Pompei: MRA-ITA-Pom009
Type Sample Item
Sample ID
- MRA-ITA-Pom009
Sample Material Type
- Mural painting
Sample Sub-type
- fragment
Dimensions (cm)
- Length
- 11
- Width
- 11.8
- Height
- 1
Weight
- weight value (g)
- 243.1
Other info about sample identity
- Terzo stile - Scavi di Pompei (hand-written note on the back of the fragment)
Geographic Location
- Country
- Italy
- Place
- Pompei
Site/monument
- Italy (ITA)
Pompei
Scavi archeologici di Pompei
Historical note about the site/monument
- The environs of Pompeii were settled before Roman occupation, but the site as seen today dates to the Roman period. In 62 CE an earthquake hit Pompeii, and excavations indicate that repair works were still in progress when Vesuvius erupted 17 years later. The city, frozen in time under pyroclastic debris, was rediscovered in the late 1500s by Domenico Fontana. Intensive (and often aggressive) excavations began in 1763. Over time, the pace of excavation has been slowed in order to promote a more careful and rigorous study of the city. The Pompeii excavations have made it possible to glimpse into Roman urban life and examine its components in a coherent archaeological context. They have also shed light on Roman decorative art. It was examination of Pompeiian frescoes that inspired historian August Mau to develop his famous four-style classification system for Roman mural painting. Indeed, several of the private residences at Pompeii contain excellent examples of mosaic flooring and mural painting, particularly those dating to the Samnite period. The House of the Faun, of the Vettii, of Marcus Lucretius Fronto, and the Villa of the Mysteries are prime examples of the refined and diverse styles of mural painting employed in Pompeiian homes.
Further reading:
Wallace-Hadrill, A. (1994). Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN: 9780691029092.
Caneve, L., Diamanti, A., Grimaldi, F., Palleschi, G., Spizzichino, V., & Valentini, F. (2010). Analysis of fresco by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy. Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy, 65(8), 702-706.
Wallace, A. (2013). Presenting Pompeii: Steps towards reconciling conservation and tourism at an ancient site. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 22, 115-115.
Maguregui, M., Castro, K., Morillas, H., Trebolazabala, J., Knuutinen, U., Wiesinger, R., Schreiner, M., Madariaga, J. M. (2014). Multianalytical approach to explain the darkening process of hematite pigment in paintings from ancient Pompeii after accelerated weathering experiments. Analytical Methods, 6(2), 372-378.
Chronological period (sample)
- Roman period