds it, showing activity of
17,000 years ago. The nature of the volcano involves a build-up of a ‘plug’ at the neck of
the volcano, under which pressure builds until a violent eruption occurs. Over the
volcano, there are measuring devices and a thick vine-like forest where Spartacus hid as a
fugitive. The lararium fresco at the House of the Centenary shows a tall peaked mountain
beside Dionysus. The area was benign for many years, until AD 79, when the eruption
was believed to occur.
The eruption of Vesuvius gains the label ‘Plinian’ because of the observations of Pliny
the Younger, in his letters to Tacitus. While noting that these letters are themselves
sources with which an historian should use caution, they outline the apparent phases of
the eruption. The work of Haraldur Sigurdsson (1985) and the measurement and modern
recording of the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in 1980 show some parallels to Pliny’s
description, thereby giving a worthwhile outline of the phases of the eruption. Of course,
other vulcanologists, geologists and archaeologists have examined the remains, and from
these, looked at the impact of the eruption on the physical environment of the region.
The eruption was preceded by seismic activity in AD 62. Sources indicate that the
February eruption had differing effects on the area, and archaeological evidence points to
some post earthquake reconstruction. Apparently, on 24 August AD 79 (with the date
itself being open to question) the plug burst, followed by a massive eruption column
which blew the top off the mountain.
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius created totally different impacts on the areas around it.
It is imperative to note that the different speeds and materials that were expelled by
Vesuvius on the region have determined the way that the victims died; the ways that the
sites have been destroyed and preserved, respectively; and later, the knowledge gained
from the sites; their discoveries, excavations, interpretations, conservation and
management.
The destruction of Herculaneum, 7 km from Vesuvius, was immediate and complete. A
study of the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, and the study of the bodies in the barrel
vaults by
The view from the Villa San Marco, originally to the
beach. (Scholar’s own photograph, 2005)
Flowers placed beside the child: The
Garden of the Fugitives. (Scholar’s own
photograph, 2005)
Mastrolorenzo6 have led to better pictures of the stages of the eruption and the impact
on Herculaneum.
The first phase of the eruption for Herculaneum was the descent of hot gasses at
estimated temperatures of 480 Degrees.7 The 26 victims at Mount Saint Helens in 1980
show deaths from asphyxiation and thermal shock, and the correlation of the autopsy
findings to those at Herculaneum have been extrapolated.8 The constriction of tendons,
the pugilistic poses and the sutures in the skulls of bodies strongly indicate that high
temperatures killed the residents of Herculaneum.9 The town was then covered in the
next 24-hour period with between 9 and 21 metres of volcanic material,10 evidence of
which is clearly seen in some of the excavations around windows and doors. The depth,
density and hard composition of the material on Herculaneum are unique. The city of
Resina now is constructed around the site, with multistorey buildings well supported by
the hardened volcanic deposits underneath.
The documented phases of the eruption on Pompeii were very different to Herculaneum.
The first phases of the eruption were not fatal, according to Sigurdsson,11 with the
descent of ash and lapilli being blown by the winds to the south of the eruptive column.
The next phase affecting Pompeii was after Herculaneum’s destruction, which was lethal.
The surges of debris, ash and later pyroclastic flow killed most of the Pompeiian victims,
knocked second storeys off buildings and covered the area with 4 metres of material.
Clearly the deposits of material were much thinner than at Herculaneum, with layers of
pumice and ash relatively easy to remove.
The district was affected in varying degrees. The landscape changed, with the Bay of
Naples extended. On site, the extension of the landform on the beachside villas is clearly
shown. The destruction of the villas and their surrounding lands varied according to their
proximity to the eruption.
Post-eruption history of the Campanian region
The post-eruption history of Campanian region is, like the pre-eruption history,
comprehensively dominated by the existence of Vesuvius. The subsequent outline of
developments in the region is again a direct impact of the mountain on the area.
Pompeii is now a tourist mecca, with over 30,000 tourists visiting daily. Personal
experience of the sheer mass of tourists on such an old site offends the conservationist
sensibilities of an Australian ancient history teacher. The visitation of this 66-hectare city
is so intense simply because of the rarity of this find. The excavation of Pompeii to the
AD 79 level produces an archaeological and historical discovery like no other. For the
layperson it provides an experience of walking through time, to see in the present day
how everyday people may have lived. Bodies sculpted from plaster castings are dispersed
through the site for the public to contemplate their fate in the face of the eruption.
