The
Herculaneum Centre (www.herculaneumcentre.org), thanks to the generous
support of the Friends of Herculaneum Society
(www.herculaneum.ox.ac.uk), is once again able to offer an award for
research to be carried out on a subject related to Herculaneum in
2013-2014. The award of 1,000 is intended to support travel to and time
spent at the archaeological site of Herculaneum, Italy, and is open to
students registered on a post-graduate university programme.
Deadline 31st October 2013.
For further information and to apply click on the following link:
Il
Centro Herculaneum (www.herculaneumcentre.org) grazie al generoso
contributo della Friends of Herculaneum Society
(www.herculaneum.ox.ac.uk ) offre nuovamente, dopo il successo degli
ultimi anni, una borsa di studio per una ricerca inerente al sito
archeologico di Herculaneum da svolgersi nel corso del 2013-2014. La
borsa di 1,000 sterline è pensata per coprire le spese di viaggio e di
alloggio per il tempo trascorso agli Scavi di Ercolano ed è aperta a
studenti di programmi universitari post-laurea. Scadenza 31 ottobre
2013
Per ulteriori informazioni e per il modulo di domanda cliccare sul seguente link:
A blog for all those who work on Pompeii and the other archaeological sites of the Bay of Naples.
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Out now: Journal of Roman Archaeology 2013
JRA 2013 is out now and contains the following Pompeii-related material:
M. Flohr The textile economy of Pompeii 53and, as reviews,
N. Monteix The apple of discord: fleece-washing in Pompeii’s textile economy. A response to M. Flohr 79
S. J. R. Ellis, The shops and workshops of HerculaneumFor more information, see http://www.journalofromanarch.com/index.html
A. Wallace-Hadrill, Trying to define and identify the Roman "middle classes"
T. A. J. McGinn, Sorting out prostitution in Pompeii: the material remains, terminology and the legal sources
Y. Perrin, L'écrit au quotidien dans le monde romain
Press release: Tiberius. Portrait of an Emperor
GETTY VILLA EXHIBITION EXAMINES
LIFE AND LEGACY OF ROMAN EMPEROR TIBERIUS
Off view for many years, the over life-size bronze portrait of Tiberius from Herculaneum highlights the ongoing collaboration between the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.
Tiberius: Portrait of an Emperor
October 16, 2013–March 3, 2014
At the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Villa LOS ANGELES—Buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, an over-life-size bronze portrait of Tiberius (ruled A.D. 14–37) was discovered in 1741, during the first years of excavation at Herculaneum. On loan from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples, this statue is the subject of the exhibition Tiberius: Portrait of an Emperor, on view at the Getty Villa October 16, 2013 through March 3, 2014. Brought to the Getty Villa for conservation and analysis last October, the sculpture provides an opportunity to re-examine the career and character of Rome’s second emperor. The exhibition has been co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.
“Following the study and conservation project of the Apollo Saettante two years ago, we are delighted to once again be collaborating with our colleagues in Naples,” says Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “This year-long conservation project of the bronze sculpture of Tiberius has brought to light the processes by which over-life-sized statues, like this one, were produced. This research is pertinent to the study of all ancient bronzes, as is the study of the methods and materials of the sculpture’s eighteenth-century restoration.”
Conservation of the Statue
Standing over eight feet tall, the statue had been off view for decades on account of structural weaknesses in its lower sections and base. Putting this grand imperial portrait back in the public eye was, therefore, the primary goal of the collaboration. In order to do so, Getty conservators developed a new internal support that evenly distributes the substantial weight of the figure—some 1,050 pounds of bronze—and ensures its secure and safe display. The statue has also now been fully cleaned, revealing the lustrous dark patina it would have had when first showcased in the Royal Museum at Portici. This portrait and other works of art were heavily damaged by volcanic debris that inundated Herculaneum. Because it was standard practice in the eighteenth-century to restore sculptures to appear complete and virtually unblemished, the Getty’s investigation of the figure revealed much about the techniques used in these early restorations, such as the pouring of molten bronze to fill missing areas, a series of bolts to secure the additions in place, and the applied patina, which would have hidden any trace of the restorers’ masterful intervention.
