Pompeii - A City Frozen in Time?

Is Pompeii a city ‘frozen in time’?

Not frozen in time

• 1. Pompeii never really disappeared like Herculaneum. Herculaneum was buried much more deeply than Pompeii and there is evidence that “Pompeii had been explored by treasure hunters” over many centuries. Cultural references to Pompeii existed, such as Pliny’s account even if the exact location was not known. Pompeii was not a forgotten city.

• 2. Vesuvius’ eruption did great damage. From a purely visual image, the eruption did great damage. Collapsed roofs, pyroclastic debris and Pelean phase, baked the city and much evidence was lost. For instance, for many centuries it was not really understood the extent of how many second story floors there were.

• 3. Removal of antiquities from the site. The early excavations concentrated on the removal of valuable mosaics, art, statues and precious jewelry which was taken to the royal palace . Some valuables were also pillaged or removed for their own protection and although we cannot be sure, we can assume that the fleeing population packed up their most valuable possessions.

• 4. Excavation techniques. The techniques and objectives of the excavations have changed over time to one where the priority is uncovering the city itself and not what is in the city. Previously, floors and walls were destroyed and evidence lost. Letters of the time ‘lament the destruction caused….and their lack of interest in historical questions”

• 5. The environment. Exposure to weather, pollution, tourism and misguided preservation techniques “means that centuries' worth of repairs and restorations have added their own overlay to the Roman originals”

• 6. The modern interpretation. We project onto the Pompeian site 21st century sensibilities and weltanschauung, which may be not be how Pompeian’s saw themselves. The frozen city that Ferdinand IV saw was one replete with great art and wealth. The founders of modern Italy viewed Pompeii as a romanticized symbol of Italian unification and a testament to the ruthless efficiency of the Roman rule of law, inventiveness and Roman colonialisation. It could seem, therefore, that Pompeii is like a poor quality facsimile of the real city and an inhabitant of the time might have difficulty recognizing their own town

Yes, frozen in time

Despite the evidence to the contrary, we should not write off the view as “a city frozen in time”, especially if we examine the human context of the eruption.

• 1. Petrified corpses. Although plaster cast, we do have a unique view of the last moments of the Pompeian populous. Skeletons are also preserved. Artefacts and tools of everyday life, that would be lost over time, are preserved. Artefacts like these have been found before but rarely in situ like this buried with their owners. We can now link the art and possessions of the time with the very people who bought and commissioned them. Luigi Settembrini said that “Fiorelli discovered human pain. Whoever is human can feel it” . The ruts of the carts and raised slabs of stones for crossing the street suggest an ancient one-way traffic system. Had Pompeii survived it would have developed like any other Roman city, e.g. ransacked and invaded many times. Many architectural styles would have permeated and although many of the more important structures would have survived they would been blended with later architecture.

• 2. DNA evidence on the bones that survive give an insight into diseases, diet, and dental care (e.g. grit from the millstone mixed with bread wore down their teeth). From their remains we can distinguish between the masters and slaves, their clothes and the possessions.

• 3. Reading beyond the headlines. Mary Beard – famous for debunking the mythology that Roman life was necessarily lascivious and extravagant for the top few and poor and brutal for the rest said on her twitter feed in February “oh dear, the "Pompeii is a town frozen in a single moment" myth on the BBC news!” But even she concedes “It is the only place in the world where you can begin to understand, face to face, how the Romans of the first century AD lived: from the brothels and lavatories to the posh dining rooms and lavish bathing establishments” Another writer puts it this way “ if a city buried in a 24-hour explosion is not “frozen in time”, I do not know what is”

Whatever the reigning paradigm of the time existed the modern view has shifted towards viewing this as an archaeological site and away from antiquity collecting. May be frozen in time sounds too sensationalist to a scholar’s ears but we need not be too pedantic and exacting and lose sight that Pompeii is unique, unequalled in Antiquity and of huge historical significance.