Gardens have been replanted in houses that reflect styles akin to those described by
Vitruvius,12 and people can sit in the amphitheatre and contemplate the size of the
crowds before AD 79.
The tradition of visiting Pompeii is a relatively old one. The grand tours of previous
centuries drew visitors from the European and American elite during a time when
artefacts were collected as curios, and vignettes of skeletons and furniture were set up for
viewing.13 The Bourbon monarchy sponsored the tunnelling and chiselling that
eventually led to the massive collection at the Archaeological Museum of Naples, where
few glass cases exist for statues or mosaics and masonry spills out into the courtyard.
The archaeological value of Pompeii has been enhanced as well as reduced by the
international interest generated by the site. Scholars and interested benefactors, like the
Packard Humanities Institute, have provided funds to ensure study and conservation.
Tourists, conversely, have often damaged materials on the site, but give revenue to the
soperintendenza for future developments.
The traditions of tours, the rearrangement and collection of artefacts, removal and rapid
excavation of material in the name of archaeology come from an age when archaeology
was looting. Conservation has only been a relatively recent concern of the general public
and the political nature of control over the sites has led to a spasmodic excavation and
management history.
Pompeii was first discovered in the 16th century and its chequered progress as a
‘preserved’ ancient site is owed to the ease with which the site was discovered and
excavated. It reflects the history of archaeology as well as the history of Roman
settlement in the Campanian region.14
Why other sites were discovered later, and why tourist visitation there has never been as
intense, is fundamentally due to the thinner and more porous coverage that Pompeii
received from the Vesuvian eruption. Furthermore, the trends of investigation and study
of the region are due to the material deposited.
Two examples strengthen this argument. Firstly, the light ash substance allowed for
intact frescoes on lower storey walls that remained without warping that have been of
remarkable quality. The advent of the art history approach to Pompeii, particularly in the
German schools, comes from Johann Wincklemann and his access to the many frescoes
excavated in the 18th century.15 This approach has altered the perspective of scholarship
on Pompeii, with objects of art the priority rather than any other objects. The scientific
approach to study in Pompeii was pushed aside due to the art history influence.16 While
contemporary exhibitions such as the Food and Flavourings Exhibition at Boscoreale
(2005) are now created, the everyday life element of Pompeii had been largely
disregarded in the past in favour of frescoes, sculptures, and less utilitarian artefacts. A
distinct archaeological bias in favour of elites has been presented due to the fascination
with interest in classical art.
(above) Ceiling feature from the Men’s Stabian
Bath House.
(left) The Forum Women’s Bath House, converted
to a restaurant.
(Scholar’s own photographs, 2005)
Secondly, the pumice and ash created perfect fossils of organic matter, like doors, tree
roots, and, of course, bodies. The Fiorelli method of creating plaster casts of the fossils
led to an immediate visual of the victims in their death throes. The twisted agony of the
dog and the infant beside its mother in the Garden of the Fugitives evoke huge
emotional responses from people. This has led to a more immediate impression and,
therefore, more curiosity about the victims of Vesuvius. The fact of an eruption wreaking
havoc on a populace is enhanced with actual human reminders of death—skeletons with
‘flesh’ upon them. This confrontation with death has led to many dramatic recreations of
the events of Vesuvius. Films such as The Last Days of Pompeii build on the old staged
vignettes of the grand tour days. Even now, bestsellers of populist recreations such as
Pelligrino’s Ghosts of Vesuvius or Harris’ Pompeii exist, and the BBC’s most recent offering,
Pompeii: The Last Day, show stories of imagined human experiences. The fossils have
heightened the drama that people have tried on many occasions to recreate about the
Pompeiians in the face of the eruption.
The dominance of art history in its scholarship and the importance of high drama in its
presentation are immediately evident when visiting Pompeii. The sites that have been
given precedence are those that contain (or did contain) art works, with ‘lesser’ structures
being treated according to their lack of art works. A simple comparison of men’s and
women’s bath houses or the poorer and richer homes will give the visitor a visual
contrast. Art has been removed from the site, officially in the past, and illegally in the
present.17 Additionally, there is tremendous attention to the bodies, which has led to
many populist recreations of the last moments of the people of Pompeii.
In contrast, the Vesuvian volcanic materials deposited on Herculaneum have determined
the course of its excavation and management. The depth and density of the material
burying Herculaneum left it harder to discover and excavate and easier to build upon,
and has preserved a whole range of organic remains which provide massive challenges
for conservation.
