The Role Of Pompeii In 19th Century Archaeology

The discovery of Pompeii in 1784 marked a monumental moment in history with the discovery of a covered town and its secrets of the ancient civilisation buried by the natural disaster, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Following the discovery the process of excavation began over the 19th Century there was an increase in the changing methods used by archaeologists in order to further develop our understanding of the ancient civilisation of Pompeii.
Before the 19th Century archaeology was used as way to treasure hunt, such as Alcubierre whose sole intention was to find treasure1, and find goods to either sell or display in individuals own personal collections although by the 19th Century there was a large increase in the ideologies of
Source 46 & Source 57 show the negative effect some reconstruction and excavations can cause. Due to this it has been considered to overcome this issue that excavations be stopped and conservation take place instead this argument is summed up by Wallace- Hadrill ““In the end, the pivotal point is this. Until we have demonstrated that we can find a way to manage this incomparable heritage and preserve it for future generations.., we can only add to the existing problem by undertaking new excavation.” Clearly showing how many believe that until we can properly execute the idea of excavation and restoration without increasing the risk of damage, failed reconstruction attempts and neglect that the site must be conserved. He also states that “Each generation discovers with horror the extent to which information has been ignored, neglected, destroyed and left unreported”8 These destructive elements of excavation have been overcome by the introduction of new technologies in order to fully appreciate the site in its
Most famous though Is the use of forensic medicine and physical anthropology these have been used to determine factors such as; age-at-death, sex, height, signs of diseases and affinities of the remains these were implemented by Estelle Lazer In Pompeii. The issue with style is the ethical issue of do we have the right to examine an individual’s remains without their consent. Estelle Lazer states on the use of human remains as artefacts that “ skeletal material found at the site was not subjected to the types on analysis routinely used for human remains from other sites” 9this shows how she believes it to just be a part of investigating the past although this source could have a slight bias as she believes thoroughly in the use of human remains and does not consider the other side to the argument high lighting the opposing sides in this methods