Tuesday 31 May 2011

Herculaneum conferences


Last week I was lucky enough to go to two workshops: one at the British Museum which brought together a bunch of scholars to talk about recent work at both Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the other at Cambridge which presented the results of the Herculaneum Conservation Project. 

We’ve had a whole series of posts about Herculaneum in the last month, mostly related to the recent publication of AWH’s new book on the site. On Tuesday evening John Nicoll, the director of Frances Lincoln (the publisher of Herculaneum), told me (and I hope he doesn’t mind me repeating this) that in the two weeks since AWH’s book came out, a phenomenal 1400 copies have been sold. This clearly reflects a thirst for knowledge about this ancient site, which hopefully will now start to receive as much popular, and scholarly, attention as Pompeii. So, what really struck me first of all about the papers given at the two workshops is that there is still so much more research to be published. AWH’s book is merely the start. (Incidentally, last week I received a copy of Nicolas Monteix’s new book, Les Lieux de Métier. Boutiques et ateliers d’Herculanum, which looks really interesting – and if anyone would like to review it for Blogging Pompeii, or lead a discussion about it, they should contact me).

The second thing that – although not new – was brought home forcefully was the conservation context of the recent work at Herculaneum. The startling archaeological discoveries of the past few years (the boat on the shore, the lower stories of the House of the Telephus Relief, the wooden roof, the head of theAmazon, the wooden tripod, the dionysiac relief, and the organic and non-organic finds in the sewer beneath Cardo V) are the result of a truly multi-disciplinary project involving archaeologists, conservators, engineers, architects, GIS specialists and so on. For example, if the project engineer hadn’t been worried about the ability of the House of the Telephus Relief to support a new roof, the lower stories of this insula would not have been uncovered by archaeologists who dug a trench to examine the strength of the foundations. A further knock on effect of the discovery of these lower stories was that they provided evidence for dramatic changes of sea level in the last 100 years of the town’s life. Is this isn’t an argument for prioritising conservation on an archaeological site, I don’t know what is.

You can tell I enjoyed myself! All the papers were fascinating (and there were some great papers about Pompeii too). My only regret is that these weren’t bigger events. Herculaneum, and the work of the HCP in particular, deserves a bigger audience. 

The programme of the Cambridge workshop can be viewed here. If anyone would like to see the British Museum programme they should email me and I will send it along.

Monday 30 May 2011

Scavi, ok al “Piano-Pompei”

From Il Gazzettino Vesuviano:
Scavi, ok al “Piano-Pompei”
Nuove assunzioni: 30 funzionari e 50 operai. In arrivo dal Governo 900mila euro. Via libera agli sponsor privati.
Novecentomila euro per nuove assunzioni negli scavi e via libera agli sponsor privati per finanziare i restauri delle domus, sul modello-Colosseo: dopo il crollo della scuola dei gladiatori, a novembre scorso, ecco che arriva “un programma straordinario ed urgente di interventi conservativi di prevenzione, manutenzione e restauro” dell’area archeologica di Pompei. Il piano era stato già annunciato dal ministro dei Beni culturali, Giancarlo Galan, nella conferenza stampa a Pompei dello scorso 12 aprile. Esso comporterà, tra l’altro, la possibilità di assumere personale specializzato, in deroga al blocco delle assunzioni, e alcune semplificazioni per favorire la ricerca di sponsor disposti a sostenere i restauri. Verrà utilizzata una quota dei fondi Fas per la Campania. Sono queste le principali novità per Pompei contenute del decreto omnibus, su cui ieri il governo ha ottenuto la fiducia alla Camera dei Deputati con 313 pareri favorevoli, 291 voti contrari e 2 astenuti. Il voto finale è previsto per oggi, dopo l’esame degli ordini del giorno. 
Read the full story here.

Lecture: STORIA GEOLOGICA DELLA PENISOLA SORRENTINA

I heard Prof. Cinque talk about the geology of Herculaneum in Cambridge last week, so I'm sure this will be a great lecture. I only wish I could be there:
STORIA GEOLOGICA DELLA PENISOLA SORRENTINA
Il prof. Aldo Cinque offrirà una sintesi delle conoscenze geologiche sulla storia delle rocce e dei paesaggi della Penisola Sorrentina e ci farà fare un viaggio nel tempo che parte da 200 milioni di anni fa. La tettonica delle placche, l'orogenesi, i modellamenti erosivi, le variazioni del livello marino ed altri fenomeni geologici, rivissuti attraverso le tracce che hanno lasciato sul nostro territorio.
 
04 June, 19:00 - 20:30, Piano di Sorrento, Centro Culturale Comunale

Saturday 28 May 2011

Pompei, la cura del Mibac costa 100 mln e s’ispira al “modello Roma”

From Il Velino today, news about the new programme of maintenance at Pompeii, apparently to be announced next week, and modeled on current public-private initiatives at Rome. According to this article, the French are particularly interested in being involved (which possibly explains the French media on the topic this week?).
Pompei, la cura del Mibac costa 100 mln e s’ispira al “modello Roma”
Il ministero darà vita a un programma quadriennale di manutenzione programmata che sarà presentato nelle prossime settimane. Obiettivo: ripetere il metodo inaugurato nell’area archeologica capitolina. E fra i privati interessati spuntano i francesi.
Roma, 26 mag (Il Velino) - Pompei come l’area archeologica di Roma: un grande piano di manutenzione programmata, costante e sotto traccia, senza interventi-spot né proclami altisonanti. È la “cura” suggerita dal dossier elaborato dal ministero dei Beni culturali in collaborazione con il Politecnico di Milano e l’università di Architettura di Genova, che sarà presentato nelle prossime settimane e di cui IL VELINO ha preso visione. La terapia prevede un monitoraggio costante e tridimensionale per combattere i mali che affliggono il sito archeologico flegreo, che due anni di commissariamento straordinario non sembrano aver alleviato. Punto di riferimento sarà la ricetta messa in atto nella Capitale dal commissario straordinario Roberto Cecchi, con controlli continuativi e interventi costanti per evitare di dover rincorrere l’emergenza. Costo dell’operazione: 105 milioni, spalmati su quattro anni e mezzo di interventi e suddivisi in cinque fasi che in alcuni casi potranno procedere contemporaneamente. Denaro che il Collegio romano conta di rastrellare ricorrendo a fondi Ue e con l’aiuto dei privati, con cui ci sono già contatti. Oltre alla cordata di industriali “napoletana”, infatti, in questi giorni sono intercorsi incontri anche con una grande realtà francese, una fondazione di livello europeo sulla quale il riserbo è massimo.
Read the full article here.

