New Pompeii excavations a revelation 270 years after discovery of first ruins

ANSA ^ | Friday, March 23, 2018 | unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

The local archaeological authorities have marked the occasion by presenting major new excavations in the Regio V area launched under the auspices of the ongoing conservation project Great Pompeii. "Our aim was to resolve the instability of the excavation fronts in this area, which had a history of collapses," said special superintendent for Pompeii Massimo Osanna. "The work involved the reshaping of this part of the archaeological site. Then when we started digging we found remains of public and private areas, gardens and porticoes that we did not think we would find. It is the most important dig in the post-war period," he continued.

"And, for the first time as academics, we have come across objects, plasterwork and frescoes that have never been restored, that are in their original shape and colour without having been tampered with in past restoration..." Osanna added. The work is expected to take two years at a total cost of 8.5 million euros and the area will remain open to visitors for the duration.

Archaeologists have already identified an open area that they believe was a garden whose function will be better investigated through palaeobotanical analysis. The south-eastern corner of the 'garden' has already revealed several amphorae, whose type and contents are now being studied.

Nearby the street that ran alongside the House of the Silver Wedding is coming to light with its raised pavements and the entrances to the buildings along it. These include the entrance to a domus with frescoed walls and panels against a red background with the painted image of a pair of dolphin at the centre. Meanwhile, the director-general of the Great Pompeii Project, Mauro Cipolletta, confirmed plans to bring high-speed railway services directly to the site.

[SunkenCiv]

©ANSA

[SunkenCiv]

If you wanna get down, down underground, Pompeii.

[Don Corleone]

Rome was a great civilization,but it failed. Guess why?

[SunkenCiv]

Plaster cast of a dog at Pompeii. Claus Ableiter/CC BY-SA 3.0; Plaster Citizens of Pompeii

[csvset]

I visited Pompei on a tour. Looked down inside Mt. Vesuvius too. They probably had no idea what hit them. Boom.

[teeman8r]

Rome was a great civilization,but it failed. Guess why?

Trump. right?

/sarc

[SunkenCiv]

That's probably true.

[BenLurkin]

bttt

[SunkenCiv]

TREASURES UNDER THE LAPILLI the exhibition At the Antiquarium of Pompeii (through May 31) -- this one is from the House of the Golden Bracelet (VI,17,42)

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Good animation: A Day in Pompeii. If this is accurate, they knew in advance, but probably didn't know they were going to die. But they all didn't die instantly. What a horrible way to go.

[sappy]

wrong. it was the gunshow loophole. sarc/

[mewzilla]

Bureaucracy Kills: A Lesson from Rome

And I hope they are taking far better care of Pompeii than they were when I was there many, many moons ago...

[SunkenCiv]

Herculaneum, which stood on the slopes of Vesuvius, was buried in pyroclastic flow, ironically preserving more perishable materials than are generally found in Pompeii. There are wood doors which still swing on their hinges, beds with upholstery, screens (the kind people used to dress behind), and even a number of second storeys to buildings, which haven't survived in Pompeii. The ancient city is, alas, directly under the modern town. Oh, and the pyroclastic flow is now stone, and that has to be carefully chipped away. The chipping releases the poisonous gases still trapped in tiny pockets in the stone.

Ercolano Antica

[USMCPOP]

“...Trump. right?...”

No, it was a long time ago. Bush’s fault.

[EinNYC]

Oh, I didn’t need to see this cast of a poor dog curled up in agony, chained and unable to try to escape.

[Axenolith]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_hMagNuhLkk

[hinckley buzzard]

Many had fled Pompeii before the eruption, as eruptions were not unknown to the inhabitants, and there were rumblings and such. When the flow of water from the main aqueduct was interrupted due to geologic movements in the earth, many heeded the sign and left town.

[SunkenCiv]

The dog apparently kept itself on top of the accumulating ash for some period of hours until the chain was at its max. By that time the household humans had probably been dead a while.

[MNJohnnie]

When the poltical class decided it was more important to stab their local political opponents in the back rather then fight the enemies of the Empire. When they decided to “fix” declining birth rates by unchecked wide open immigration. When habitual poltical corruption and conplete disregard for the rule of law became common place in their ruling class.

Sound familiar?

[SunkenCiv]

The towns around the Bay of Naples were also the locations of the country homes of Rome's rich elite, so they weren't there a good part of the year. There had been an earthquake in 62 AD that caused quite a lot of damage, and of the homes in Pompeii that have been excavated, a good many seem to have been under repair. Some of the public buildings were being rebuilt, but the work stopped and never resumed after the eruption in 79 AD. Some homeowners (presumably -- perhaps they were ne'er-do-wells) returned after the disaster, figured out where their former residences lay buried, and dug "robber's holes" down into the structures in search of various presumably precious items. In one of the gymnasiums the players of some Roman sport had got ready for their game, had the game balls piled up as needed, then had to flee when the mountain went up.