Plaster painting pompeii8/22/2023 ![]() ![]() The second pyroclastic flow was the most violent and energetic, capable of breaking down walls orientated at right angles to the direction of flow. Most Pompeiians who survived the first phase of the eruption, no doubt survived this first flow as well. The first pyroclastic flow to reach Pompeii deposited only a few centimetres of ash and, due to its low energy, did not cause much structural damage. ![]() The other flows, starting with the second (which was more violent and energetic, and the cause of the greatest number of victims in Pompeii), followed one after the other throughout the early hours of the morning. In total, the pumice fall phase lasted about 18/19 hours.Īfter t he rain of pumice ceased due to the collapse of the eruptive column, the first pyroclastic flow occurred, reaching Pompeii during the final phase of the sedimentation of the grey pumice, so at about 07:00 on October 25th. The sedimentation of the so-called white pumice lasted for about 7 hours (from 13:00 to 20:00) the sedimentation of grey pumice lasted about 11 hours (from 20:00 to 07:00 the following day). Manual exploration of these ‘ voids’, and the shape revealed by the plaster casts, revealed that these were heaps of cloth, with large and heavy folds in particular the heap close to the first victim could be interpreted as a woollen mantle, which the young ‘slave’ had evidently taken with him during the escape.Īs regards the cause and time of death, those elements that may give general indications are summarised below.Īs is well known, the eruption began with a rain of pumice which poured down upon Pompeii from the eruptive column from 13:00 on the f irst day of the eruption (probably October 24 th ) until about 07:00 the following day. Here too, plaster was poured in, revealing the presence not of victims but of objects which had perhaps been lost during the escape. Roughly 1 metre east of the first victim, and 80cm east of the second, other holes were discovered during excavation works. Fragments of white plaster were found close to the face of the victim, which had probably collapsed from the upper floor. At the position of the upper left arm there is also an imprint of a different fabric pertaining to a tunic, which would seem to have extended to the pelvic area. Beneath the victim’s neck and close to his sternum, where the fabric formed clear and heavy folds, i mprints of the fabric are preserved that are clearly visible and indicate a woollen mantle which stopped at the left shoulder. This victim wore more intricate clothing compared to the other, as he wore a tunic and mantle. ![]() Just as in the first excavation campaign when it was possible to crate plaster casts of the horses, today it has been possible to make casts of the two victims who were found near t he cryptoporticus, in the noble part of the villa which the latest investigations have focused on. What the writer Luigi Settembrini defined as “ the pain of death that takes on body and form ” once again takes shape in the excavations at Pompeii, in the form of men who lost their lives during the eruption, the traces of whose death throes have remained imprinted in the ash for t wo thousand years.ĭuring the current excavations at Civita Giuliana, around 700 metres northwest of Pompeii, in the area of t he large suburban villa where, in 2017 – thanks to a joint operation with the Carabinieri and t he Public Prosecutor’s Office of Torre Annunziata aimed at stopping the illegal trafficking carried out by grave robbers – the servile part of the villa had been discovered along with the stable containing the remains of three harnessed horses, two skeletons of individuals caught in the fury of the eruption have been found. ![]()
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