Friday 27 May 2011

Pompéi, patrimoine en péril?

This is clearly the week for French articles about Pompeii! This is an interesting interview with Francesco Bandarin of UNESCO from Sciences et Avenir (which I first saw on the Pompei: arte, storia ed archeologia Facebook page):
Pompéi, patrimoine en péril?
Le mois prochain l'Unesco doit se prononcer sur le cas de Pompéi, site très célèbre où plusieurs murs se sont effondrés. Questions à Francesco Bandarin, sous-directeur général pour la culture à l’Unesco, directeur du Centre du Patrimoine mondial.

Lors de la prochaine réunion du Patrimoine mondial prévu au mois de juin, la situation du site de Pompéi, en Italie, doit être évoquée. L’écroulement de plusieurs murs du site classé avait engendré une grave polémique. Quelle suite l’Unesco compte-t-elle donner à cette affaire ?
Francesco Bandarin: Deux missions d’experts se sont déjà rendues sur place au cours des derniers mois. Or je dirais que si le cas de Pompéi est compliqué par ce qu’il se déroule dans une région « complexe », le problème, lui, est simple. Il manque tout simplement de l’argent ! Ce qui se passe là est absurde. La billetterie produit 25 millions d’euros de recette avec les seules entrées des visiteurs et ce site –qui est une ville antique- ne fonctionne qu’avec un seul archéologue et trois ouvriers !! C’est une situation invraisemblable! Il y a là un véritable problème d’allocation de ressources, techniques et financières.
Read the full interview here.

Conference: Archeologia. Studi e ricerche sul campo

A range of papers here which look interesting, including some directly relevant to the Bay of Naples:
Archeologia. Studi e ricerche sul campo. 01 Giugno 2011
Ore 10, 00, Suor Orsola Benincasa Sede Santa Caterina, Aula H, Via Santa Caterina da Siena 37, Napoli

Saluti
Ore 10,00

Sezione Preclassica
“Il Palazzo minoico di Monastiraki (Creta)”
“Pantelleria l’insediamento di Mursia ed il Sese Rosso”
“I risultati delle ricerche archeologiche subacquee nell’isola di Procida e Vivara”

Sezione Classica
“Pompei. Casa di Marco Fabio Rufo, studi e ricerche”
“Il nuovo volto del Vesuvio dal re insediamento post-eruttivo all’economia tardo antica”

Sezione Medievale
“L’attività di ricerca archeologica postclassica. I cantieri di San Vincenzo al Volturno e Rupe Canina”
“La vita e la morte a Montella (AV) tra il 1200 ed il 1400: primi risultati di una ricerca svolta nel Convento di San Francesco a Folloni”
“Nuovi cantieri di studio di Otricoli e Amelia”

Sezione Laboratorio
“Ricerca, formazione e progettazione nel Laboratorio di Scienze e Tecniche Applicate all’Archeologia”

Thursday 26 May 2011

Pompéi, les causes d’un « scandale à l’italienne »?

This was on the radio in France yesterday:
Pompéi, les causes d’un « scandale à l’italienne » ?

Dans la nuit du 5 au 6 novembre 2010 Schola Armaturarum, dénommée aussi Schola Juventutis, s’effondrait.

Donnant directement sur l’artère principale de Pompéi -la via de l’Abbondanza- cette grande bâtisse, peinte dans les années 62-70 de notre ère, a été dégagée en 1916

Quelles sont les causes de cet effondrement, comme de celui du Colisée de Rome, peut-on y voir un « scandale à l’italienne », serions nous devant « les derniers jours de Pompéi » ?

Alix Barbet, directeur de recherche au CNRS
Jean Pierre Adam, chercheur au CNRS

You can listen to the interview here.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

GPR Test at Pompeii

See here for a successful test of GPR to locate walls in the unexcavated area outside the Porta di Nola:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-4754.2011.00599.x/abstract

Thursday 19 May 2011

Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 5: Herculaneum’s Public Buildings

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Herculaneum. Past and Future.
(Frances Lincoln, 2011; 352 pages, ISBN-10: 0711231427; ISBN-13: 978-0711231429)

(For the introduction to this series of posts about Herculaneum Past and Future, see here)


Posted on behalf of Jeremy Hartnett (who is currently enjoying himself in Rome!):


Herculaneum’s Public Buildings

In Chapter 6, “The Public Face of the Town,” Wallace-Hadrill offers an overview of the principal civic buildings excavated at Herculaneum. In this entry, I won’t summarize his discussion of each of these, partly because doing so would essentially amount to copying verbatim the already crisp prose. I would like to highlight, however, a few compelling suggestions and offer a reaction.

After a survey of Herculaneum’s baths, the seaside collection of temples, and the Palestra, the chapter turns to the three public buildings situated on the Decumanus Maximus. The Basilica Noniana, which the Herculaneum Conservation Project has explored as part of a program of cleaning, continues to bring interesting material to light. Bases of statues have emerged; they almost certainly hosted portraits of Balbus’ family that were taken during the Bourbon tunneling and are now in the Naples museum. Also recently uncovered are two marble slabs with faint traces of painted or inked names. These may have been part of temporary complements to the incised lists (probably of the city’s citizens, it now seems) that Maiuri found in front of this building.

Across Cardo III is a building identified almost since its discovery in the 1960’s as the Collegium of the Augustales. The basis for the identification has been an inscription recording a dedication to Augustus (of what we don’t know) and the celebration of the occasion with a meal for the dedicators, the decuriones, and the Augustales. Wallace-Hadrill is the latest to call into question the building’s association with the Augustales, pointing out that the inscription would fit well on a statue base (and therefore not refer to the dedication of the building as a whole, as some would have it). An archival photo of the inscription at its moment of discovery, reprinted here, strengthens his case: it was discovered “floating” in the volcanic material some meters above the building’s floor. There’s a strong possibility that it was carried from somewhere uphill and deposited here. Graffiti carved into the building’s columns refer to it as the curia Augustana (or Augustiana), and make a reasonable case that this was the Curia.

Wallace-Hadrill employs another inscription, long known but rarely considered, to suggest possible uses for the two idiosyncratic spaces flanking this edifice’s entrance. It records the construction of a “pondera, a schola, and a chalchidicum.” The last of these might be the arcade connecting the Collegium/Curia to the building I will next discuss, which leaves the other two functions to fill the well-decorated room on the east and the columned space to the west. Intriguing.