Herculaneum was accidentally rediscovered in 1709, much later than Pompeii. The
prolific sources of marble led to tunnelling sponsored by the Bourbon royalty.
Subsequently, a highlight of early scholarship in archaeology occurred with the vigilant
supervision of the Villa of the Papyrii under Karl Weber.18 However, comprehensive
excavations of whole structures were abandoned in favour of the easier working
conditions in Pompeii and Stabiae.19 (The ash had undergone a lithification process
through water contact and had made the substance tuffaceous rock.20)
Work resumed in Herculaneum during the Mussolini dictatorship. Manpower and
modern machinery led to a fairly rapid excavation of the site, with the Mauri 20th century
concept of an open air museum.21 Postwar attention went again to Pompeii and various
soperintendenzas are recognised as leaving Herculaneum neglected (though this does not
appear in publications). Reclamation of the township of Resina for Herculaneum
excavations no longer became an issue after Mauri’s work finished in 1963. A building
beside the excavations, once planned for display, sits rather emptily, a project from one
of the maffioso-dominant times.
Periods of high interest have existed for Herculaneum, but unlike Pompeii, these have
been generally about the organic remains of the site. The work of Dr Sara Bisel on the
skeletal remains attracted international attention,22 but politics intervened and the
National Geographic Society sponsorship was ended.23 The concept of studying the
bodies for their live state rather than their victimisation by the volcano was a priority.24
The 1982 sensational discovery of a boat led to great study on the design and material
construction of boats.25
Herculaneum continued to be the lesser known and therefore less visited site. Today, the
visitor to Herculaneum is predominantly an Italian school student. It never experienced
the grand tour days, and does not suffer the thousands of tourist visitors as does
Pompeii.
However, conservation of this precious site has become a priority. This is due to what
has been preserved in Herculaneum by Vesuvius after its eruption AD 79.
Andrew Wallace-Hadrill in September 2005 explained to the tour group that his ‘far from
modest ambition is to literally save the site of Herculaneum’.26 The site is so precious
due to the better preservation of its archaeological material than that of Pompeii, but by
the very nature of the material it is at risk of being lost forever. The meeting with the
Herculaneum Conservation Project shed light on the Packard Humanities-sponsored
initiative to safeguard the site before any other activity can take place. Since 2004 there
has been new legislation to give some autonomy to this proactive group of Italian and
international specialists, who work on supporting crumbing walls, restoring fading
frescoes, stopping pigeon destruction and arresting the destruction of crumbling mosaics.
This groundbreaking work has allowed international agencies to collaborate with the
soperintendenza, Pier Giovanni Guzzo, to actively work towards conservation, not
excavation or exhibition.
The materials preserved in Herculaneum include organic matter, such as bread, grapes
and timber. Second storeys of buildings that in all other sites have been knocked down
by the final phases of the eruption have also remained intact. It is the very nature of the
material preserved, according to Wallace-Hadrill that makes it so fragile.27 For example,
carbonised timber is charcoal, so it just crumbles.
Post-eruption studies have also extended to the various villas outside the towns of
Pompeii and Herculaneum. The quest for otium (productive leisure) is shown in various
examples of the villas available to the visitor. The contrasts between the sumptuous
Oplontis villa, the Villa San Marco, the Villa of the Mysteries and the Villa Rustica show
the differing levels of leisure and productivity, size and wealth, and purpose of living in
the Campania region.28 The availability of productive land, the temperate climate and
proximity to the beach led to pre-eruption settlement and the later existence of sites that
add to a whole area of post-eruption excavation, scholarship and management.
The rediscovery, excavation and management of the Villa of the Papyrii have again been
very different to the aforementioned southern villas. This villa, now literally across a road
from Herculaneum, is comprised of elite living unparalleled in the area, with sheer size
and prodigious amounts of art works. International interest has existed in the 20th
century from millionaire John Paul Getty (whose Villa Malibu, open to the public in
2006, is a pastiche of styles existing in the villa29) and the Philodemus project, which
centred on the scrolls found in the library. The existence of the controversial second
library containing the scrolls of papyrus has provided substantial historical debate,30 with
the painstaking process of unrolling and deciphering excavated scrolls a massive and
therefore unfinished task.31 The fact that materials such as papyrus are still available to
scholars are a consequence of the depth of material deposited by Vesuvius and the heatsealing of the area in the early phases of the eruption.
