Conservation and Preservation of the Pompeiian Architecture Essay

Over the past centuries, since its discovery in 1749, many archaeologists have contributed to our understanding of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Archaeologists were initially focused on excavating, most of which were improperly done causing extensive damage. It wasn’t until the 19th century, when archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli introduced new excavation methods; those succeeded him include August Mau, Vittorio Spinazzola and Amendo Maiuri. Now attention has shifted towards conservations and restorations which are reflected in the works of Fausto Zevi and Pier Guzzo.

explosion forcing it to collapse the way it did. Some survivors of the tragic event along with

The destruction of Pompeii came about when Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24 AD 79. This eruption was not your stereotypical eruption. The mountain exploded in a long smoldering burst of pumice ash and rock. The eruption covered Pompeii and the neighboring city of Herculaneum in over thirteen feet of pumice and ash, burning and destroying almost all of the city 's. The eruption was said to last over twenty four hours. Turning day to night with clouds of dust and ash. ¨100-miles-per-hour surge of superheated poison gas and pulverized rock–poured down the side of the mountain and swallowed everything and everyone in its path. (¨History.com Staff. “Pompeii.” History.com.) Around 16,000 people died in the eruption. (“Mount Vesuvius - Italy.” ) When Mount Vesuvius erupted many people were unprepared, just standing and watching the volcano until the eruption was on top of them. Many people thought it was just a tremor or earthquake before the mountain exploded and it was too late. Many people did try and escape. Escaping by boat was impossible, the only real way to escape was to go south away from the volcano. There was mass panic in the heart of the city and most people didn 't get out in time. ¨Though my shocked

The Oscan People establish the city of Pompeii in 7 BC. It was originally established for farming and trading purposes. The soil of the land was rich due to the earlier eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. The Samnite people took over Pompeii and then it was later conquered by the Romans. The Romans made Pompeii an official Roman colony in 80 BC. They named it Colonia Veneria Cornelia Pompeii.

Due to the lack of preserving acts made in early excavations, Pompeii has been a victim to weather. The most important action the Italian government can make is protecting the city from weather conditions to insure its status as both an archaeological site and a tourism site.

The first settlers at Pompeii are Greeks, part of the spread of Greek colonies around the Mediterranean in the 6th century BC. By the 4th century the town has been taken by Samnites, a Italian tribe from the inland hills. The site of Pompeii is located in western Italy in a region called Campania, near the Bay of Naples. This location ensured the city's role as a center of commerce. Pompeii proper is enclosed by two miles of walls that encompass 23 acres, though the city itself extended beyond the walls with suburbs that melded into fertile farmlands known for their vineyards and olive orchards. Within this beautiful countryside many wealthy Romans placed their summer homes. However, it was Pompeii's proximity to Mt. Vesuvius that ensured the city's place in history. Pompeii grew from a settlement of Oscan speaking descendants of the Neolithic inhabitants of Campania. Pre-Roman Pompeii, as a part of Campania, was a recipient of a complex set of cultural influences: Etruscans from the north, Greek colonists from the south, and Samnites and other Italic peoples all around. Pompeii was settled by Greeks in the 6th century BC.

Farther on, archaeologist findings prove many things about the daily life of Pompeii. Penelope Allison and Giuseppe Fiorelli are two talented archaeologists. Allison has even written a book on her findings! Pompeii is very preserved and looks the same as in 79 A.D. Just like in our past, the wealthy people owned slaves and servants. People were found holding jewels and money or their children as they died. This shows us the values of Pompeii’s people.

Pompeii, a medium sized town, was located about ninety miles south of Rome. Pompeii was founded in six-hundred B.C. in front of Mount Vesuvius, which stood approximately six-thousand, five-hundred feet from the ground into the air. Apparently, nobody in the town was well aware that Vesuvius was an active volcano; they didn’t even know that it was a volcano until the huge eruption of Vesuvius, leaving thousands to die. Pompeii is located on a plateau that was created by lava flow from volcanoes around the area, then hardening to create a rock substance. The city of Pompeii was built from north to south, Vesuvius being on the north end of the town. Vesuvius offered rich, fertile land that was suitable for growing healthy vegetation, then would be harvested and sorted out to eat later. Southwards of Pompeii gently flowed, the river of Sarnus, this river was very crucial towards the economic life

Pompeii is different from our city for many reasons. For instance, the city of Pompeii was four miles

Pompeii is a Roman city built on the sides of Mt.Vesuvius. In Pompeii had a lot earthquakes in 62 A.D there was a huge earthquake that destroyed many of buildings in Pompeii. A huge eruption occurred one day after the religious festival to vulcan, the Roman God of fire.

Earthquakes rank as one of the most devastating natural disasters that can occur, causing damage to multiple facets of society. Earthquakes can cause major damage to vital infrastructure, cost human lives, and trigger other events that can cause even more destruction. Throughout history, earthquakes have caused millions, even billions of dollars of damage to cities and towns alike. Much of the destruction resulting from earthquakes is a product of poor design against seismic loads and forces. However as we have become more educated about what causes earthquakes and where they come from, we have been able to better fortify our structures to resist such forces, and have been able to

A group of pioneers excavated the site in 1748 (A+E Networks), finding buildings, artefacts and skeletons left behind. Up to today the ruins of Pompeii have always held visitors spellbound. Many who travel explore the place and examine traces of the columns and arches erected by the Roman Emperors, buildings such as the Colosseum and the remains of Roman Forum. The ruins of Pompeii is like

One of the most extreme events that occurred during the course of the semester is the Italy earthquake. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale, struck Italy on August 24, 2016 at approximately 3:36 CEST. The absolute location of the earthquake was 42o N, 13o W. The main cause of the earthquake is due to the two fault lines that are running through Italy. The North South Fault and the East West Fault lines intersect each other and this is why Italy is prone to so many earthquakes (Willis). After the initial massive earthquake that struck Italy, over 200 aftershocks took place. The death toll as of right now is 291 and left hundreds more in0jured, but the actually number could still climb due to people still sifting through the rubble. The estimated economic loss has been calculated to be over eleven billion dollars. The deadly earthquake that struck Italy has destroyed hundreds of historical sites one of which was ancient Roman Catholic cathedral. The earthquake almost wiped out the city of Amatrice. One citizen of the city said “there is no hope, too many people dead. And Amatrice does not exist anymore.” (Shubert)

In short, the simple geometry buildings have performed better during the earthquakes. Buildings with re-entrant corners, such as those U, V, H and + shaped in plan, have been able to sustain significant damage. Many times, the bad effects of earthquakes can be avoided by making the buildings in two parts. Like, an L-shaped plan can be divided into two rectangular plan shapes using a partition point at the junction. At times, the plan of buildings is simple, but the columns/walls are not equally distributed. Such buildings tend to twist during earthquake or shaking.

However, observations of the in-service behaviour of buildings showed that this lack of strength did not necessarily result in building failure or even severe damage when they were subjected to severe earthquake attack. Provided the strength could be maintained without excessive degradation as inelastic deformations developed, buildings generally survived and could often be economically repaired. Conversely, buildings which experienced significant strength loss frequently became unstable and often collapsed.