Pompeii

There are more and more people convinced that we are wrong about Pompeii. And they have more and more compelling arguments

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“It was daytime anywhere in the world, but there the darkness was darker and thicker than any other night.” Those words of Pliny the Youngerremain almost 2,000 years later the best description of the hell on Earth that was, according to traditional historiography, the days of August 24 and 25 on the slopes of Vesuvius. Preserved under thick layers of volcanic ash and pumice, Pompeii has given us many surprises since 1748 when Charles III ordered the systematic exporation of the city. But what no one could have expected is that on August 24, 79, the Pompeians would dress in wool. With wool? These are the conclusions of the latest work by the tropos group of the University of Valencia: after analyzing 14 tracings of different victims of Pompeii, the researchers they came to the conclusion that the majority of the victims were wearing two layers (tunic and cape) and that both were made of wool. Furthermore, it was a very heavy wool. That is, with a very dense plot. The cold of Pompeii… in August? As I’m sure you have noticed, at the beginning of the article, just when I was about to say the date of the eruption, I added “according to traditional historiography.” And it is not a rhetorical device. Traditionally, following the letters that Pliny the Younger sent to Tacitus explaining the death of his uncle, Pliny the Elder, it has been assumed that the eruption took place on August 24. However, in recent years evidence of a possible autumn eruption has been accumulating. The last one was a charcoal inscription with the date October 17. In that sense, the discovery that the Pompeians were dressed in wool could be understood as an argument in favor of the autumn eruption. Although it doesn’t have to. And yes, it is true that it sounds strange to be dressed in two layers of wool in a normal August in the Gulf of Naples. However, the authors do not agree. In Live Science, without going any further, several experts explained that “they wore wool because it was what was worn.” It is a common, resistant and, above all, fashionable textile. In fact, the same UV hastened to add that it is well possible that wool was used as “protection” against a “harmful environment” (ash, gas, heat) and not only against the cold. So we don’t know when Vesuvius erupted, right? The truth is that no and that, if you allow me, is very interesting. Pompeii is, without a doubt, the most studied Roman site in the world and, despite everything, there are many things that escape us. That fascinating combination between knowing or not knowing is exactly what attracts us most to the tragic city that in two nights in the year 79 ceased to be so. Image | University of Valencia In Xataka | 2,000 years later, Pompeii continues to reveal fascinating things: the latest is a blue room for unknown uses

We have been fascinated, confused and intrigued by Roman “concrete” for three decades. Pompeii is going to solve it for us

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Almost 2,000 years have passed since Mount Vesuvius unleashed a pyroclastic hell that devastated everything that was around it. That was what ended Pompeii, but it was also what gave it eternity. The Roman city began to be excavated in 1739 and, we believe, a third of the city is still underground. That’s why it still continues to surprise us. A work half done. That week in the summer of the year 79 AD, the first domes of the X insula of the IX regio was under construction. This is not surprising, of course. All of Pompeii had been under construction for almost two decades (since the earthquake of 62). However, the curious thing is that on the night of August 24, the workers were caught with everything bogged down. Plumb lines, chisels and weights; stacked tiles, tufa bricks; amphorae filled with lime, reused demolition materials and piles of pozzolans scattered on the ground. Everything has remained there, untouched, until a team from the MIT Department of Civil Engineering found and cataloged them. “The weapon of crime.” By reconstructing the scene and studying the processes, researchers concluded that these masons left incontrovertible evidence of how they mixed “hot” quicklime with volcanic ash to create concrete capable of repairing itself. In fact, as Miguel Ángel Criado collectsthings go further: the chemical and crystallographic analysis of the materials reveals quicklime (calcium oxide) in the structural concrete and slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) in the finishing mortars, thus confirming a double differentiated use. Have we finally found the key to Roman concrete? A recurring question. In 2023, I already said that “Every so often, the world rediscovers Roman concrete and is amazed by the durability of a material that allows Agrippa’s Pantheon to stand for 2,000 years.” “While modern concrete cracks after a few decades,” they usually add. By the way, “almost with the same regularity, there is some scientist or engineer who claims to have found the key secret to making this so.” But the truth, the true truth, is that despite its undoubted historiographical interest (and its potential for illuminate our knowledge of the masonry practices of 1st century Rome), the hype is always unjustified. The two mistakes of Roman concrete. When talking about Roman concrete, a lot of mistakes are usually made, but there are two recurring ones: the first is “the survivor’s bias.” As Manuel F. Herrador reminded usprofessor of Structural Concrete at the School of Civil Engineering of the Universidade da Coruña, the idea of ​​the extraordinary quality of Roman concrete comes from studying, precisely, the best structures they made, the ones that have been best preserved. Instead, most of what the Romans built has already completely disappeared and cannot be studied. The second error is even more basic and is based on ignoring that with Roman concrete we couldn’t do even a tenth of the things we do today with modern concrete. For example, today we can make long and relatively narrow “pieces” thanks to reinforced concrete. That was impossible with Roman construction techniques and is what makes our structures corrode faster. Who wouldn’t like a Roman concrete…? We already knew that Roman concrete is not a single miraculous material, but a family of recipes adapted to local environments and resources (ports, temples, roads, thermal baths). This finding only confirms it; but, in a calculated way, it is used to take advantage of the expectation that this material generates in the public imagination. And if it weren’t for making invisible the excellent work of contemporary researchers, it wouldn’t be a problem either. Because what is evident is that we do not make “Roman-style concrete” not because of ignorance; we don’t do it because we don’t want tobecause it does not serve the world we want to build. Image | Andy Holmes In Xataka | We have a problem with concrete: the same technology that allowed us to build the modern world threatens its future