The opportunity to study the portrait in detail has also shed light on how it was manufactured in antiquity. As was typical for large-scale bronze statuary, the Tiberius was fashioned using the lost-wax casting technique. Casting and assembly, however, were unusually complex, involving some sixty individual pieces to create the numerous folds of the emperor’s toga and tunic.
The Life and Legacy of Tiberius
Next year marks the two thousandth anniversary of Tiberius’s accession as Emperor and a timely opportunity to display the newly conserved portrait and re-examine his career and character. Overshadowed by his predecessor, Augustus, Tiberius has long been thought of as an isolated and rather unpleasant character. Achieving power through twists of fate and familial circumstance, he was often uncomfortable in the role of ruler, and ultimately fled from Rome to the island of Capri and his magnificent Villa Jovis. There, his depravities—at least according to his detractors—reached their peak. Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23 or 24–79) called him “the gloomiest of men,” while Suetonius (about A.D. 70–130) relates that he was so disliked that, when he died, Rome resounded with a cry of “To the Tiber with Tiberius.” Yet many scandalous reports—still influential to this day—were written well after Tiberius’s death, and much of what they tell is little more than unsubstantiated rumor. This exhibition proposes a more balanced view of this complicated ruler—both his virtues and his failings—and the political and domestic power struggles that framed his life.
Tiberius: Portrait of an Emperor was organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei—Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Laboratorio di Conservazione e Restauro. It celebrates 2013 as the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, realized under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Italy. The exhibition was cocurated by David Saunders, assistant curator of antiquities, and Erik Risser, associate conservator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
The J. Paul Getty Trust is an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts that includes the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Getty Foundation. The J. Paul Getty Trust and Getty programs serve a varied audience from two locations: the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu. The J. Paul Getty Museum collects in seven distinct areas, including Greek and Roman antiquities, European paintings, drawings, manuscripts, sculpture and decorative arts, and photographs gathered internationally. The Museum's mission is to make the collection meaningful and attractive to a broad audience by presenting and interpreting the works of art through educational programs, special exhibitions, publications, conservation, and research.
Visiting the Getty Villa
The Getty Villa is open Wednesday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with special Saturday hours until 9 p.m. October 12–November 30, 2013. It is closed Tuesday and major holidays. Admission to the Getty Villa is always free. A ticket is required for admission. Tickets can be ordered in advance, or on the day of your visit, at www.getty.edu/visit or at (310) 440-7300. Parking is $15 per car. Groups of 15 or more must make reservations by phone. For more information, call (310) 440-7300 (English or Spanish); (310) 440-7305 (TTY line for the deaf or hearing impaired). The Getty Villa is at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, California.
Additional information is available at www.getty.edu.
Sign up for e-Getty at www.getty.edu/subscribe to receive free monthly highlights of events at the Getty Center and the Getty Villa via e-mail, or visit www.getty.edu for a complete calendar of public programs.
LIFE AND LEGACY OF ROMAN EMPEROR TIBERIUS
Off view for many years, the over life-size bronze portrait of Tiberius from Herculaneum highlights the ongoing collaboration between the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.
Tiberius: Portrait of an Emperor
October 16, 2013–March 3, 2014
At the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Villa LOS ANGELES—Buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, an over-life-size bronze portrait of Tiberius (ruled A.D. 14–37) was discovered in 1741, during the first years of excavation at Herculaneum. On loan from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples, this statue is the subject of the exhibition Tiberius: Portrait of an Emperor, on view at the Getty Villa October 16, 2013 through March 3, 2014. Brought to the Getty Villa for conservation and analysis last October, the sculpture provides an opportunity to re-examine the career and character of Rome’s second emperor. The exhibition has been co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.
