Resurrecting Pompeii

A number of skeletons were used as props for vignettes of the tragic last moments of the victims, made to impress dignitaries visiting the site. They were also used to creatively reconstruct the lives of the victims in literary works, such as Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1834 novel
The Last Days of Pompeii
, where the skeletal evidence is presented through storytelling with a thin veneer of science. This work in particular has had a profound influence and has driven the agenda of many Pompeian and Campanian skeletal studies into the twentyfirst century.

Recognizing the important contribution of the human skeletal evidence to the archaeology of Pompeii and studying the reasons for the scientific neglect of the human remains,
Resurrecting Pompeii
provides detailed information about what the skeletal record can actually provide. Estelle Lazer demonstrates that the biological evidence does not support the detail of the stories that have been told to date, but it does yield tantalizing glimpses into the lives and deaths of the victims, providing students of archaeology and history with an essential resource in the study of this fascinating historical event.

Estelle Lazer
is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Sydney. Her research interests include forensic archaeology and Antarctic cultural heritage management. She has spent seven field seasons working on the human skeletal remains at Pompeii.

List of
fi
gures
ix
List of tables
xiii
Acknowledgements
xv

Glossary
272
Appendix 1: Historical overview of excavations in Campania
284
Appendix 2: Terms associated with anatomical orientation
289
Appendix 3: Diagrams
291
Notes
296
Bibliography
348
Index
381

Frontispiece: With apologies to Vesalius – adapted from Vesalius’ first book of the
De Humani Corporis Fabrica c.
1543 (Reproduced in Saunders and O’Malley, 1982, 85) ii

1.1 Fugitives from the Casa di Stabianus in Region 1, Insula 22, found in the ash layer above the lapilli of the first
eruption phase 10

1.2 Detail of skeletons displayed in Room 19,
Casa del Menandro
(I, x, 4). Note the bronze lantern and the reconstructed wooden shafts of the pick and hoe 11

1.3 Skeletons displayed in Room 19,
Casa del Menandro
(I, x, 4) 13
1.4 Illustration by Lancelot Speed from an 1897 edition of
The Last Days of Pompeii
by Edward Bulwer-Lytton 16
1.5 Illustration by Lancelot Speed of a priest from the Temple of Isis from an 1897 edition of
The Last Days of Pompeii
by Edward Bulwer-Lytton 17
1.6 Illustration by Lancelot Speed of the main protagonists of
The Last Days of Pompeii
by Edward Bulwer-Lytton 20
1.7 Illustration by Clérice Frères from a French edition of
The Last Days of Pompeii
, published in 1936 21
3.1 Illustration of the Pompeian Type as identified by Nicolucci from Pompeian wall paintings 53
4.1 Detail of one of the fugitives from the Casa di Stabianus (I, xxii), demonstrating the stratigraphy with the victim clearly situated in the ash layer above the lapilli of the first
eruption phase 86
4.2 Cast of the so-called ‘Lady of Oplontis’, which displays a ‘pugilistic’ pose 88
4.3 The pose of this cast from the
Orto dei Fuggiaschi
(Garden of the Fugitives) (I, xxi) has been interpreted as an example of cadaveric spasm 89
5.1 Human skeletal remains stored in the
Terme del Sarno
(VII, ii, 17) as they appeared in 1987 101
5.2 Box of bone hinges stored in Pompeii 105
5.3 Sorted piles of bones in the
Terme del Sarno
(VII, ii, 17) 108
5.4 V-scores for glabello-occipital length 112
5.5 V-scores for maximum frontal breadth 113
5.6 V-scores for bizygomatic breadth 114
6.1 Frequency histogram showing sex attribution based on the ventral arc 124
6.2 Frequency histogram of the factor scores for the first
principal component of the pelvic non-metric traits used for the determination of sex 124
6.3 Frequency histogram of sex attribution based on the
auricular area 125
6.4 Frequency histogram of the non-standardized factor scores of the humerus measurements 127
6.5 Frequency histogram of the maximum length of the femur 128
6.6 Scattergram of the two sex indices for non-metric
skull features 129
6.7 Frequency histogram of the factor scores of the first principal component identified from analysis of the observations from the mandible for the determination of sex 132
7.1 Sex separated Suchey–Brooks scores for the Pompeian
adult sample 146
7.2 Estimated adult age-at-death based on ectocranial lateralanterior suture closure scores (EctsutA) 147
7.3 Estimated adult age-at-death based on ectocranial vault suture closure scores (EctsutB) 148
7.4 Maxilla of an individual (NS 86: 1), who was excavated in 1986, displaying severe tooth attrition 150
7.5 Mandible of the same individual (TF NS 86: 1), showing severe tooth attrition 151
7.6 Basalt mill for grinding flour 151
8.1 Large sinus for abscess drainage (TF NS 86: 1). This abscess formed as a result of severe attrition (7.4), where tooth wear was so great that the pulp cavity was exposed to the air, making it susceptible to bacterial infection 174
8.2 Lateral view of skull showing excessive build-up of calculus on tooth adjacent to an abscessed tooth (TF 6) 177
8.3 View of maxilla from below showing excessive build-up of calculus on tooth adjacent to an abscessed tooth (TF 6) 177
8.4 Healed fracture of a right femur (TdS R 11) with associated osteomyelitic lesions in the form of sinuses on the
bone surface 187