The last of this group of public buildings, located across the Decumanus from the Basilica and the Collegium/Curia, has endured a whole host of identifications over the nearly three centuries since its discovery. Rich with statues, paintings, and other decoration, the structure takes the architectural form of a porticus, but otherwise defies easy categorization. Wallace-Hadrill notes that it was certainly a meeting point for citizens, and suggests that early scholars perhaps weren’t very far off the mark when they called it a forum. If the space started that way, he writes, it was perhaps monumentalized as a porticus at a later date.

All in all, with this conglomeration of public buildings, we’re clearly on the edge of the city’s center if not, as Wallace-Hadrill intimates, at its very heart. La Vega’s plan located the forum further to the west, and eighteenth-century documents may do the same. Let’s hope that the HCP’s exploration of the Bourbon tunnels turns up something conclusive.

Wallace-Hadrill ends the chapter with an appropriate summary: “…imperial Herculaneum, though small, was disproportionately well-endowed.” On the one hand, the last bit of his sentence is beyond question. At this site, a marvelous array of public buildings has been discovered at one time or another, though many of them still lurk around the perimeter of the excavated area, half-hidden at best. The Palestra alone, as Wallace-Hadrill demonstrates in this chapter and a later one, is a splendid, large, and sophisticated building, whose further study will shed light on the development of mixed-use insula-style structures in Italy. (If, in its work on the sewer that ran beneath the Palestra, the HCP can isolate which refuse came from which latrine, then the results could be especially illuminating.)

On the other hand, in reading this chapter, the wealth of public buildings leads me to question Herculaneum’s perceived size. James will address, I believe, Wallace-Hadrill‘s discussion of the city plan; essentially, Herculaneum is imagined as a fairly small conurbation. Yet here are already a host of substantial public buildings, and the book reminds us of epigraphic evidence for several more: a Capitolium, a macellum (both of which we would suspect around a forum), a temple of the mother of the gods, and likely also a temple of Hercules, the city’s eponymous founder.

No one will dispute that Herculaneum was smaller than Pompeii, but how much of our image of a miniscule Herculaneum is the product of the limited facts on the ground and of a long-standing tradition (undoubtedly a result of the small area thus far excavated) of seeing here a sleepy, quiet neighbor of a famous cousin down the road? We might remember that open-air excavations have only revealed one route through the city, itself a very roundabout passage along the Decumanus Inferiore and Cardo V. Herculaneum’s main artery (or arteries), which may have linked Naples and Pompeii, likely lurks uphill under the modern town. One candidate was found by Karl Weber in 1754, and it may be here that additional public buildings clustered here, perhaps around the city’s forum. My point is that, rich as the site already is, we may be looking at a relatively quiet corner of what was a larger and more vibrant city.



Links to the other posts in this series:

Herculaneum. Past and Future.
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview, a response
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 2: Excavation and conservation
Herculaneum. Past and Future: PART 3: Early development and topography
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 4: The Villa of the Papyri

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 4: The Villa of the Papyri

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Herculaneum. Past and Future.
(Frances Lincoln, 2011; 352 pages, ISBN-10: 0711231427; ISBN-13: 978-0711231429)

(For the introduction to this series of posts about Herculaneum Past and Future, see here)


Posted on behalf of Ia McIlwaine:

The Villa of the Papyri

The Villa of the Papyri provides a microcosm of all the various aspects of Herculaneum. It features in the history of the excavations and the literature advocating further excavation, both recent and historical. It is noted with interest in the writings of 18th and 19th century travellers and was a major cultural influence in the Neoclassic movement. The eponymous papyri have generated a great deal of literature, they figure in the early travel accounts of visitors and in the contributions to the Philosophical Proceedings of the Royal Society in the 18th century and were the cause for a Royal Commission at the time when Britain was embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars. But the art is also of major importance, both sculpture and painting, mirrored in numerous “Pompeian rooms” across Europe.

This last facet is well brought out in AWH’s book, and enhanced by the excellent illustrations which are a major feature of the publication. A particular bonus is the treatment of paintings and sculpture discovered in the excavations of the past ten years or so. The principal section on the Villa is in the chapter on “The town and its setting” but a glance at the index under “Houses” demonstrates the all-pervading interest that the house provides. AWH rightly states that a full understanding of the Villa and its relationship to the city will not be reached until the site has been properly excavated, a goal that the late Marcello Gigante, who in 1969 established the Centro Internazionale per i Papiri Ercolanesi and lobbied tirelessly for a proper excavation, held close to his heart. He also established the “learned journal” referred to on p. 114, Cronache ercolanesi, which though largely devoted to editions of papyri always carried at least one other article on a different aspect of the Villa.

In his examination of the ownership of the Villa which has been much discussed in the literature on the subject AWH follows the usual attribution of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, with the proviso that the evidence is circumstantial not documentary and the valid point is made that it neither a town nor a country residence but rather a “Mouseion”, a fact that is mirrored in the reproduction designed for J. Paul Getty at Malibu to contain his collection of antiquities. The Villa housed a collection of statues and other works of art as well as a library and differs in this respect from other villas such as the Villa of the Mysteries at Pompeii or the Villa of Arianna at Stabiae.

The original excavation undertaken in the Bourbon period was carried out by Carl Weber who recorded the finds meticulously and drew the much reproduced plan of the Villa. Work in the present era has been considerably hampered by the practice of the Bourbons to tunnel and retrieve works of art, ignoring the structure of the building that they were exploring and creating a network that destroyed much that lay in the path of the treasure seekers. The Bourbon tunnellers left some items behind for the later generation to find, especially wall paintings and decorated ceilings shown in the photograph of the recently excavated room on the lower terrace of the villa on pp. 116/117. Items that they unearthed were not always identified initially, for example the papyrus rolls were originally thought to be blocks of wood and writing on them was discovered accidentally. This led eventually to the invention of Piaggio’s unrolling machine, still in evidence in the Centro and until modern times not superseded as a method of unravelling their contents.