“Following the study and conservation project of the Apollo Saettante two years ago, we are delighted to once again be collaborating with our colleagues in Naples,” says Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “This year-long conservation project of the bronze sculpture of Tiberius has brought to light the processes by which over-life-sized statues, like this one, were produced. This research is pertinent to the study of all ancient bronzes, as is the study of the methods and materials of the sculpture’s eighteenth-century restoration.”
Conservation of the Statue
Standing over eight feet tall, the statue had been off view for decades on account of structural weaknesses in its lower sections and base. Putting this grand imperial portrait back in the public eye was, therefore, the primary goal of the collaboration. In order to do so, Getty conservators developed a new internal support that evenly distributes the substantial weight of the figure—some 1,050 pounds of bronze—and ensures its secure and safe display. The statue has also now been fully cleaned, revealing the lustrous dark patina it would have had when first showcased in the Royal Museum at Portici. This portrait and other works of art were heavily damaged by volcanic debris that inundated Herculaneum. Because it was standard practice in the eighteenth-century to restore sculptures to appear complete and virtually unblemished, the Getty’s investigation of the figure revealed much about the techniques used in these early restorations, such as the pouring of molten bronze to fill missing areas, a series of bolts to secure the additions in place, and the applied patina, which would have hidden any trace of the restorers’ masterful intervention.
The opportunity to study the portrait in detail has also shed light on how it was manufactured in antiquity. As was typical for large-scale bronze statuary, the Tiberius was fashioned using the lost-wax casting technique. Casting and assembly, however, were unusually complex, involving some sixty individual pieces to create the numerous folds of the emperor’s toga and tunic.
Next year marks the two thousandth anniversary of Tiberius’s accession as Emperor and a timely opportunity to display the newly conserved portrait and re-examine his career and character. Overshadowed by his predecessor, Augustus, Tiberius has long been thought of as an isolated and rather unpleasant character. Achieving power through twists of fate and familial circumstance, he was often uncomfortable in the role of ruler, and ultimately fled from Rome to the island of Capri and his magnificent Villa Jovis. There, his depravities—at least according to his detractors—reached their peak. Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23 or 24–79) called him “the gloomiest of men,” while Suetonius (about A.D. 70–130) relates that he was so disliked that, when he died, Rome resounded with a cry of “To the Tiber with Tiberius.” Yet many scandalous reports—still influential to this day—were written well after Tiberius’s death, and much of what they tell is little more than unsubstantiated rumor. This exhibition proposes a more balanced view of this complicated ruler—both his virtues and his failings—and the political and domestic power struggles that framed his life.
Tiberius: Portrait of an Emperor was organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei—Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Laboratorio di Conservazione e Restauro. It celebrates 2013 as the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, realized under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Italy. The exhibition was cocurated by David Saunders, assistant curator of antiquities, and Erik Risser, associate conservator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
The J. Paul Getty Trust is an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts that includes the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Getty Foundation. The J. Paul Getty Trust and Getty programs serve a varied audience from two locations: the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu. The J. Paul Getty Museum collects in seven distinct areas, including Greek and Roman antiquities, European paintings, drawings, manuscripts, sculpture and decorative arts, and photographs gathered internationally. The Museum's mission is to make the collection meaningful and attractive to a broad audience by presenting and interpreting the works of art through educational programs, special exhibitions, publications, conservation, and research.
Visiting the Getty Villa
The Getty Villa is open Wednesday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with special Saturday hours until 9 p.m. October 12–November 30, 2013. It is closed Tuesday and major holidays. Admission to the Getty Villa is always free. A ticket is required for admission. Tickets can be ordered in advance, or on the day of your visit, at www.getty.edu/visit or at (310) 440-7300. Parking is $15 per car. Groups of 15 or more must make reservations by phone. For more information, call (310) 440-7300 (English or Spanish); (310) 440-7305 (TTY line for the deaf or hearing impaired). The Getty Villa is at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, California.
Additional information is available at www.getty.edu.
Sign up for e-Getty at www.getty.edu/subscribe to receive free monthly highlights of events at the Getty Center and the Getty Villa via e-mail, or visit www.getty.edu for a complete calendar of public programs.
