Presentazione, 2015, ENG

Cultural landscape and cultural heritage: a new way to the promotion of archaeological sites. Pompeii case history

MARIA ROSARIA SENATORE, ERNESTO DE CAROLIS, CLELIA CIRILLO, LUIGI SCARPA, AGOSTINIO MEO

Università degli Studi del Sannio, Sovrintendenza Archeologica Napoli e Pompei, CNR, Università di Napoli Federico II

Geological research, of stratigraphy and sedimentology, carried out in Pompeii and its territory has been devoted to the recognition of the natural environments existing in space and their evolution over the time by analyzing samples collected from boreholes between 10 m and 30 m long. The reconstructed landscape thus shows how the inhabitants of the ancient city that, before the 79 were estimated to reach around 20,000 units, have strongly interacted with the natural elements of their territory to arrange their needs of life. The city, founded on a lava flow, or perhaps on a little volcano (Cinque & Irollo, 2004), to the east, on the plain, was surrounded by cultivated fields for the presence of sediment typical of soil and, in many archaeological excavations, plough furrows for agricultural crops, whose widespread presence fits very well in the city economic and social framework. The water supply was ensured by a stream, partly artificial, flowing north to Pompeii; a derivation touched the walls and, through the pipes, the water entered in the city and was widely distributed using the slope gradient, decreasing southward. The presence of this channel has been also highlighted by the result of pollen analyzes of samples from Roman soil and from the finding out of hygrophilous plants typical of streams (Ciarallo, 2001-2002). Finally an archaeological excavation carried out outside of Porta Capua (Sakai, 2000-2001) has brought to light this channel, previously assumed by the sediment analysis, filled by the 79 AD eruption deposits (Senatore et al., 2014; Senatore, 2015). The sedimentary analysis has also made possible the reconstruction of the last course of the River Sarno flowing with large bends upstream of the mouth; the latter was slightly shifted towards the south east and about 1,3 km inland from the present-day coast. The river bends developed between two small hills, two coastal ridges, with an elevation of a few meters above the surrounding plain, which represent ancient shorelines, with radiocarbon age of 5,600 years and about 3,600 years from the present (Barra, 1991) respectively. One river bend touched the younger ridge on which Roman buildings used for storage and large quantities of pottery fragments were found (Ruggiero, 1879; D'Ambrosio, 1984). Upstream the course of the river flowed near the villa of Moreggine, in which were found the planking of a boat and an anchor (Camodeca, 2009) while toward sea, especially on its left bank and upstream of the mouth, there was a large marshy area, that was not connected with the sea, and whose edges were represented by the two coastal ridges. Thus the port of Pompeii, whose presence is known from historical texts, was to be in the river, located probably in one of the last its bends.

Convegno IPSAPA 2015, Napoli, 2-3 Luglio 2015

Keywords

Cultural landscape - Cultural heritage - Pompeii case history

CNR authors

Cirillo Clelia

CNR institutes

IBAF – Istituto di biologia agro-ambientale e forestale

ID: 334105

Year: 2015

Type: Presentazione

Creation: 2015-09-23 13:45:10.000

Last update: 2021-03-14 18:43:06.000

CNR authors

External links

OAI-PMH: Dublin Core

OAI-PMH: Mods

OAI-PMH: RDF

External IDs

CNR OAI-PMH: oai:it.cnr:prodotti:334105