Pompeii is a world-famous archaeological site located in the Campania region of Southern Italy. It is best known for being preserved and frozen in time by Mt. Vesuvius’s eruption in 79 AD. This rare and unique occurrence has led to tremendous archaeological excavation and digging since the mid-18th century. In the last 200 years, much of Pompeii’s former glory has been rediscovered, including some of its most amazing structures, artifacts, and paintwork from its heyday some 2000 years ago.
The total amount of Pompeii excavated, however, is still relatively small when compared to the size of the city before its volcanic destruction. In fact, since excavation began in the 1700s, only about half of the city’s total area has been explored. This is because more than a half of Pompeii is still buried beneath a layer of volcanic ash and pumice. Pompeii’s ruins were officially declared a World Heritage Site in 1997 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Due to its size, age, and scope, much of the city remains un-excavated and intact due to the challenges of reaching it under the volcanic material and the conservation challenges of an exposed ruins. One of the challenges of fully exploring the site is to ensure it is properly documented and preserved for future generations. In addition to a lack of resources, another challenge is to maintain the integrity of the structures and provide a safe environment for future archaeologists.
“Archaeology is a fragile science,” explains Dr. Bette Meyer, a professor and specialist in Ancient Roman archaeology. “The challenge to archaeologists is to excavate the site while preserving it for future study and research.” Dr. Meyer has been working on excavations at Pompeii since the late 1990s, and has seen how the challenge of preserving the site and the city’s current excavation levels have changed dramatically. She explains, “At first, much of the city was explored in a very haphazard manner. Now, we have a more disciplined approach to preserving artifacts and buildings for the long-term.”
In addition to UNESCO’s designation of Pompeii as a World Heritage Site, the Italian government has also placed strict regulations on the excavation of the city. This is to ensure that future archaeologists are provided with an environment that is both safe for study and still protects the integrity of the site. According to Dr. Meyer, “All excavation is now monitored by the Italian government and is heavily regulated to ensure that the site is not irreparably damaged.”
Despite the strict regulations, Pompeii remains an important archaeological site of exploration and preservation. With only fifty-percent of the city currently excavated and documented, archaeologists are working feverishly to uncover the buried treasures and structures of the ancient city. As Dr. Meyer summarizes, “Pompeii is an incredible haven of archaeological treasures, and the exploration continues. It is important that we continue to protect, document, and conserve the site, whilst ensuring it remains accessible to generations to come.”
The Challenges of Preservation and Exploration
Pompeii is a rare and extraordinary site. Its tragically sudden destruction has left the city covered in a blanket of volcanic ash, preserving its artistic and architectural wonders for centuries. Yet this same blanket makes exploration of the city difficult for archaeologists. Ground seismic testing, core samples, and X-ray scans help map the shape of the ruins and identify the location of possible artifacts, but the difficulty of excavation means that much of the city remains hidden. The preservation of existing artifacts is further complicated by the acidic rain created by the volcanic fallout, which quickly corrodes frescoes, furniture, and sculptures.
The Italian government has placed strict regulations on the excavation of the city. This is to ensure that future archaeologists are provided with an environment that is both safe for study and still protects the integrity of the site. Special techniques and tools have also been developed to facilitate preservation, such as humidity and temperature control spaces, specialized excavation tools and strategies, and preventive conservation measures that manage the site-wide environment to protect the most delicate and fragile structures. While the aim of preservation is to retain the integrity of the site and its artifacts, it has the added benefit of creating a safe space for exploration and study.
The archaeological preservation of Pompeii’s ruins is a challenge, but it is one that is being met with ever-advancing technology and a strong sense of commitment from its custodians. This has enabled archaeologists to slowly uncover the city’s treasures, from ancient frescoes and sculptures to everyday items like coins and jewelry, providing a snapshot into life during the height of the Roman Empire.
Modern Tourists and the City of Pompeii
The city of Pompeii remains a popular tourist destination for travellers around the world. Its deep history and famous ruins are reminders of the tragedy that befell the city in 79 AD, and its unique state of preservation has led to numerous movies, books, and other forms of art being based off of its history. Because of the fragility of the natural and artistic landscape, the City of Pompeii limits the number of visitors to the ruins while encouraging those that come to remain respectful and mindful of the area’s delicate state.
