This is part of National Museum of Singapore post.
On 24 August 79CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the Roman town of Pompeii and its neighbors, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Stabiae and Boscoreale, in the southern Italian region of Campania with volcanic mud, ash, and pumice. All the towns perished within two days and were only rediscovered in the 18th century.
did you know?
î Located in the Bay of Naples in the southern Italy, Vesuvius is the only active volcano in mainland Europe. Prior to 79CE, it had not erupted in more than 700 years and few Romans even knew what a volcano was, as they had no word for it.
î Pompeii was founded in the 7th century BCE by the Oscans. In 89BCE, Pompeii became a Roman colony and was named ‘Cornelia Veneria Pompeiianorum’, in honour of the dictator who conquered it, Publio Cornelio Sulla, and the goddess Venus.
This man appears to be holding his hand over his mouth to avoid suffocation.
The Villa Regina was a farm and vineyard, as can be seen from the rooms for grape pressing. It is presently the only villa open to the public after its complete excavation and restoration. This pig was found in a room of the villa, where it must have sought refuge during the eruption.
The victim of Vesuvius was discovered during excavations at the southern walkway of Pompeii’s Large Palaestra. When he died, the man was wearing boots and a hooded cloak. He had covered his mouth with the edges of his cloak as the toxic fumes and volcanic ash overcame him.
The relief, depicting the northern side of the Forum, was in the household shrine of the House of Caecilius Jucundus. In it the temple of Jupiter is flanked by two equestrian statues and a monumental arch on one side. On the other side is an altar, sacrificial implements and a bull sacrifice. The panel provides valuable evidence that some buildings were still in ruins at the time of the Vesuvius eruption.
Replica of panel with painted inscriptions.
did you know?
î The value of a Roman coin was determined by its metal content and weight. The lowest value coin, the uncia, was one-twelfth of a Roman as, both coins being made of bronze. The bronze dupondius was worth two asses, and the brass sesterius was worth four asses. The minting of bronze and brass coinage was controlled by the Roman Senate. The coins often bore the words Senatus Consulto, ‘by decree of the Senate’.
î Silver and bronze coins were used by Romans for everyday spending. During the Romans Republic, coins typically portrayed political and military leaders. With the coming of the Empire the minting of silver denarii and gold aurei was controlled by the Emperor himself. One side of the coin features his image, while the reverse might record a great event such as Claudius’ conquest of Britain.
î The golden aureus, worth 100 asees, was the Roman coin of highest value. Gold was seldom used in day-to-day transactions, but it was the currency of saving.
Bronze coins.
Silver coins.
Gold coins — found in a luxurious villa at Oplontis, represents several months’ pay for a centurion. The Emperor’s image on the gleaming aureus looked divinely inspired.
Bronze scales — goods were weighed by moving the counter-weight or poise along the beam until the beam was horizontal. The weight of the goods was read from the scale marked on the beam. Poises were often decorative, in the shape of gods, men, women or animals.
Plaster replica of bread loaf.
Bronze gladiator’s helmet — this helmet was worn by a heavily armoured gladiator called a murmillo. Missing from the crest is the splendind plume of feathers or horsehair. Of the figures depicted on the helmet, the central one represents Rome, flanked by kneeling barbarian prisoners and trophies of war. The murmillo carried a tall shield and wore an arm-guard on his right arm, and a leg-guard and short chin-guard on his left leg.
This fountain head features a satyr – half-man, half-goat. As followers of the god Bacchus, they revelled in pleasures of the flesh. The satyr is dressed in a fringed panther skin and crowned with ivy leaves. He holds a cloth basket full of fruit and wheat, the drapery of the cloth forming a semicircular hole for the water to flow through. The fountain head was found in the Suburban Baths, which were built close to the walls of Pompeii immediately outside Porta Marina.
Plaseter copies of wall relief of Vulcan, Minerva, Neptune and Mercury — the original versions of these four reliefs were found adorning the outside walls of the Temple of Venus in Herculaneum.
This memorial statue may have been one of a group decorating a grand tomb built to exalt a family and glorify the deeds of its ancestors. The woman’s pose and grooming distinguish her as a respectable and virtuous wife and citizen. Her hairstyle was one made fashionable by the Empress Livia, wife of Augustus.
Marble bust of a female — show a hairstyle worn by Pompeii women around 79CE. Hairstyles in the Roman world changed almost as often as they do today.
Marble mortar.
Fresco of Bacchus and Ariadne — the scene depicted here is the momment when Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and enjoyment, sets eyes on his love Ariadne after her desertion at Naxos with the old satyr Silenus looking on. According to myth, when Ariadne die Bacchus cast her jewelled crown to the night sky, creating the northern constellation Corona Borealis.
Mosaic fountain — only the wealthy could afford to have mosaic decorations in their homes, and the finest and best examples of mosaic are preserved in Pompeii.
Lava medallion.
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