x 8.5 Right tibia and fibula from one individual (TdS #28.1) with healed compound fractures exhibiting pronounced
displacement and override at the midshaft of the bone 188

8.6 Healed depressed fracture of a skull (TdS 199), displaying involvement of both the inner and outer tables. View of the outer table 189

8.7 Inner table of a skull (TdS 199) with a healed depressed fracture 189
8.8 Healing trauma, interpreted as a trephination on the skull of individual (TF 74) with hyperostosis frontalis interna 191
8.9 An apparent case of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) observed on thoracic vertebrae associated with
TdS NS: 1 201
8.10 Inner table of the frontal bone of a skull (TdS 80) displaying moderate hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) 204
8.11 Inner table of the frontal bone of a skull (TdS 28) displaying pronounced hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) 204
8.12 View through the foramen magnum of a skull (TF SND) displaying extensive hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) 205
9.1 Facial view of skull, showing some of the non-metric traits that were observed in the Pompeian skeletal sample 224
9.2 Lateral view of skull showing some of the non-metric traits observed in the Pompeian skeletal sample 225
9.3 Basilar view of skull, showing a strongly expressed palatine torus on the bony palate (cf. Figure A3.4 where this trait is absent) 229
9.4 Anterior view of distal portions of two tibiae with medial and lateral squatting facets on the left and an absence of facets on the right 244
10.1 Cast of a very young victim from the
Casa del Bracciale d
’
Oro
(VI, xvii, 42), which was found with three other victims between 3 and 6 June 1974. It displays a high degree of preservation of the facial features and clothing details 249
10.2 Two of the first bodies successfully cast in 1863 250
10.3 Cast of a man with sandals, generally assumed to be
a beggar 252
10.4 Cast of a fugitive found near the latrine of the large palaestra (II, 7), commonly interpreted as a muleteer 253
10.5 The seventh cast was made on 25 September 1873, during the excavation of a garden (1, v, 3) 255
10.6 Casts of two of the three victims that were cast on a staircase in the
Villa di M. Fabius Rufus
(VII,
Ins. Occ
., 16–19) in November 1961 256
10.7 Illustration of the ninth individual to be cast by Fiorelli 257
10.8 The ninth cast of a victim from Pompeii was made in Insula VI, xiv on 23 April 1875 257
10.9 Cast of dog from the
Casa di Orfeo
, also known as the House of Vesonius Primus (VI, xiv, 20) 259
10.10 Cast of pig from the Villa Regina, Boscoreale 259
10.11 Epoxy resin cast from Oplontis 262
10.12 X-ray of the pelvis demonstrating female features; especially notable is the wide angle of the sciatic notch. Also note the post-mortem fracture of the left proximal end of the femur 262
10.13 X-ray of skull, showing open mouth, fused epiphyses at the medial end of the clavicle and post-mortem fracture of left proximal humerus. Note the contents of the purse held in the left hand are reproductions 263
10.14 Dental x-rays 264
A2.1 Anatomical orientation 289
A3.1 Superior view of the skull showing sutures 291
A3.2 Frontal view of the skull 292
A3.3 Lateral view of the skull 293
A3.4 Basilar view of the skull 294
A3.5 Skeleton, with apologies to Vesalius 295