Pompeii - The Finds Store...

[endlessrarities]

Naturally, since finds are my thing, I was interested to find some large barn-size structures located around Pompeii which seemed to be finds stores.  In the UK, our finds stores are all carefully curated areas with controlled environments, etc. so it was a bit of a culture shock to see that their equivalents in Pompeii were a bit informal.  Okay, so ceramics and carved stones (at least in the dry Italian climate) are probably pretty much indestructible, as long as the rain gets kept off them, so it's not as if it's a conservation issue, but it was startling nonetheless for someone who gets fiercely possessive of the smallest sherd of Roman pot that comes her way.

This seemed to be the place where amphorae go to die:-

 

In addition to the ceramics, it was surprising to see what kind of artefacts actually ended up in these storage areas.  Here's a very nice piece of sculpture, randomly placed amongst the amphorae, flanked on one side by some lovely carved stones, and on the other, by an anchor:-

 

And there are some more sinister features in these finds repositories...  Eagle-eyed readers will spot, amongst the amphorae and carved stones, an example of one of those plaster figures that Pompeii is renowned for:-

 

Perhaps the thing that most disturbed me about Pompeii was the fact that the two main attractions amongst the tourists were a) the brothel, and b) the contorted plaster figures that are all that survive of Pompeii's dead citizens.

Now, here's a question for debate.  Does a plaster cast of the void left by a human body constitute human remains?  Is it an artefact, an ecofact, or a corpse? 

It's an interesting question, and one which may not have an obvious answer.  

Our guidelines on the treatment and display of human remains are clear.  We're to treat them with respect at all times, and not expose them as subjects of spectacle for the mawkish onlooker to gawp at.  Now, I normally don't have a problem with the public display of human remains.  I'm quite happy to be face-to-face with your average Beaker burial - somehow, their association with a place of dignified repose and a handsome plethora of grave goods gives them a distinguished and peaceful aspect.  They are the ancestors, whom I am happy to venerate in a museum environment. 

The tortured souls of Pompeii were a different matter entirely.  I personally found it more than a little disturbing that those poor unfortunates who died in the eruption of AD 79 are now laid out on display as macabre curiosities for the modern audience to oogle at. 

I can't help wondering that if the victims of modern natural disasters were treated in a similar fashion, there'd be an outcry...

 Discuss...

Comments

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

It is rather disturbing, especially since these folks (and they were human beings once, not statues) died in such agony. It's interesting for the archaeologists, but not really a tourist attraction.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I find it very unsettling. Perhaps I'm too emotionally involved with my subject...

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

I see the plaster casts as something like natural 1st century photographs (although I'm not sure if there are any human remains still inside - at least one of them had something that looked like a skull showing). It was certainly odd watching children and bored tourists wandering around casually next to some poor soul in their last moments.

I guess today, you might get similar reactions with footage of the Hindenburg fire or the Challenger explosion playing in the background, but it's a lot more confronting when you can see individual pain and facial expressions.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I deliberately didn't photograph any of the exposed individuals.

Not even the dog...

[technophobe1975.livejournal.com]

I suppose they could be classed as kind of death masks, but the manner of their deaths does I suppose make certain displays a bit tasteless.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

It was interesting seeing how people responded to these things. Most just recoiled and went 'yuk', while a small and thinking minority were quietly sombre and respectful...

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

I agree with you with regard to the plaster casts of the victims. I think it's in the Garden of the Innocents (I think it's call that?) that there are a few of the casts behind glass. People were gawping and taking photos. I looked, which I felt a bit guilty about - ghoulish curiosity - but I couldn't bring myself to take photographs. It seemed disrespectful.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

That was almost the same reaction as mine. I felt it was my duty to look, just so I could understand what they went through, but I didn't think it was appropriate to photograph them.

I didn't like the fact that the poor old 'corpse' was slung onto some shelving amongst the amphorae. It just seemed a bit crass...

its another proof of people being stupid

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

'fraid folks are seen as bodies or artifacts ...
like the egyptian mummies once used to fuels locomotives?
its part of why the holocaust got as far as it did.

is all the dirt grey there? ash.. i suppose
i like the lady with a scarf -chiton?
the block on the floor looks like a victorian valentine

maybe some time it'll all go back

I'd really love it if the elgin marbles would get put back in the parthenon

Re: its another proof of people being stupid

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

All the dirt is indeed grey or greyish - volcanic ash, which is extremely free-draining and also fertile, I believe.

I'm not sure what the Roman terms for all these items of clothing are - if I remember right, in Greek the long dress is the chiton and the scarf or 'cloak' is the himation.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

People are so various that I suppose the essence of their reactions to the sight of the plaster casts are various too, but with that caveat, I'll say that I've always thought that people's curiosity about deaths and disasters (craning necks to see what can be seen at a car crash, or whatever) isn't necessarily just ghoulish. We're not exposed to the drama of sudden death very often. It's mortality, right there in our face, and not just mortality, but all the tragedy and pain (all sorts) that go along with it. So, seeing it is a kind of witness. It's a reminder, and maybe an inoculation, too. There but for the grace of God--or a chance of fate--go I. This is what it means to suffer and die.

... now, I grant you that not all people are always going to be thinking or feeling all that, but I think a tinge of that is probably in there for most people.

And, too, it's kind of cool to see the image of someone who lived a thousand years ago, someone real and particular, not just some Minerva or Bacchus--even if the seeing is on the occasion of their death.

...ughhh, sorry to be so ponderous about it -_-

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

A thought-provoking comment. Thank you!

There probably is a bit of catharsis about it...

[rymrytr.livejournal.com]

Treatment of the body of a loved one has long been for a branch of my Ancestors - American Indians.

It does not matter when my Grandmother was buried; 50 years ago or 1000 years. The body is still a sacred member of our over-all family.

The general "you and I" are part of that family, whether you go back to Adam and Eve or whether you go back to the first Ape that had a thought.

We all have a bit of a morbid curiosity; some more than others. I can't condemn them; I can only control myself and teach my children to respect what I respect, and hope that they also, teach theirs.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I like that idea of the all inclusive 'Ancestor' attitude. We're all human beings together, which is perhaps why I find the mawkish curiosity so distasteful. I wouldn't like my own mortal remains, or those of my loved ones, subjected to such lurid scrutiny in the future. Whereas a whole load of folk would shrug and say, 'When you're gone, you're gone.'

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

I've think you've highlighted the reason that I've never felt the least desire to visit Pompeii. It's full of ghosts.

And yet I have no problems with the Durotriges skeletons displayed in Dorchester museum - even though they did not die peacefully. (One of them has a ballista bolt stuck in the spine).

Perhaps battle is a less disturbing death than pyroclastic flow.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

It does feel like it's full of ghosts. It's a strange and not altogether comfortable feeling.

And yes, I think the manner of their death has a lot to do with it. It's not - as the medieval folks would say - a GOOD death...

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, I've always found Pompeii fascinating because of the figures. I find cemeteries interesting too. I never really thought about it though, the fact that these are basically human remains of people who died horrible deaths.

Thank you for stretching my mind and humanity. I won't look at them the same again.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Glad to be of service!!

I must admit that I can't visit cemeteries or museums or whatever without acknowledging the humanity of those who came before. I even say 'hello!' to the house guests in our stores unit, every time I step inside.