Ptahemwia émerge de l'oubli

New findings at Pompeii demonstrate that the site was inhabited long before the historical town was founded. An undisturbed stratigraphic sequence, found within a Roman well, indicates both the volcanic and the human activities of the area during prehistory. Radiocarbon datings of the youngest prehistoric habitation layer in the sequence give the surprisingly early date of 3500 B.C., although the ceramics match the typology of the Early Bronze Age. Iron Age material was not present and no evidence of early town structures could be seen.* * This article was conceived with the support of Prof. A.-M. Leander Touati, Director of the Swedish Pompeii Project, and Dr. phil. M. Staub Gierow, Field Director of the northern part of Insula V 1, to whom we would like to express our sincere gratitude. Moreover, Prof. Leander Touati contributed to some improvements of the draught. The debt of gratitude also includes Prof. P.G. Guzzo and Dott. A. d'Ambrosio of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei for the permission to investigate and analyse the finds.

Neurosurgery, 2004

ON AUGUST 24, AD 79, a terrible eruption of Mount Vesuvius deranged life in beautiful Pompeii and killed thousands of men, women, and children. They were restored to us by the fact that Mount Vesuvius, with its rain of ashes, proved to be a skilled sculptor, preserving the shape and even the wrinkles in the clothes the Pompeians wore while trying to escape during the day of the tragedy. The detailed description of Plinius the Younger and modern static studies of the eruptive residues have made it possible to reconstruct with great accuracy the various phases of the eruption that took place 2000 years ago, including the hours and days during which the phenomena first became obvious. Today, almost 2000 years later, Pompeii has reawakened and risen from its sepulcher of ashes thanks to the excavations initiated under King Charles III of Bourbon in 1748. Excavations proceeded slowly under the Bourbons, with the aim of enriching the Bourbon Museum of Naples rather than of classifying the ruins and placing them into a historical context. Under Joachim Murat, interest in the town planning and architecture of the uncovered cities reemerged, especially with respect to Pompeii. In 1860, however, with the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy, the excavations, now under the direction of archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli, were provided new impetus and, finally, a scientific basis. Today, the excavations are giving us back extraordinary evidence concerning the culture, the everyday life, the habits, the architecture, and the wonderful frescoes of the Roman cities of southern Italy, making possible the statement that Pompeii is "the most alive of the dead cities."

The Antiquaries Journal, 2006

European Journal of Archaeology, 2012

The discovery of Pompeii, even more than that of Herculaneum, presented the Neapolitan antiquarians and the Bourbon Court, already engaged in financing the first exploits in archaeology of the young Kingdom of Naples, with an entirely new set of problems, new even compared to an Italian tradition of the excavation of antiquities by now several centuries old, particularly in Rome and its neighborhood, as at Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. There is no doubt, in the light of its history that the conservation of Pompeii is a problem of such a size and from such ancient roots as to require, beside such specific interventions, long-term structural solutions.

FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 220, 2011

A. Peignard-Giros (Ed.), Daily Life In A Cosmopolitan World, IARPotHP 2 (Phoibos Verlag, Vienna 2019), 2019

Through the analysis of several interesting pottery assemblages coming from different excavations conducted between 2004 and 2013 in the insula 4 of the regio VII of Pompeii, and on the basis of black-gloss pottery and other fine wares, we aim at reconstructing the evolution of the tableware of the central part of the Hellenistic-Samnite period (2nd cent. BCE). All the material has been studied according to its stratigraphical context, and co-related with other evidence coming from the same archaeological levels. Insula 4 is exactly located in the heart of the city, between the forum, the macellum and the main street, Via della Fortuna (fig. 1). Some closed assemblages dated from the early 2nd cent. BCE. were documented in the Temple of Fortune area, to the northwest of the insula. In Via degli Augustali, to the south, there were several discard deposits, consisting of pits and pools, dated from the mid and late 2nd cent. BCE; while in the House of Ariadne, to the east, the evidence appears to correspond to the mid 2nd cent. BCE contexts. Therefore, a sequence showing the evolution of the tableware facies for the whole period could be put forward, which will contribute to a better understanding and knowledge of the pottery contexts of the Samnite phase. These excavations were conducted by French and Spanish teams in the framework of different, but closely connected, projects: the House of Ariadne (2004–2007 and 2013–2015), Via degli Augustali-Macellum (2008–2010), the Temple of Fortune (2008–2012) and Via degli Augustali-Perfumery (2011–2013).

ARTS & HUMANITIES OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL, 2018

When visiting an archaeological site, the integration of archaeology, history and geology can allow a different or more complete interpretation to the finds. Therefore a new approach to archaeological sites is proposed: a reconstruction of natural scenery as a new key of reading. The reconstruction of the natural scenery of the Pompeian territory in AD 79 is the example shown. Pompeii was built on a hill made of lava from Vesuvius, therefore more elevated in respect of the surrounding plain. The coastline, roughly parallel to the present-day one, was stretched about 1 km southwest of the Sea Gate. Two gentle hills represented older coastlines, and between them, to the south of the mouth of the Sarno River, there were limited marshy areas, linked to last segment of the river. Towards the east Pompeii was surrounded by cultivated fields that, with the so-called Rustics Villas, fitted well within the socioeconomic framework of the city, before the eruption. The water supply was ensured by an artificial canal discovered north of Pompeii. But this supply system was dangerous for the city that was hit by two floods that caused severe damage, including collapsed housing as shown by the geological analysis carried out in the archaeological excavation in the archaic city.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Abstract Two trenches were excavated in the courtyard of the Sanctuary of Apollo at Pompeii to determine whether the precinct was planted as a temple garden and to explore the stratigraphic sequence of activities predating the eruption in A.D. 79. In addition to evidence suggesting the existence of plantings, the stratigraphy and finds indicate that cisterns in front of the temple were demolished and the courtyard restructured in the late first century B.C. These results support the recently recovered evidence for a major redevelopment of the sanctuary in the Augustan period. Severe damage to the sanctuary at a later date is reflected in the collapse of the eastern colonnade into the courtyard. The earthquake of 62 may have been responsible for the damage, with the debris not yet cleared when Vesuvius erupted in 79.* In July 1998 excavations were conducted in the precinct of the Temple of Apollo in Pompeii. Our goal was to investigate the open area around the temple to recover evidence of a temple garden in any phase of the sanctuary's history, examples of which are rare even in Pompeii, where so much work has concentrated on garden archaeology.' The excavation of "open spaces" in previously excavated areas can be a rewarding and minimally intrusive way to uncover new evidence on the history and development of Pompeii. Several current or recent projects concentrating on open garden areas in private houses have revealed preexisting structures of relevance to the gradual urban development of the city.2 Open spaces can also be investigated to gain information on the landscaping of building complexes, particularly since excavators have often focused on the architectural remains rather than their surroundings. With this in mind, we chose the precincts of the Temples of Apollo and Venus as potentially rewarding sites where * We wish to thank the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei, in particular Prof. Pietro Giovanni Guzzo and Dr. Antonio D'Ambrosio, for the grant of an excavation permit and support during the campaign. Earthwatch Institute funded the project, and we are grateful to them for their financial support and to our volunteers who participated in the project. We would also like to thank Dr. Frances Stahl Bernstein for herworkwith Earthwatch and organizing logistics in Pompeii, and Prof. Wilhelmina F.Jashemski for suggestions and encouragement. The authors are grateful to John Dobbins and R. Bruce Hitchner for helpful comments on the first draft.