The geographical features (or lack of them) present another mystery. Cornelius Sisenna when writing about the Social War, refers to Herculaneum as a ‘town on a steep rise by the sea, with little walls, between two rivers beneath Vesuvius’. AWH explores this in relation to what has been revealed in the most recent excavations. He relates the finds to the Bourbon records and identifies two possible locations. One river he suggests ran down to the East of the Palaestra and the harbour was probably located in the area where the new ticket office is located. The second one he suggests lay between the Western insulae and the Villa of the Papyri where there is “a sort of blank” without any ancient buildings. This would make sense, as the Villa must have been located outside the main town, styled as it is more in the manner of a country villa. There is, however, now no sign of the river, as is clearly demonstrated in the illustration of the excavation trench leading to the Villa and the conservation work and protective covers put up in 2009. [p.106]. 

©Andrew Wallace-Hadrill. Excavation trench leading to the Villa of the Papyri, after conservation work and new protective shelters (2009).

The discoveries of the recent past provide a tantalising glimpse of what may yet remain. No further papyri have come to light, though the hope of discovering the “lost books of Livy” expressed by Charles Waldstein in 1904 remains a much discussed prospect. The problems of new excavation versus conservation of what has already been discovered and the cost of each remain a vexed question. The Herculaneum Conservation Project has managed to achieve a happy medium but future funding and the over-riding problems of the modern town over part of the site of the ancient city present major difficulties. Above all, the volcano looms and there is always the possibility of another eruption which cannot be ignored.

Links to the other posts in this series:

Herculaneum. Past and Future.
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview, a response
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 2: Excavation and conservation
Herculaneum. Past and Future: PART 3: Early development and topography
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 5: Herculaneum's public buildings

Herculaneum: challenges and discoveries - Cambridge, 24 May 2011

HERCULANEUM: CHALLENGES AND DISCOVERIES

Workshop at the Cambridge Classics Faculty – Tuesday 24 May 2011

FIRST MORNING SESSION: Chair, Professor Martin Millett

9.00                       Welcome and introduction –
                              Andrew Wallace-Hadrill : Research in the context of conservation
                              
9.30-11.00           Herculaneum and the seafront
9:30                     Aldo Cinque & Linda Irollo: Natural dynamics and human                              activities along the ancient coastline
10:00                     Domenico Camardo: excavation of an ancient roof
10:30                     Luca Bondioli and Luciano Fattore: the human skeletal remains

11.00-11.30        Coffee break

SECOND MORNING SESSION: Chair, Professor Mary Beard

11.30-1.00           An insula and its drains
11:30                     Domenico Camardo:  the excavation of the Insula Orientalis II                                sewer
12:00                     Mark Robinson & Erica Rowan: the organic remains from the                                sewer
12:30                     Stefania Siano: Ceramics, glass and other objects from the                                sewer

1.00-2.30             lunch break       

FIRST AFTERNOON SESSION: Chair, Dr Henry Hurst

2.30-3.30             Recording and managing the site
2.30                       Massimo Brizzi:  In aid of conservation - topographical survey in                                HCP
2.45                       Ascanio D’Andrea:  making GIS a real tool for heritage                                management
3.00                       Jane Thompson & Sarah Court: what HCP’s results mean for                                archaeologists

3.30-4.00             tea break

SECOND AFTERNOON SESSION: Chair, Professor Stefano De Caro

4.00-6.00             Bourbon excavations revisited
4.00                       Domenico Esposito:  rediscovering the Basilica Noniana
4.30                       Peter Garnsey and Luuk de Ligt: the marble album
5.00                       Maria Paola Guidobaldi: the Villa of the Papyri


6:00-7:30 RECEPTION IN THE MUSEUM OF CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
hosted by Frances Lincoln Publishers, to celebrate the publication of
Herculaneum: Past and Future by Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

Conference: Housing and habitat in the Mediterranean World: responses to different environments

Possibly of interest to readers (thank you, Sue McLeod, for sending this along!):

Housing and habitat in the Mediterranean World: responses to different environments

International Archaeology Conference organised by the Centre for Archaeology and Ancient History, Monash University and the Soprintendenza Archeologica per la Toscana

Monash Prato Centre
29th June to Friday 1st July 2011

For further details, follow this link.

Monday 16 May 2011

BAFTA nomination for Pompeii: Life and Death in a Roman Town

Congratulations to Mary Beard whose TV programme Pompeii: Life and Death in a Roman Town has been nominated for a BAFTA. See here for more details.

Sunday 15 May 2011

Herculaneum. Past and Future. Part 3: Early development and topography

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Herculaneum. Past and Future.
(Frances Lincoln, 2011; 352 pages, ISBN-10: 0711231427; ISBN-13: 978-0711231429)
(For the introduction to this series of posts about Herculaneum Past and Future, see here.)
 
The new findings revealed by AWH regarding the early history, site and development of Herculaneum contribute hugely to our understanding of the town’s earliest years and thus make this book essential reading, not just for those interested in Pompeian archaeology, but for anyone interested in Roman urbanisation in general. This post focuses on the parts of the book that deal with this subject, primarily to be found in the fourth chapter of the book (‘The town and its setting’). In this chapter AWH explores the scanty evidence furnished by the literary sources which is set against and contextualised by a number of important recent discoveries made thanks to the work of the Herculaneum Conservation Project (HCP).

The early development of Herculaneum has, to date, been difficult to perceive. This is primarily due to the significant redevelopment of the town from the Imperial period that has hidden the earlier remains but is also due to a lack of stratigraphic investigation of the kind that Pompeii has been subjected to over the last decade and a half. Such attention at Herculaneum, I think, has been long-overdue and although we are far from fully understanding the earliest phases of the town, AWH and the work of the HCP have taken several strides in the right direction.

© James Andrews. Herculaneum’s legendary founder Hercules, depicted in a IV style painting in the so-called Shrine of the Augustales (VI.21-24)

Dionysus of Halicarnassus attributes the founding of the town to Hercules, claiming that the demi-god anchored his fleet at this spot as it afforded ‘safe moorings in all seasons.’ For AWH the connection with Hercules implies very early origins for Herculaneum and that we should consider the arrival of the Greeks in the 8th century BC on Ischia and subsequent inhabitation of the northern part of the Bay of Naples as significant in this regard. Yet Strabo makes no mention of Herculaneum ever being under Greek control, instead telling us that Herculaneum was held by the Oscans, Etruscans, Samnites and then Romans. AWH suggests this omission was probably deliberate but does not define why this is so. He claims that the foundation myth is a sure sign of the town’s Greek origins and suggests there was a conspiracy of silence regarding this in the literary sources. Dionysus of Halicarnassus is, in fact, the only source for the Hercules foundation myth, although Martial did make reference to the Hercules link in the name of the town after the eruption. Other authors, writing long after the Romanisation of the town, have no greater authority on this matter. Ultimately, the lack of any archaeological or epigraphical evidence of Greek foundation renders any much later literary interpretation unreliable as a sole source for foundation. AWH does make the point, however, that any Greek settlement at the site must have pre-dated Oscan control as Etruscan-Oscan settlement to the southeast (at Pompeii and other cities) had been a response to the presence of the Greeks in the area. The site of Herculaneum, although close to Neapolis (10km to the city centre) was located at the fringe of early Greek settlement on the Bay of Naples and at that time would have been in close proximity with Etruscan-Oscan territory, with which relations were at times hostile. If Herculaneum did have a Greek origin then I think we should consequently envisage a complex history where the early settlement changed hands several times.

