A TALE OF TWO CITIES: IN SEARCH FOR ANCIENT POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM
Journal Name:
- Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Mimarlık Fakültesi Dergisi
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Abstract (2. Language):
The ancient and modern are often juxtaposed in an inseparable way in
cities which are continuously inhabited since their foundation in antiquity.
The architectural splendor of ancient Rome for example, is visible and
traceable in several fragmented contexts in the heart of modern Rome;
remains of ancient architecture are embraced and invaded by the modern
city that grew around and over the ruins of its ancient counterpart. In
only rare instances, such as the Pantheon, the Markets of Trajan and the
Colosseum, or the impressive façade of the Temple of Zeus inserted into
a later building, is it possible to see the monuments that once adorned
ancient Rome still standing to their full height.
The remains of many other ancient cities on the other hand, are found at
a distance from nearby modern settlements and are not encroached by
buildings. These ancient cities are actually more potent in revealing and
displaying the ancient urban context in an un-fragmented state. Yet the
fact that these are often not well preserved and that large portions remain
unexcavated hinder that potential, and to an untrained eye, the ancient city
often looks like a spread of ruins. While monuments like theaters or baths
are in general well preserved and might partially stand to their full height,
the ‘ancient city’ is often conceived as a walking track with a collection of
building stones. In several cases the remains of buildings whose walls are
rarely preserved to their full height do not give a sense of how they once
looked like. Finding a still standing ancient building, let alone an ancient
city, and wandering inside, therefore, is not a common experience.
Renowned for their superb preservation, Pompeii and Herculaneum are
two exceptional examples. The archaeological character and context of
these two ancient cities, especially those of Pompeii, are exceptional in
many respects:
Pompeii occupies a special place in Roman archaeology, for this city and its
neighbors, notably Herculaneum, were remarkably well preserved under the volcanic debris that rained down from Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The ruins
give an unequalled glimpse of the daily life of town dwellers during late
republic and early Empire. In contrast, in Rome itself, because of continuing rebuilding throughout the Empire, remains from these periods are only
sporadically preserved (Gates, 2003, 343).
The fact that it was destroyed by a single natural disaster which rendered it
largely (though not totally) inaccessible to the survivors and to succeeding
generations means that what we have has not been altered, by later
demolition, by the construction of buildings of later generations, and that by
uncovering it what has been discovered is a unity, fixed in time. We can see
Pompeii as it was on that fateful day, whereas all the other cities in this book
are only partial survivals, with buildings and other evidence often belonging
to widely separate periods in their existence (Tomlinson, 1992, 175).
The on-going excavations in both cities brought to light not just individual
buildings and artifacts but an urban fabric (Figure 1)(*). In both towns not
only monumental public buildings, as is often the case in several sites, but
houses, streets, public buildings, commercial units, drainage channels,
fountains, wells, city walls, cemeteries, parks and even some unfortunate
inhabitants are unearthed (1)(Figure 2). In many areas the remains are
preserved well up to their first storey, in some even up to the second, thus
displaying the actual building size and appearance (Figure 3). This is truly
a rare case where both the public buildings and the private architecture of
two neighboring ancient cities are uncovered in such a big scale and with
such intensity.
Unearthing and revealing such a vast and almost intact ancient context
is an unusual phenomenon and has a remarkable history (2). The
excavation history of Pompeii and Herculaneum is a complex and long
narrative displaying the gradual progress in not only the archaeological
uncovering of an ancient urban context in its entirety but also in methods,
objectives and documentation of this vast exposure (3). This paper offers
an informative insight into the first epoch of the excavations undertaken
in Pompeii, Herculaneum and the nearby sites in the 18th century and
illustrates the dynamics of excavation in the early Bourbon Period during
which the digging narrative of Vesuvian archaeology was initiated; within
the limits of an article it would be unfair to attempt to cover the entirety of
this long, complicated and still evolving tale narrated by several events and
actors.
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Abstract (Original Language):
Antik Pompeii ve Herculaneum kentleri İS 79 yılında patlayan Vezüv
yanardağının püskürttüğü lavlardan oluşan kalın bir tabaka ile örtülmüş
ve doğal bir koruma altına alınmıştır. Bu korunmuşluk düzeyi, diğer antik
ören yerleri ile kıyaslandığında, benzersiz bir bağlam oluşturmaktadır.
Hem Pompeii ve Herculaneum hem de yanardağın püskürtme menzilinde
bulunan diğer bazı kentler ve kırsal yerleşimlerin sonunu getiren bu doğal
afet, ironik bir şekilde klasik arkeoloji biliminin doğuşuna ve gelişimine yol
açmış bir olay olarak da görülebilir. İS 17. yüzyılda tesadüfen keşfedilen
Pompeii ve Herculaneum aynı zamanda ilk arkeolojik kazı çalışmalarının
yapıldığı antik kentlerdendir. Kazı ve araştırma çalışmalarının halen
devam ettiği bu iki kentteki kazı tarihçesi yaklaşık üç yüzyılı kapsayan
uzun ve karmaşık bir sürece yayılmaktadır. Bu sürecin oluşum ve
gelişiminde bazı olay ve kişiler etkin ve belirleyici bir rol oynamıştır.
Bu makale her iki kentte yapılmış olan arkeolojik kazıların ilk dönemi
olan 18. yüzyıla odaklanmakta ve erken Bourbon hanedanı hamiliğinde
gerçekleştirilen kazı çalışmaları hakkında bilgilendirici bir çerçeve
sunmaktadır. Bu çerçeve içinde ilk kazıcılar, ilk kazıların niteliği ve amacı,
ilk kazı ve belgeleme metodlarının oluşumu, gelişimi ve değişimi ve
buluntu yayınlarının niteliği, amacı ve kapsamı ele alınmaktadır.
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