A question about past exhibitions

Kenneth Lapatin asks:

In preparation for an exhibition about the modern reception of Pompeii and the Vesuvian cities that will open at the Getty Villa next year and travel on to the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec, I am compiling a list of exhibitions of related to Pompeii and other Vesuvian sites for publication as an appendix in the exhibition catalogue, The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection. The list now has over two hundred entries, and surely has some omissions, but I seek information particularly about four exhibitions that toured Japan, specifically the cities, museums, and dates in which they appeared:

1) I have seen vague references to a show in 1950 or 1951, which, if not mythical, would be the first post-war exhibition of Pompeian material.

2) "La vita quotidiana nell' antichità Romana" in 1976

3) "Picta Fragmenta" in 1997

4) "L'Archeologia del Vulcano" in 2000

Any leads, including references to published catalogues, would be most appreciated. (Once the list is complete, I hope also to post it on the web, so that it can be amended and kept up to date.)

A question about graffiti

Hello,
I'm writing a book about ancient and medieval graffiti for middle school/high school students. I'm hoping that one of the chapters will be about the graffiti of Pompeii, but I'm having difficulty finding books with photos or drawings of the graffiti, with translations.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

Toni Rhodes
Stone Mountain, GA

A question about water features

Greetings:

I'm the lead archaeologist on two Spanish Mission projects in California and at one of them we discovered lime mortared "tanks" in one of the quadrangle wings.  They measure 3 m x 0.8 x 0.84 m in size.  The top of the "tank" is at the interior surface grade.  We have been unable to identify the function of these features and do not believe that they are products of some post-Spanish activity.  One of the docents at the site thought they may be part of rain water catchment systems.  I understand that these same features may be present at Pompeii and would greatly appreciate being directed to someone or sources that may help our understanding of these features.  

Thank you,

John

 

John M. Foster, RPA

Greenwood-Associates.com

Question about the House of Marcus Lucretius

Posted originally on Blogging Pompeii's Facebook page by Francis Brenders:

'I try to complete a comprehensive study (40 pages without illustrations) about the house of Marcus Lucretius (IX,3,5/24) but some elements are missing. I could use the information of the site 'Pompeii in pictures' and the photographs in 'Pompei, pitture e mosaici'. Further I used the descriptions of Nicollini and Fiorelli and for the paintings I had the publications of Karl Schefold. I compared all this with the recent literature about the subject and came to certain conclusions about the social status of the house and its owner, the accessability of certain parts and the different layers that are apparent in the complex between public and private.
It would be a great help if I could find some more details about the construction of the different parts of the house to come to a more coherent picture of the chronology.
Is there somebody out there who can help me?'

Can anyone identify this fresco?

Richard Baker would like to know if anyone can identify this fresco. The photo in Pompeii was taken in 1991. He says, 'We think it is of Diana/Artemis or that she is a teacher. What I can be fairly certain is that it is located in the House of the Vettii ...'

Anyone have any ideas?

Question about the capacity of urceii

Posted on behalf of Sally Grainger:

I am currently working on reconstructing the processors involved in manufacturing Roman fish sauce. The capacity of amphora generally is causing me problems as so litttle is known.  the ADS site from Southhampton invariably says ' capacity unknown'  There are a few Dr. 7-11 at the Museum of London but I am not allowed to put liquids in them and I suspect the alternative with rice doesnt quite do it.   However i particularly I need to know what the average capacity of the urceii used to sell garum and liquamen in Pompeii.  Can anyone help?  Also the internal dimensions.  Are they hollow right to the bottom?  Can they stand when full?  How  narrow is the neck opening?/ how thick the walls at this point? 

 

Many thanks 

 

Sally Grainger

Photos of the House of Saturninus

Jennifer King (who is studying ancient fresco techniques) would like to know if anyone has any close up photos of the much-faded garden fresco in the triclinium of the House of Saturninus. If you have any, could you email them to bloggingpompeii@gmail.com so they can be forwarded to her. Thank you!

Question: Water flow dynamics in Pompeii

A student question I am unable to answer ... Can anyone else help?

How did rainwater and water from the overflows behave in the streets? Were there structural attempts to keep flowing water from developing into torrents? For example, how could water coming down Via del Mercurio into Via del Foro be kept from flooding the forum proper before slamming into the three administrative buildings at its southern end? Or if in the forum, how could it be channeled out? Or was this never a problem? Has anybody ever studied the dynamics of water in the streets? Do you know of a diagram or map which would allow for a visual impression of the gradients in the city?

Question: Painting by Eugenio Tanò

Does anyone know where I can find a photo of the following painting by Eugenio Tanò: Inaugurazione degli scavi di Ercolano fatta dal Re (1878). It's in the Capodimonte Museum, Naples, but I haven't been able to find a photo of it anywhere, either on-line or in books. If anyone can provide a reference or has a copy they can pass on I would be very, very happy!

Catalogue of mythological subjects in Pompeian wall-painting?

Do any of you know if anyone has ever done a catalogue of mythological subjects for Pompeian wall painting?
Posted on behalf of Jennifer Stern.

What I want to know!

I have two questions today (having spent the morning in an undisciplined fashion, perusing the shelves of the AA with no particular aim!), and would be very grateful to anyone who either knows the answer or can point me in the direction of relevant bibliography ...

1. What is the current thinking about the Augustan Suburban District - is it one district or are there more than one? Or do we just not know?

2. Have there been any stratigraphic excavations in the Central Baths? Do we know what was destroyed for the baths to be built? Presumably it wasn't an empty space.