Unfortunately, the archaeological evidence from Herculaneum does not provide dateable material from this far back to confirm the presence of such an early settlement; the earliest masonry buildings appear to belong to the 2nd century BC. It might simply be the case that any early settlement lies elsewhere and not under this part of the town. I agree with AWH that we have to instead look to the town plan, which is probably the best indicator of the earliest origins of the town. The grid plan is believed to have probably post-dated that of nearby Neapolis (founded in the 5th century BC) although the insulae are proportioned more like other cities of Italic origin. Indeed, one recent study argues that the arrangement of the insulae followed the Oscan foot. A possible date of the 4th century BC for the grid plan has been suggested on the evidence of small test trenches (although future stratigraphic investigation might provide more definitive information), This date belongs to the Samnite phase of Herculaneum, at which time the inhabitants appear to have been largely Oscan-speaking. Interestingly, recent cleaning of the shoreline conducted by the Herculaneum Conservation Project has revealed evidence of quarrying of the natural underlying tuff creating a cliff face on which the town walls were set, thus making it more defensible. AWH states that this work ‘provided the alignment on which the road system was based’ and that the setting out of the streets occurred at the same time. Further details on the nature of the quarrying are hopefully forthcoming (I wonder how the quarried tuff was used given it was little used in wall construction at Herculaneum and when one considers just how much of it must have actually been removed), but this new evidence makes clear that the Herculaneum we see today was initially intended to be highly defensible, consistent with the fortified town described in the accounts of Strabo and L. Cornelius Sisenna.
© Linda Irollo-Sosandra Srl. Plan of site, showing isomorphs which reveal the underlying shape of the natural terrain (heights above modern sea level marked in metres).

AWH also provides new information on recent geological findings (core samples) that throw further light on Herculaneum’s topography. These findings, supported by a test trench along a street to the north of the House of the Telephus Relief indicates that originally the land beneath the Palestra and this house had dropped steeply away to the south, consistent with Strabo’s account that the town had been situated on a spit of land. However, in the imperial period this area was subject to massive artificial terracing in order to build the Palaestra and the House of the Telephus Relief, which were also on a different alignment to the grid plan (although it should be noted that oldest parts of the House of the Telephus Relief was actually on the same alignment as the rest of the town, only the peristyle and southern multi-storey of the house part belonging to the later works were aligned differently). This project was very probably related to the works on the basilica, city walls and gates undertaken by Marcus Nonius Balbus (CIL X 1425) and must have entailed considerable expense; we are told this was out of Balbus’ own pocket.

On the evidence of the escarpment to the southeast and a high sea level in the final years of the town (of which more below), AWH believes that the harbour as mentioned in relation to Hercules must have lain just beyond the house of the Telephus Relief, an assertion repeated frequently throughout the book. Only further samples taken to the southeast of the Palaestra will confirm if a ‘harbour’ did indeed exist in this area. But perhaps we should not be looking for a formalised harbour as such and rather a sheltered bay as in the reconstruction offered in the book? Shelter could presumably have been simply provided by the natural headland on which the Casa del Rilievo di Telefo was apparently located. Further core samples might also provide evidence of the eastern limit of the town and one of the rivers that L. Cornelius Sisenna indicated flanked it. The same applies to the river on the western side of the town, which AWH suggests may have reached the sea in a space devoid of buildings between the Villa of the Papiri and the south-western corner of the town (Insula I), identified during the excavations of the 1990s. Here further excavation is at least possible and might reveal whether the river was indeed here. 

Of the changes in sea level in the final years, the new findings revealed by AWH are intriguing (chapter 1). A test trench carried out by the HCP next to the east face of the multi-storey bastion of the House of the Telephus Relief has revealed the existence of yet another level of arches and columns below that visible on the AD79 surface; thus this part of the house originally extended over 4 levels. The arches, like those immediately above, were later filled in, the blockings bearing signs of water erosion (here it becomes a little tricky to marry up the narrative with the images although can be seen in section on p. 21). Evidently the sea level had risen, resulting in the abandonment of the two lowest floors. But the story doesn’t end here as the area in front of the bastion was protected by a large retaining wall and a ground level raised by 3 metres. The sea appears to have then retreated until sometime after the construction of the Suburban Baths in their present form next door when it rose again damaging the façade of the baths. This prompted the construction of a new protective wall in opus reticulatum along the southern façade of the baths, before the sea finally retreated again (similar repair to wave damage has recently been identified by the Laurentine Shore Project in a quay belonging to an imperial villa at Torre Paterno, Castelporziano). This phenomenon, known as bradyseism, was almost certainly connected to the build-up in activity in the magma chamber beneath Vesuvius that caused the ground above to rise and fall. Such conditions must be seen in the context of seismic activity during the same period; the evidence in the town above suggests that Herculaneum was indeed gravely damaged by the earthquake of AD 62/63 (and quite possibly later events) but by AD 79 appears to have largely recovered following a comprehensive program of rebuilding and redecorating. The picture on the shoreline is thus subtly different and appears to have been one that was continually changing.

To finish off, AWH has provided an invaluable contribution to studies of Herculaneum. However, this has also left us with many new questions. Can a harbour be identified and what kind of harbour might it have been? Given the presence of large harbours at Puteoli, Misenum and even Pompeii and that the shoreline at Herculaneum was rather steep , perhaps we should be looking for evidence of something relatively small that could have facilitated local trade. Shipping must have been utilized to bring building materials from the Campi Phlaegraei during the first century AD for example (as we can assume was the case for Surrentum). Was the narrow gap between the villa of the Papyri and Insula I wide enough for the river mouth on this side of the town? Further, what happened to the excavated tuff from the shoreline? Could some of it have been used elsewhere (i.e. at Naples)? This material is rather soft and not well-suited for use for columns or carved elements (a harder grey tuff was used early on for that) but was used for framing entranceways and for corners during the pre-Roman period. Finally, although the date at which the grid plan was set out remains uncertain, if we assume this took place during the 4th century BC, can any parallels between this and the defensive works be drawn with any other cities on the Bay of Naples at the same time? 

