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Pompeii rises on a plateau at about 30 metres above sea level, formed by a flow of Vesuvian lava, overlooking the valley of the River Sarno (ancient name Sarnus) at the mouth of which was a busy port.
A mixed population of Etruscans, Greeks and indigenous people led to the development of the city and the construction of a fortified limestone wall (5th century BCE). Towards the end of this century,
the Samnites descended from the mountains and conquered the cities near Mount Vesuvius and the coast in a league with Nuceria (Nocera) as capital.
Pompeii was highly urbanised during the Samnite period. A new fortification constructed in Sarno limestone, which dates back to the 4th century BCE, had to trace a path similar to the previous one.
Towards the end of the 4th century BCE, the movements of the Samnite population unsettled the political order, thereby forcing Rome to intervene in southern Italy: alliances and successful military
campaigns led to its hegemony throughout the Campania region (343-290 BCE). Pompeii then joined the political organisation of the Roman res publica as an ally, however, in 90-89 BCE, together
with other Italic cities, the city rebelled and demanded equal social and political status as Rome. Pompeii was besieged by the troops of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the city surrendered and became a Roman colony
by the name of Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum (80 BCE). Once the colony was founded, Pompeii was enriched with private and public buildings and further embellished particularly
under the ruling of Emperors Augustus (27 BCE - 14 CE) and Tiberius (14-37 CE).
A violent earthquake struck in 62 CE and shook the entire area surrounding Mount Vesuvius. Reconstruction work in Pompeii began immediately, however, it took a long time to be completed
due to the extent of the damage and the seismic swarm that followed. The sudden eruption of Vesuvius 17 years later, on August 24, 79 CE, buried Pompeii under ash and lapilli, creating
what seemed to be an open construction site.
The city was rediscovered at the end of the 16th century but explorations only began in 1748, under the King of Naples, Charles III of Bourbon, and continued systematically throughout the
19th century, right up to the present excavations, restorations and enhancement of the city. The archaeological site of Pompeii spreads over 66 hectares, of which 49 have been excavated.
In 1858, due to the necessity of study and direction, Giuseppe Fiorelli divided the city into regiones (neighborhoods) and insulae (blocks). The names of the houses when the owner was not known,
were coined by the excavators according to the particular discoveries or other criteria.
Herculaneum and PompeiiThe effects of the Vesuvius eruption of 79 CE were quite different for the surrounding cities: Pompeii was confronted with a gulf of ash and lapilli (‘little stones‘: rock fragments formed by a lava spray). But a pyroclastic flow (stones, pumice, lapilli, water vapour and gasses - up to 500 degrees C) struck Herculaneum later followed by a mud flood. That is why the effects were different for both cities, see the charred beams in Herculaneum, absent in Pompeii.A vivid description of the eruption and of the rescue operation of his uncle Pliny the Elder, can be found in two letters of Pliny the Younger written to Tacitus, (Letters 6.16 and 6.20) |
Bath establishment | Storage capacity |
---|---|
Stabian baths Initially with a tread-wheel with buckets on a chain |
38 m3 later enlarged to 70 m3 |
Forum baths Idem |
Probably 15 m3 |
Suburban baths aqueduct fed |
> 10 m3, possibly 110 m3 |
Sarno baths aqueduct fed, in renovation |
Unknown |
Central baths Aqueduct fed, under construction |
Unknown |
Item | Info |
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Length | 35 km, after 62 CE 14 km (theoretically) |
Cross-section | 0,6 m x 1,2 m |
Volume | 4.000 m3/d, after 62 CE 2.000 m3/day |
Fall | 0,07 % theoretically (Keenan-Jones 2010) |
Period | Augustan |
Features |
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How to visit : | by Circumvesuviana train adjacent the main train station of Naples, direction Salerno. Stop at Pompeii Scavi, Villa dei Misteri |
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