We just found the bathrooms of a Pompeii mansion. A sample of luxury and the darkest side of the Romans

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Pompeya is one of the great archaeological treasures of the world. 2,000 years ago, The pyroclastic wave of Vesubio He swept and buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculano and, although archaeological excavations began in 1739, we still continue discovering the secrets of that civilization. It is estimated that a third of the city continues to remain underground, but in recent years we have found interesting details such as the genome of a Pompeyan or carbonized papyrus rolls with such succulent details as the possible location of Plato’s tomb. During the past year, there was an important step to better understand what the society of the time was like. First, one “Black room”About 15 meters long by six wide that it is estimated, it would have been a banquet room. The black paint of the walls would serve to hide the soot of the oil lamps and something surprising is that the frescoes of the walls were perfectly preserved. The second great discovery was the “Blue room” This, perhaps, was more interesting due not only to the fact that the frescoes were also in a perfect condition, but to the blue pigment that is not common in Pompeian spaces, since it was reserved for the most outstanding rooms of the town. In addition, there were large amphorae and a multitude of remains of … clams. Now, everything makes sense thanks to what has been qualified as “a unique discovery in a century”: the blue and black room were part of a house for the richest among the rich. Pompeya’s house for the richest among the rich Both the black room and the blue room are part of the same complex: a luxury village with one of the largest and most structured private bathrooms that have been discovered … in history. And, to get an idea of ​​the magnitude of the installation, we must imagine something like a spa, but private. Archaeologists who are doing excavation work have detailed BBC News what the house was like, and the truth is that the bathroom occupies a luxury place. It is a spa complex that is the heart of the great residence and has hot and cold rooms, as well as a huge immersion pool. The rooms are decorated with red paint on the walls, fresh, stone banks and mosaic floor. Archaeologists define the place as the perfect example of the “Pompeii effect.” This means that it is preserved so well that it seems that the place has just been abandoned, alive until nothing is done when, really, almost 2,000 years ago that a soul is given a bath in those facilities. The house. In green, laundry. In orange, the bakery/kitchen. In pink, private residence. In purple, the bathrooms But it is not just the huge bathroom: the complex had the black room, the blue, the aforementioned spa, a laundry, rooms and a bakery, plus the private house itself. It is believed that it belonged to Aulus Rustius Verus, an influential Pompeyan politician, and can be the greatest discovery in the town so far. “There are only a few houses that have a private bathroom complex, so it was something really reserved for the richest of the rich. And this is so huge that it is probably the largest bathroom complex in a private house in Pompeya, ”says Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeya Archaeological Park. Detail of the bathrooms with the black room in purple and the direct access to the patio porticado with the pool. From there, you could go to other bathrooms such as the hot and cold And that the huge bathroom was next to the bakery and the dining room is not something unusual. The link between the BAOS and the great dining room gives an idea of ​​how the house was a scenario for the celebration of banquets and to make contacts between the high spheres of the time. Celebrating a gun with guests and then enjoying a bathroom, or vice versa, was a political tool to collect electoral support from guests or simply to boast power. And what attracts attention is the pool, with a depth of one meter, occupying the central space of a 10 x 10 meter porticated patio. Zuchtriegel comments that “everything was designed to set up a show in which the owner was the center of attention. The paintings, with themes of the Trojan War and scenes that represent athletes, represented an environment full of culture and erudition, as well as relaxation. ” In addition, he argues that “the public, grateful and satiated, would have applauded the show mounted by the host and owner of the house with sincere admiration, becoming the subject of conversation for a while.” And, beyond the bathrooms themselves, the rear boiler room has been found with pipes and lead systems that heated and distributed hot water, with a valve system that regulated the flow in the different spa rooms. And it is something that also allows you to see the differences of life between the classes, with the owners of the house giving sumptuous bathrooms while the slaves ‘roasted’ feeding the ovens to heat the water. You can see hot water pipes Not everyone was so lucky Now, not all discoveries allow us to look at scenes as relaxing as a good comilona or a relaxing bath. In a small room adjacent to the Blue Room, the remains of two Pompeyans who could not escape the eruption have been found. It is estimated that they were a man and a woman who could not escape because the pyroclastic flow already ran freely through the streets. It was what caused the collapse of a wall that crushed the man, while the woman was still alive. Quickly, the room was filled with the lava, causing the death of the woman. The bone analysis shows that the male skeleton was from someone of a young age, but with wear in the bones that indicates that it was someone of … Read more

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