Pompeii - The Finds Store...

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...

Pompeii - The Finds Store...

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...