Links to the other posts in this series:

Herculaneum. Past and Future.
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview, a response
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 2: Excavation and conservation
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 4: The Villa of the Papyri
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 5: Herculaneum's public buildings

Newspaper article: Galan a Pompei: più archeologi ma verranno da fuori, no alla fondazione

From Corriere del Mezzogiorno:
Galan a Pompei: più archeologi ma verranno da fuori, no alla fondazione
«La graduatoria in Campania non c'è. Investimenti? Inutile battere cassa da Tremonti: ci sono i fondi Ue»

NAPOLI - Il ministro dei beni Culturali Giancarlo Galan a Pompei annuncia il via del Governo al piano di recupero degli Scavi: un programma di manutenzione programmata attraverso anche l'uso di scanner laser per rilievi in 3D, per scongiurare altri episodi di crolli e cedimenti. Non solo: Galan promette il coinvolgimento dei privati, nuovi finanziamenti europei, assunzioni e fa balenare l'idea di aumentare il prezzo del ticket d'ingresso: «In un’aerea archeologica di queste dimensioni l’emergenza – avverte Galan - non finirà mai, ma la cura comincia da domani. Pompei è un simbolo, l’area archeologica più estesa ma anche la più importante; un simbolo dell’Italia nel bene e nel male. Nel bene perché ce la invidiano tutti, nel male perchè dobbiamo valorizzarla di più. È una emergenza nazionale e internazionale, ha una importanza incalcolabile».
Read the full story, and watch a video, here.

Saturday 14 May 2011

Oebalus.Studi sulla Campania nell’Antichità 5/ 2010

The latest Oebalus is out now, which includes a long article about recent excavations at Stabiae.

a cura di Felice Senatore

ISBN: 978-88-88620-95-4
ISSN: 1970-6421
€ 75,00

In 8°, brossura con bandelle, 384 pagine, ill.ni in b/n
Disponibile anche in PDF Euro 50,00 - singolo contributo euro 15,00

Indice:
CARLO DE SIMONE, Etrusco arcaico (Caere[?], VII sec. a.C.) Numasia(na) prenestino Numasio-: chiuso ormai un annoso dibattito 
CARLO RESCIGNO, Tre gorgoni campane 
FRANCESCO NAPOLITANO, Alcune note sulla ricezione e acquisizione di manufatti italici a nell’Orientalizzante medio e recente
CHRISTIANE NOWAK, I balsamari nel rituale funerario degli insediamenti campani 
ENRICO ANGELO STANCO, Alife sannitica: nuove acquisizioni storicotopografiche (in appendice: relazione Dall’Osso del 18.06.1907)
MICHAEL H. CRAWFORD, The provenance of Vetter 19 
FABRIZIO RUFFO, L’insula sud-occidentale del cosiddetto ‘impianto urbano’ di Stabiae. Nuovi dati dalla recente campagna di scavo (2009) 
HEIKKI SOLIN, Nuove iscrizioni di Capua 
II SIMONE DI MAURO, Un gruppo di anfore a fondo piatto da Alife 
LUIGI DI COSMO, Alife (CE). Ceramiche medievali dall’area del mausoleo romano di Piazza XIX 

Ottobre Recensioni: F. Russo, Pitagorismo e Spartanità. Elementi politico-culturali tra Taranto, Roma ed i Sanniti alla fine del IV sec. a.C. (AMEDEO VISCONTI) - C. Ebanista, M. Rotili, La Campania fra tarda antichità e alto medioevo. Ricerche di archeologia del territorio (ANNA SMERAGLIUOLO PERROTTA) - T.D. Steck, Cult Places and Cultural Changes in Republican Italy. A Contestual Approach to Religious Aspects of Rural Society after the Roman Conquest (DARIO PANARITI) - G. Boccadamo, A. Illibato (edd.), Domenico Mallardo. Studi e testimonianze (MARIA AMODIO) - E. Triantafillis, Le iscrizioni italiche dal 1979. Testi, retrospettiva, prospettive (LOREDANA CAPPELLETTI)

Two papers on Campanian late antique pottery


I would like to draw your attention on two papers we delivered recently. At the Late Roman Coarse Ware Conference in Thessaloniki, we used new evidence from the excavations in Naples and our sites on the North Slope of Vesuvius and Nola to reconstruct patterns of production and distribution of goods in Late Antiquity.
More recently we delivered another paper on social habits and cultural practices through the study of pottery and faunal remains (Keramos 2011).

Lecture: The Story of the Villa 'of Poppaea' at Oplontis (50 B.C.-A.D. 79) and its Archives: Daybooks, Photographs, and Plaster Fragments

At the American Academy in Rome (follow the link to book a place):
 
The Story of the Villa 'of Poppaea' at Oplontis (50 B.C.-A.D. 79) and its Archives: Daybooks, Photographs, and Plaster Fragments 
by Prof. John R. Clarke, RAAR'95 AAR Trustee and Annie Laurie Howard Regents Professor, The University of Texas at Austin

24 May 2011 - 6:00 pm
Villa Aurelia Largo di Porta San Pancrazio, 1

Planning for Vesuvius' next eruption

This is interesting, too - a brief discussion on the excellent Eruptions blog (with links to further information) about plans for dealing with future eruptions of Vesuvius and the likelihood of another eruption. Definitely worth a read.

Newspaper article: Pompei. Via Villa dei Misteri, un tratto intitolato a Dumas

This caught my eye - the area outside the Villa dei Misteri Circumsvesuviana station is about to be renamed after Alexander Dumas! I like it!
Entro quest´anno, nell’ambito della celebrazione dell’anniversario dei 150 anni dell’Unità d’Italia, sarà intitolata ad Alessandro Dumas, il romanziere francese creatore del mito dei tre moschettieri, lo spazio sito davanti alla stazione della Circumvesuviana di Pompei in località Villa dei Misteri. Dumas, massone come Garibaldi e Mazzini, è stato il maggior finanziatore della spedizione dei Mille, vale a dire la campagna militare che prima liberò il Sud Italia dal governo borbonico, successivamente lo annesse allo Stato sabaudo. I documenti dell’epoca, tirati fuori dagli archivi nella ricorrenza storica nazionale, dimostrano che uno dei primi atti di Garibaldi, che nel settembre dell’anno 1860 entrò a Napoli autoproclamandosi dittatore in nome del re Vittorio Emanuele, fu di nominare Alessandro Dumas direttore onorario del Museo Nazionale e degli scavi delle antichità di Pompei. Dumas fu il primo intellettuale illuminato a cui lo Stato Italiano Unitario fece richiesta di “compilare un progetto per Pompei”.
Read the full article here.