Conclusion
Since the 18th Century, the discoveries in Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabiae have
aroused interest or curiosity in scholars and non experts alike.32
Pier Giovanni Guzzo gives an apt summation of the importance of the Campanian
region in the introduction of the guidebook to Pompeii, in describing the visitors as
experiencing ‘one of the most significant legacies of the ancient world.’33
It is the very nature of the eruption by Vesuvius that has led to the contrasting sites.
Studied alone, recognition of the differences in pre-eruption development and posteruption treatment cannot be achieved.
The natural consequence for the international community is to study, value and conserve
the paradigm of sites in an entity, the product of an eruption that sealed over an ancient
area. The wealth of archaeological and historical material, the links found to the heritage
of all modern western civilisation, the consequences of previous excavations and
management strategies, and the debatable issues related to ethics make it a particularly
appropriate core topic of study for Australian ancient history teachers and students in
NSW high schools.
In the consultative findings of the NSW Board of Studies, 76 per cent of ancient history
teachers voted for the study of Pompeii as the new core study for the 2006 Ancient
History syllabus. However, the Board Consultation Committee (BCC) decided on the
title ‘Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum’ to extend the field of study beyond
Pompeii.* After a tour of the region, it is essential to look at the area as a complete
product of the dominant geophysical entity. The cities of Vesuvius and all that they entail
are owed to the activity of the ‘great cone’.
Please note, that as a member of the BCC, confidentiality of specific discussion, of which I was
a part, was mandatory. As a result, direct reference is not appropriate. Consultative findings were
released in the period of syllabus development in 2004, and broad decisions are evident in the
syllabus.
Endnotes
1. Veale, MAHA Conference Paper, Macquarie University, 2005.
2. Lancaster, J., The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Cultural History of Naples (I.B. Taurus, London:
2005).
3. Pliny the Elder, The Natural History (eds John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. & H.T. Riley,
Esq., B.A.).
4. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/home.html
5. Estelle Lazar, ‘The Eruption’, lecture at Cities of Vesuvius Tour, 2005.
6. Cameron, K, and Lawless, J., Secrets of Vesuvius: Unlocking the Sources from Pompeii and
Herculaneum (Thomson Nelson, Melbourne: 2006), p.90.
7. Estelle Lazar, ‘The Eruption’, lecture at Cities of Vesuvius tour, September, 2005.
8. Brennan, B., & Lazar, E., Pompeii and Herculaneum: Interpreting the Evidence (Ancient
History Seminars, Sydney: 2005), p.13.
9. Ibid., p.12.
10. Herculaneum Conservation Project, mimeograph for tour teachers, September, 2005,
p.2.
11. Brennan, B., & Lazar, E, Pompeii and Herculaneum: Interpreting the Evidence (Ancient
History Seminars, Sydney: 2005), p. 12.
12. Vitruvius, as mentioned in Penelope Allison, Atria in Pompeii, MAHA.
13. Estelle Lazar, ‘A History and Philosophy of the Management of Pompeii’, lecture at
Cities of Vesuvius Tour, September 2005.
14. R. Granger, ‘Pompeii: Excavations and Discovery’, with permission from the author.
15. Estelle Lazar, ‘A History and Philosophy of the Management of Pompeii’, lecture at
Cities of Vesuvius Tour, September 2005.
16. Ibid.
17. B. Brennan, and E Lazar, op.cit., pp. 148–149.
18. Pirozzi, M.E.A., Herculaneum: the excavations, local history and surroundings (Electa Napoli:
2000), p.36.
19. Herculaneum Conservation Project mimeograph, p. 2.
20. Ibid., p.2.
21. Ibid., p.2.
22. Deiss, J.J., Herculaneum: Italy’s Buried Treasure (The John Paul Getty Museum, Los
Angeles:1985), p. 190.
23. Estelle Lazar, MAHA Conference Lecture, 2004.
24. Deiss, J.J., op.cit., p.191.
25. Pirozzi, M., op.cit., p.44.
26. Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, ‘Saving Herculaneum’, lecture at the British School of
Rome, October, 2005.
27. Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Ibid.
28. Brian Brennan, ‘Houses and Villas on the Bay of Naples’, on Tour, September, 2005.
29. Ibid.
30. Cameron, K, and Lawless, J., op.cit., pp.103–40.
31. Dr. Rosalie Cook, MAHA lecture, ‘The Villa of the Papyrii’, August, 2005.
32. Pier Giovanni Guzzo, Introduction, Pompeii: Guide to the site (Electa Napoli, 2002), p.7.
33. Ibid., 35.