In the most recent years, excavations have been carried out outside the Porta Stabia, and also in Murecine, near the river Sarno, where the Hospitium dei Sulpici has been uncovered. Many areas are still to be uncovered in Pompeii, but it is even more important to restore what has already been excavated. Today 44 of the 66 hectares of urban area are visible, and it is unanimously considered that the other 22 hectares must be left under the volcanic debris, in order to preserve this important part of our past for future generations.
The discoveries aroused great interest, and emotion, among Enlightenment circles - and offered many new subjects for cultural debate. Slowly a new, Neo-classical, attitude emerged, influencing philosophers, men of letters and artists. Painters, sculptors, jewellers, upholsterers, cabinet-makers, joiners, decorators - all made explicit reference to the findings in the towns that Vesuvius buried, and there was a constant demand for books illustrated with accurate pictures.
Many European countries, thanks to the new importance given to the ancient world, opened academies in Naples and Rome to offer hospitality to those who wanted to study the newly excavated towns. In this period the younger members of many of the noble and rich families of Europe completed their education by doing a 'grand tour' of Europe, and a visit to Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Museo Archeologico in Naples was considered an essential part of these trips.
The diaries of some of the people who made these journeys show how much influence the excavations had all over Europe, and these discoveries certainly eventually gave rise to modern archaeology, and led to the finding of many other ancient Greek and Roman towns.
The discovery of Pompeii is of huge importance for our modern-day understanding of the ancient Roman-Italic world - partly because the more public and monumental ruins left behind by Imperial Rome have often been misleading. The excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum Their ruination and destruction left crucial questions unanswered, and made it impossible in many ways to gather a satisfactory understanding of the Roman world from them.
Ancient Greek and Roman texts are also often obscure and enigmatic, because the ancient writers naturally took for granted, and did not explain, things that the modern reader cannot begin to guess at.
The excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, by contrast, offer an intact vision of daily life in a Roman society in all its aspects. They have produced not only many treasures, but also many objects that are less precious but extremely useful for the understanding of everyday life during the years of the Roman empire.
In the buildings of these towns - from the monumental to the most simple - the ancient world appears in all its complexity, with great clarity. The same principle applies to the ancient texts of classical times.
These have Rome and other big cities as their main point of reference, meaning that the history they speak of corresponds to the history of big centres and cities - while the ancient Roman world was actually made up, above all, of a great number of small towns and villages. In order to find out about the morality, culture, sense of state and religion for the vast majority of people in the Roman-Italic world, it is to Pompeii and Herculaneum that we must turn.
It is here that we are most likely to find the truth about the society that made Rome 'caput mundi'. They don't realise that many parts of the ancient town were uncovered more than two centuries ago, and that inadequate technology and debatable methods were used in the excavations, especially when the first works were carried out.
They don't recognise what a miracle it is that buildings that were originally erected to last for only a few decades, and that even on that basis would have required frequent upkeep, are still in existence - and able to tell us something of the life that was lived within them.
Today the biggest danger for the old town is the increasing number of visitors, who often do not understand that they are touching, creeping, walking along, an open air museum, which requires much respect and attention. In Pompeii all is original: the tombs along the stone paved streets; the houses, with their frescoes - some with simple designs and gaudy colours, others more elegant and complex - which open onto shadowed arcades made precious by gardens in bloom and gushing fountains.
The workshops and the shops immediately suggest the busy and noisy life once so much in evidence along the streets, and the religious sanctuaries are awesome even today - with monumental columns still emphasising the sacredness of the altars. Record rainfall as storm douses drought-stricken California. More from Robb Report. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. Found the story interesting? Like us on Facebook to see similar stories.
I'm already a fan, don't show this again. Send MSN Feedback. On this day in , the ruins of Pompeii, the ancient Roman city that was obliterated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, were discovered.
The remains were found during excavations by Spanish military engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre, and surprised many due to so many buildings and wall paintings remaining well-preserved. Today, the fall of Pompeii serves as a harsh reminder of the destructive power of environmental catastrophe.
Not only monumental public buildings, but houses, streets, commercial units, drainage channels, fountains, wells, city walls, cemeteries, parks, and even some unfortunate inhabitants. This is truly a rare case where both public buildings and private architecture of an ancient site were uncovered in such a big scale and with such intensity. The earthquakes and tremors leading up to the 79 AD eruption were not recognized as the precursors they were.
Environmental blog ClimateChange.
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