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 2: Excavation and conservation

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Herculaneum. Past and Future.
(Frances Lincoln, 2011; 352 pages, ISBN-10: 0711231427; ISBN-13: 978-0711231429)
 
(Click here for the introduction to this series of posts about Herculaneum Past and Future)

One of the aspects of AWH’s book that particularly interested me was his emphasis on the presentation of Herculaneum by its excavators, and the knock-on effect that this has had on preservation and approaches to conservation.

AWH makes the point that the excavations of Herculaneum (and Pompeii) have always been the result of the political circumstances and ideology of the time. Large-scale excavation is expensive, so there was always an agenda, a reason to spur on excavation. This is true of the earliest explorations of Herculaneum (and AWH is particularly good on Charles of Bourbon), the 19th century open-air excavations by Fiorelli, and the Fascist-era clearances under Maiuri. Excavations have the potential to generate widespread public interest, and this was exploited by the excavators in each of these periods. But public interest can also lead to criticism, and the earliest excavations were ‘a PR disaster’ for the new kingdom of Naples. Visitors were treated badly, and were shocked that finds were routinely destroyed by the excavators. The waves of criticism from around Europe led to a change of attitude, and the excavators began to consider how to present the ruins to visitors.

This has been a major factor at both Herculaneum and Pompeii ever since, and it has also had an impact on attitudes towards conservation. I really enjoyed reading about early experiments and techniques of conservation – although I would have liked more detail about this. But let’s jump forward to Maiuri’s excavations of Herculaneum from 1927 – 1943. Maiuri was Herculaneum’s principal publicist, and it is interesting that – unlike at Pompeii – all the publications of Herculaneum in this period are in Maiuri’s name. He staked his claim to Herculaneum even though, as James Andrews has pointed out to me, the excavation reports suggest that he didn’t visit the site all that often after 1927 (not surprising, really, since he was also responsible for Naples and Pompeii). And Herculaneum today is the result of Maiuri’s vision of the ancient town. In AWH’s words, ‘what we see is not an ancient town as preserved by an eruption, but fragments painstakingly pieced together, stabilized, reinforced and ‘restored’ by Maiuri’ (p.74).
©Gionata Rizzi. North-south cross sections of the Houses of the Gem and the Telephus Relief, looking west (above) and east (below). Parts shaded in blue are modern reconstruction. Drawing by Gionata Rizzi.


In order to excavate an ancient site that had been devastated by a major volcanic eruption, Maiuri had to restore. Thus, for example, only 50% of the standing remains of the House of Telephus are ancient; the rest was carefully restored by Maiuri in line with his interpretations of the ancient texts. He also had the visitor in mind. The shop of the House of Neptune and Amphitrite is completely staged, as was the ‘room of the weaving girl’, which displayed the skeleton of a girl and small reconstruction loom – even though the skeleton was actually that of a young boy and no other finds were made in the room. And there are other examples where Maiuri chose to display a good story, not to be deceitful but to give a sense of life to the excavations that tourists could appreciate and enjoy. Of course, Maiuri wasn’t the first excavator to come up with the idea of presenting the excavations as a ‘living museum’, but he was the most successful. To my mind this attitude remains today (and not just in the Bay of Naples). I’ve even (rarely, it is true) seen artefacts ‘staged’ for journalists. Is this wrong? I’m not sure and I’d be interested to hear what others have to think. As long as there is a proper scientific publication is there any harm in playing to the public a little in the newspapers? But of course Maiuri’s excavation reports from Herculaneum and Pompeii have not been published, so this blurs the line between fact and fiction.

Despite Maiuri’s little fictions, he was responsible for establishing an effective maintenance programme for the buildings he restored. It was only when funding for this was withdrawn in the 1970s that Herculaneum began to decay. And this is what is happening at Pompeii today. I hardly need to remind anyone of the collapse of the Schola Armaturarum in November last year, which is merely the most publicised of the collapses that Pompeii has suffered in the last few years. Conservation is a burning issue today, and not just at Pompeii and Herculaneum, but it’s also a complex issue. This is why the Herculaneum Conservation Project is so important. This is the most ambitious conservation project in Europe – although part of its success is down to the sheer amount of money that the Packard Humanities Project has been prepared to spend on it. However, this project lights the way. Conservation influences excavation. This is something that Maiuri understood, too, and something that AWH discusses at length in his book. How do we find the money for conservation? Who should be responsible for it? One thing I would like to know is, what will happen to Herculaneum when the HCP finishes its work?


©Andrew Wallace-Hadrill. Excavation trench leading to the Villa of the Papyri, after conservation work and new protective shelters (2009).

(All images are taken from Herculaneum Past and Future and are reproduced with the permission of Frances Lincoln).

In the next post in this series, a discussion of Herculaneum's town plan and its history.

Previous posts:
Herculaneum. Past and Future.
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview, a response

Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview, a response

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Herculaneum. Past and Future.
(Frances Lincoln, 2011; 352 pages, ISBN-10: 0711231427; ISBN-13: 978-0711231429)
 
(For the introduction to this series of posts about Herculaneum Past and Future, see here.)


Posted on behalf of Jeremy Hartnett:

While we’re talking about overall impressions of Herculaneum: Past and Future, here are a few of my own. First, it bears repeating that this is a beautifully produced book. The color photographs are abundant and luscious, on par with what one would expect of a “coffee table” book. Anyone who hasn’t visited Herculaneum will be struck by the richness of the remains. This book does justice to a stunning site.

But, as Jo mentioned earlier, this book isn’t just for the layperson. To those who have studied the site it offers many insights (some of which I hope to touch on in a later post), and it will also serve advanced undergraduates very well. It’s easy, in fact, to imagine working through each of its short, swift, and eminently-readable chapters in a class period. The book is ready-made for lectures, but it’s also terrific fodder for classroom discussions, since Wallace-Hadrill does not simply present the material from the site, but simultaneously raises questions about methodology and exposes the process of doing archaeology and writing history (and, in some cases, re-doing and re-writing). I hope the publisher will consider a slightly “stripped down” paperback edition of the book for university audiences. The price of the book in its current form is very reasonable, given the wealth of visual material, but a more student-friendly size (this version barely fits in a backpack) and price would also find receptive buyers.