Monday, 21 October 2013
Pompeii Bibliography and Mapping Project's first update published.
Almost four years ago, Francesca Tronchin interviewed me for Blogging Pompeii on my plans for Pompeiana.org and some bold predictions were made:
I am encouraged by the power of this organizational structure to believe that the GIS will in the future be the primary platform for using Pompeiana.org. By linking the searchable bibliography, full-text articles and books, online images, and other electronic resources to each property, research can be done by simply clicking on the location of interest to bring together all of these materials in one place. It’s a big project, but so were the indispensable works of the PPM, the CTP, and Garcia y Garcia’s bibliography. Now imagine them all together, on your screen and weighing only as much as your laptop.
Last Friday, the first of many updates on the progress of the Pompeii Bibliography and Mapping Project was published on our blog. You can read that here. Hopefully, I'm finally making good on all that optimism shown above. The thoughts and imaginings of the Blogging Pompeii community especially are desired now. Things are still in "deep beta" form, but please do share what you'd want the site to do and do better, what resources we should be adding or privileging, and if you have anything to share - citations, digital full-text copies, spatial data, time, expertise, or anything else - let me know. - EP
I am encouraged by the power of this organizational structure to believe that the GIS will in the future be the primary platform for using Pompeiana.org. By linking the searchable bibliography, full-text articles and books, online images, and other electronic resources to each property, research can be done by simply clicking on the location of interest to bring together all of these materials in one place. It’s a big project, but so were the indispensable works of the PPM, the CTP, and Garcia y Garcia’s bibliography. Now imagine them all together, on your screen and weighing only as much as your laptop.
Last Friday, the first of many updates on the progress of the Pompeii Bibliography and Mapping Project was published on our blog. You can read that here. Hopefully, I'm finally making good on all that optimism shown above. The thoughts and imaginings of the Blogging Pompeii community especially are desired now. Things are still in "deep beta" form, but please do share what you'd want the site to do and do better, what resources we should be adding or privileging, and if you have anything to share - citations, digital full-text copies, spatial data, time, expertise, or anything else - let me know. - EP
Thursday, 17 October 2013
Award for research on Herculaneum - Borsa di Studio su Herculaneum
The Herculaneum Centre (www.herculaneumcentre.org), thanks to the generous support of the Friends of Herculaneum Society (www.herculaneum.ox.ac.uk), is once again able to offer an award for research to be carried out on a subject related to Herculaneum in 2013-2014. The award of £1,000 is intended to support travel to and time spent at the archaeological site of Herculaneum, Italy, and is open to students registered on a postgraduate university programme.
Deadline 31 October 2013. Follow this link to download application form:
http://
Il Centro Herculaneum (www.herculaneumcentre.org) grazie al generoso contributo della Friends of Herculaneum Society (www.herculaneum.ox.ac.uk ) offre nuovamente, dopo il
successo degli ultimi anni, una borsa di studio per una ricerca inerente al sito archeologico di Herculaneum da svolgersi nel corso del 2013-2014.La borsa di 1,000 sterline è pensata per coprire le spese di viaggio e di alloggio per il tempo trascorso agli Scavi di Ercolano ed è aperta a studenti di programmi universitari
post-laurea.
Scadenza 31 ottobre 2013. Per ulteriori info e per scaricare il modulo di domanda cliccare sul link: http://
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Ticket sales possible with credit cards
I'm posting an official press release from the Soprintendenza that basically says that you can now use your debit and credit cards to buy tickets when visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum. In addition, you can buy tickets in advance online.
I
BIGLIETTI DI INGRESSO A POMPEI ED ERCOLANO ACQUISTABILI ON LINE E CON CARTA DI CREDITO
La Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei comunica che da oggi è possibile
acquistare i biglietti di ingresso agli scavi di Pompei anche con carta di credito (circuiti Visa e MasterCard) e Bancomat.