Due to its vulnerability, the city’s iconic frescoes and sculptures must be carefully preserved. Special water treatments, reinforcements, and protective coatings have been applied to many of the imposing structures as a means to ensure their durability for generations to come. For example, the famous Villa of Poppaea is just one structure that has been subject to infinite preventative and restoration treatments to ensure its preservation and continued viability for future tourists.
In addition to preserving and protecting the site, the City of Pompeii also works towards providing visitors with an unparalleled experience. From detailed guided tours to exhibitions focusing on the city’s destruction and subsequent excavation, visitors are provided with an insight into the unique history of the city. In addition, the city is home to a number of archaeological, artistic, and scientific museums, providing visitors with an insight into the lives, culture, and achievements of the people that once inhabited the area.
The Ancient Eruption and its Lasting Impacts
The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD is one of the most famous and treacherous in history, as it both destroyed and preserved the nearby Roman city of Pompeii. Its impacts were felt both at the time and since, with many of the original artifacts, structures, and landscapes of the city quickly being entombed and preserved beneath several meters of ash and pumice. While the city was not rediscovered until centuries later, Mt. Vesuvius itself remains a reminder of its destructive power, with the cities and villages that line its foothills still clinging to the slopes.
Despite the destruction, the Mt. Vesuvius eruption was rarely considered as a significant geological event until its rediscovery of Pompeii many centuries later. Because of this, most of what we now know of the ancient Roman city owes to its destruction, and our ability to investigate the perfectly preserved remains of its former glory. The eruption serves as a reminder of the incredibly powerful forces of nature and the tragic circumstances that befell the city and its people.
The eruption and destruction of Pompeii have come to shape our understanding of the past, providing us with a unique window into the ancient Roman world. The city remains a vastly important archaeological site, where the fertile soils beneath contain more than anecdotal artifacts – they contain local and regional histories that stretch far beyond just the Roman Empire. It is these stories that attract visitors from around the world, and will continue to fascinate and inspire generations to come.
The City of Pompeii in Popular Culture
Pompeii’s impact and significance has reached much farther than just the academic world. Its destruction and subsequent entombment in ash has captured the imaginations of artists, authors, and filmmakers across numerous mediums. Numerous books, movies and TV shows set in the ancient city inform artistic interpretations of the destruction, while poems and paintings explore the city’s former beauty.
Pompeii has been popularised in popular culture in many forms. From the classic novel “The Last Days of Pompeii,” written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834, to the 2014 blockbuster epic “Pompeii”, starring Kit Harington and Emily Browning. Even some prominent orchestral pieces, such as “Vesuvius” by Annie Lennox, have highlighted the city’s destruction.
The city’s destruction and subsequent exploration remains incredibly popular within the art, photography and film worlds. While the tragedy of the city’s destruction remains a central theme, the art and literature surrounding the destruction often focuses on the drama and sheer spectacle of the destruction. Many art pieces, such as those of Hans Heysen and Ludwig Richter, focus on the ethereal beauty of the ruins, while others, like the film Gladiator, makes use of the ruins as a backdrop and draws parallels between Pompeii’s destruction to the rise of the Roman Empire.
Pompeii’s story has grown with its exploration. The city’s centrally important role in the Roman Empire has been brought to life through powerful imagery and artistic prose, while its destruction has been memorialised in beloved stories from antiquity to the present day.
Conclusion
The past 2000 years have seen the birth and destruction of Pompeii, one of Ancient Rome’s most iconic cities. Its destruction has since left an indelible mark on popular culture, providing generations of audiences with an insight into the tragedy and destruction it faced. Yet its preservation in ash has provided us with an unprecedented level of insight into the lives, culture, and achievements of the civilisation that once called this ancient city home. Despite our progress, only half of the city has been rediscovered and explored. The future looks bright, however, as archaeological techniques, conservation regulations, and modern technologies make the exploration of Pompeii ever-more accessible and safe.