Funerary urn of Charles Walston (Waldstein), a Roman vase donated by Amedeo Maiuri (courtesy James Walston and with the permission of Frances Lincoln). 

Virtually every chapter of the book presents new material from the Herculaneum Conservation Project, from the town’s geological history and evidence of bradyseism along the shorefront to fascinating material from the great sewer running in front of the Insula Occidentalis and artifacts uncovered during cleaning in public buildings and Bourbon cunicoli. Wallace-Hadrill mentions at several points a too-frequently-bypassed figure in the history of Herculaneum: Charles Waldstein, a Cambridge professor who rallied an international cast in the early twentieth century to promote excavation at the site. In fact, Waldstein’s own co-authored book about the city, Herculaneum: Past, Present, & Future (with Leonard Shoobridge, 1908), provided the inspiration for this book’s title. Though Waldstein’s ambitions went unrealized during his life, they have in many ways been satisfied and expanded by the HCP, which has brought together contributors from many nationalities for an interdisciplinary project that expands our knowledge of the site while preserving the archaeological patrimony for future generations. Herculaneum: Past and Future, in addition to providing an excellent introduction to the site, gives a taste of the fascinating scientific conclusions of the HCP. It will pique the appetite of scholars for the full publication of this project’s discoveries by its team of specialists.

Notte dei Musei 2011

From MiBAC, news that 'Museum Night' will take place again this year, with museums across Italy opening their doors free of charge from 8pm to 2am on 15th May. Follow the link for a full list of participating museums. There is also a bunch of special events taking place at the museums (see here for details), including (in the Bay of the Naples) visits to Oplontis, to the plastercasts at Boscoreale and the boat pavilion at Herculaneum.

Tuesday 10 May 2011

Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Herculaneum. Past and Future.
(Frances Lincoln, 2011; 352 pages, ISBN-10: 0711231427; ISBN-13: 978-0711231429)
 
(For the introduction to this series of posts about Herculaneum Past and Future, see here)

First, some background, which many of you will be familiar with. In 2001, in response to the years of neglect and decay at Herculaneum, AWH was invited by the Packard Humanities Institute to set up a collaborative project with the SANP to tackle the site’s conservation problems. And so the Herculaneum Conservation Project was born, and it celebrated its 10th birthday a couple of weeks ago. Employing mainly Italian experts from many different disciplines (which is undoubtedly why it has been so successful, since this is not a bunch of foreigners telling the locals what to do but a full partnership with the SANP), its impact on Herculaneum cannot be overstated. The site now has a proper drainage network, a series of new roofs, and an effective monitoring system that allows recurring problems to be dealt with. The conservation work of the HCP, as well as ongoing SANP activity using EU funds, has also led to unexpected archaeological discoveries and sometimes had a dramatic impact on what is known about Herculaneum. There are now new theories about its geology and urban plan, and evidence has been uncovered of quarrying along the seafront and of changes in sea level during the century before the eruption of AD 79. There has been excavation of the (in)famous sewer beneath the palaestra block (seen recently on TV), exploration of the old Bourbon tunnels, and new evidence from the Villa of the Papyri.

©Domenico Esposito-Sosandra Srl. Marble panel depicting a religious scene at its moment of discovery in a house in the south-western edge of the town.

©Brian Donovan. Panoramic view of a reopened Bourbon tunnel to the north of the Basilica.

A preliminary discussion of these new discoveries and their interpretation form an important part of AWH’s book, and the conservation and presentation of the site is a recurring and important feature. But the book is much more than a simple publication of the HCP's results. It is a broad analysis of Herculaneum that incorporates the latest HCP data into a discussion of the ancient town's excavation and restoration, its inhabitants, its public buildings and houses, and how it differs from Pompeii. The book is not intended to be a definitive guide to Herculaneum, but it touches on almost every part of it and gives us an incredibly erudite and up-to-date account of this ancient city. It discusses both what we know and what we don’t know about Herculaneum, and what we might expect to learn in the future, and is accompanied by over 300 glossy photos of the site, including previously unpublished archival shots. Quite simply, it is an essential read which reaches out to three different audiences - the general public, the student and the scholar.

For Jeremy Hartnett's response to this post, see here.

Tomorrow, some thoughts about the history of excavation and conservation of Herculaneum.

(All images are taken from Herculaneum Past and Future and are reproduced with the permission of Frances Lincoln).

Herculaneum. Past and Future.

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Herculaneum. Past and Future.
(Frances Lincoln, 2011; 352 pages, ISBN-10: 0711231427; ISBN-13: 978-0711231429)

Many of you will be aware that Andrew Wallace-Hadrill’s book on Herculaneum has just been published by Frances Lincoln Publishers – of course you are, because this is the book on Herculaneum that we’ve been waiting years for! Joseph Deiss’ book on Herculaneum came out in 1966, and there’s been no English-language book on this marvellous yet under-appreciated ancient site since. And yet, as anyone who works in the Bay of Naples already knows, big things have been happening at Herculaneum in the last 10 years, thanks to the Herculaneum Conservation Project. Now finally we have a preliminary discussion of these developments set within the wider framework of what can be reconstructed about the site, and you hardly need me to tell you how important and valuable this is.

You may remember that a couple of months ago I was asking for people who work on Herculaneum to contact me. This was because the nice people at Frances Lincoln had offered us to give us copies of Andrew’s new book for review on Blogging Pompeii. In fact, what will follow over the next week or so is not a formal review of the book, since a blog is not really the best format for this, but a series of personal reactions to it from a small number of contributors (see below for a list of posts). Each of us plans to write on a different aspect of the book, on topics that particularly interested us, and to raise issues for further discussion. And we invite all blog contributors to join this discussion (whether you’ve had a chance to read the book yet or not).

For those of you wanting to get your hands on a copy, here are the links to the publisher’s websites in the UK and USA. The book is retailing at £40/$60.

Alternatively the book is available on Amazon UK, Amazon USA and Amazon.it.

Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 1: General overview, a response
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 2: Excavation and conservation
Herculaneum. Past and Future. Part 3: Early development and topography
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 4: The Villa of the Papyri 
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 5: Herculaneum's public buildings
Herculaneum. Past and Future. PART 6: Herculaneum and Pompeii
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