Si
completa in tal modo il programma di adeguamento e ampliamento dei
metodi di pagamento e dei canali
di vendita dei biglietti di ingresso alle aree archeologiche che ha
visto impegnati la Soprintendenza e Civita Musea srl, concessionario di
biglietteria, con l’obiettivo di offrire servizi sempre più moderni per
rendere più agevole la visita negli scavi.
Da oggi, dunque, i biglietti di ingresso possono essere acquistati a Pompei (tutti gli ingressi) ed
Ercolano, non più solo in contanti ma anche con bancomat e carta di credito (circuiti Visa e Mastercard).
I biglietti, inoltre, possono essere comodamente pre-acquistati
on line dai siti della Soprintendenza (www.pompeiisites.org) o di TicketOne (www.ticketone.it):
con un paio di semplici click e pagando con carta
di credito si può scegliere se ricevere i biglietti a casa, se
stamparli e presentarsi così direttamente ai tornelli di ingresso,
oppure se ritirarli presso un punto dedicato presente a Ercolano e a
Pompei Porta Marina.
In questo modo, le aree archeologiche di Pompei ed Ercolano, fra i primi luoghi d’arte in Italia,
si adeguano agli standard offerti dai più importanti e visitati musei del mondo.
UFFICIO STAMPA
Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei
Via Villa dei Misteri, 2
80045 Pompei NA
Tel. 081.8575327
www.pompeiisites.org
Friday, 11 October 2013
Lecture: Reimagining the Villa of 'Poppaea'
The Rome Society of the Archaeological Institute of America announces its upcoming lecture:
Professor Regina Gee (Montana State University)
"Reimagining the Villa 'of Poppaea': the Oplontis Project and its Frescoes"
The lecture will take place on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 at 7.00
pm,
at Cornell in Rome. College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Via dei Barbieri 6, Rome.
at Cornell in Rome. College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Via dei Barbieri 6, Rome.
Monday, 7 October 2013
Herculaneum after AD 79
A very interesting article outlining the archaeological evidence for what happened at Herculaneum after the eruption in AD 79 has just been published in the new issue of the Papers of the British School at Rome by Herculaneum Conservation Project archaeologist Domenico Camardo:
Herculaneum from the ad 79 eruption to the medieval period: analysis of the documentary, iconographic and archaeological sources, with new data on the beginning of exploration at the ancient town
Domenico Camardo
Abstract
This
article, divided into two main parts, first analyses the archaeological
data for a return to the site of Herculaneum after its destruction in
the ad 79 eruption. The
evidence includes a necropolis above the Roman town, along with burials
and other finds in the Herculaneum area up to the late antique period.
The second part looks at how the medieval settlement of Resina grew up
over ancient Herculaneum and how new archaeological research has
demonstrated that tunnelling was already being carried out to retrieve
marble and building materials from the Roman town in the fourteenth
century. This occurred sporadically, but it seems to have continued,
without being continuous, through the subsequent centuries and pre-dates
by several centuries the so-called ‘re-discovery’ of Herculaneum in
1710, which took place over twenty years before the beginning of
systematic excavations in 1738.
Abstract
L'articolo,
diviso in due capitoli, analizza nella prima parte le tracce
archeologiche di un ritorno nel sito di Ercolano dopo la distruzione
dell'eruzione del 79 d.C. attraverso la presenza di una necropoli sul
sito dell'antica città e di tombe e rinvenimenti nel territorio di
Herculaneum fino al tardo antico. Nella seconda parte si ricostruisce lo
strutturarsi in epoca medievale dell'abitato di Resina sul sito
dell'antica Ercolano e di come i dati archeologici dimostrino un'azione
di scavo di pozzi e cunicoli per il recupero di marmi e materiali
edilizi dell'antica città già nel XIV secolo, con un'attività sporadica e
non organizzata, ma che sembra continuare senza soluzione di continuità
nei secoli successivi, fino alla cosiddetta ‘riscoperta’ del 1710 che
ha preceduto di un ventennio l'inizio degli scavi sistematici del 1738.
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