POMPEI

Running Head: POMPEI

Pompeii

Name:

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Pompei: The Roman City

Pompei was an ancient City under the roman empire. Currently, the city is located in the commune of
Pompeii near Naples of Campania, Italy. This city, alongside the Herculaneum, was buried in volcanic ash
around 79AD. The city is mostly preserved under the volcanic ash, and recent excavations in the region
have provided great revelations regarding the roman life frozen in time after the city was buried under
the volcanic debris. The excavations offer a snapshot of the everyday life of the people of the great city.
The city was a wealthy city containing both private houses and public buildings with unmatched
decorations in forms of arts of art and furnishings. The organic remains like molds and the graffiti curves
in vulgar Latin have played an essential role in shedding light on the social life of the city.

The city was a prominent land port and a place of trade; it hosted many businesses and industries.
Pompei harboured slaves, professionals and wealthy elites as seen through the pieces of evidence of
inscriptions. The evidence also attests to the presence of bakers, grape pickers, bath attendants as well
as prostitutes. There is overwhelming evidence that more than half of the city population was composed
of slaves and freed slaves. These aspects reveal the infamous aspects of Roman society.

Summary of Sources.

SOURCE

DESCRIPTION

TYPE

Binford (1981).

This article critiques the behavioral archaeology fronted by M.B Schiffer as misguided and reactionary to
its approach. The article reveals that the old excavation methods that were initially in Pompei provided
limited scientific information living out a lot of valuable information. Additionally, the information was
organized haphazardly. The study, therefore, suggests the taking of a revisionist point of view.

Secondary

Cooley & Cooley (2013).

This article describes the life of the Bay of Naples. It analyses ancient source material uncovered in this
town, such as texts and inscriptions. The article discusses the early history of Pompei and Herculaneum,
their politics, commerce, family and society, leisure pursuits, religion, and their destruction.

Primary

Jashemski (1979).

This study concerns the land use in Pompei. It considered garden designs, paintings, function, paintings,
sculpture as well as the role of water. The above data shed light on nature public facilities present, for
instance, restaurants, shops, schools, and temples. It also sheds light on the fact that theatres, palestras,
and a majority of the public buildings had gardens. The study also reveals the results of a laboratory
analysis of plant materials to give a better understanding of this ancient world.

Primary
Jashemski & Meyer (2002).

This research brings together all the natural objects, animals, vegetable and minerals to make sense of
the history of Pompei, this study adopts Plynys model to bring together the scattered excavations from
different authors in the following subjects, cosmology, man, mammals, fish and other marine animal,
reptiles, geography, birds, insects and plants and their use.

Secondary

Laurence (2010).

This book draws evidence from preoccupations with geographers, architects, and social scientists to
paint a picture of the social meaning of the city of Pompei. The study interprets the evidence using both
historical and archaeological frameworks in light of the current developments in these subjects.

Some of the aspects covered include the local identity, traffic flow, the rental potential of property in
Pompei, space, and the production of adult citizens are also discussed. The book contains both primary
evidence as well as evidence from other works.

Primary and Secondary

Mau (2007).

This book describes the situation of Pompei in the following aspects, its location, climatic condition,
historical setting, political dimension, religious and economical, among other dimensions. The study uses
evidence such as maps, artifacts, sculptures, paintings, maps, and much more. The study also describes
the extinction of the City of Pompei.

Primary

Moeller (1976).

This study investigates the economic, social, and political life of the Roman city of Pompei; it used the
body monuments excavated as evidence to paint a picture on the city industrialization process. The
study also investigates the wool trade, remains of buildings, graffiti, formal inscriptions, wall paintings,
painted notices are also used to provide evidence on the social history of Pompei.

Secondary

Schiffer (1985).

This article uses evidence to critique the existence of Pompei Premise, as mentioned in Brinford (1981).
He uses evidence from the authors who fall short to evaluate hoe specific floor assemblage was created
by the non-cultural as well as the cultural processes. This study proposes the best way to perform the
evaluation and proposes how improper evaluations could be improved.

Secondary

Wallace-Hadrill (1994).
This study also evaluates the political and social life of the Roman city of Pompei; it describes the houses
and society, the social life and customs, the material culture, its architecture and buildings using the
archaeological evidence of the Roman House

Primary

Zanker (1998).

This study discusses the townscape, the domestic taste, the urban space, and the domestic art of the
Roman city of Pompei. These provide evidence that sheds light on the social and economic lifeline of the
city. The book also recognizes the renaissance that has occurred to the studies in this subject.

Secondary

References

Binford, L. R. (1981). Behavioral archaeology and the" Pompeii premise." Journal of anthropological
research, 37(3), 195-208.

Cooley, A. E., & Cooley, M. G. L. (2013). Pompeii and Herculaneum: a sourcebook. Routledge.

Jashemski, W. F. (1979). The gardens of Pompeii, Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius.

Jashemski, W. M. F., & Meyer, F. G. (2002). The natural history of Pompeii. Cambridge University Press.

Laurence, R. (2010). Roman Pompeii: space and society. Routledge.

Mau, A. (2007). Pompeii, its life, and art (Vol. 1). Library of Alexandria.

Moeller, W. O. (1976). The wool trade of ancient Pompeii (Vol. 3). Brill Archive.

Schiffer, M. B. (1985). Is there a" Pompeii Premise" in archaeology?. Journal of Anthropological

Research, 41(1), 18-41.

Wallace-Hadrill, A. (1994). Houses and society in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Princeton University Press.

Zanker, P. (1998). Pompeii: public and private life (Vol. 11). Harvard University Press.