1 Geographical context

THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Pompeii and Herculaneum are two cities found in the fertile region of Campania, in Southern Italy.

Towering over them both is Mt Vesuvius. The volcano erupted in 79AD, covering and preserving the two ancient cities with it's pyroclastic flow.

Campania is a coastal region. It's coastline was actually extended several kilometres due to the eruption.


Campania's soil is fertile because of the nutrients provided by the volcanic minerals present around Mt Vesuvius. It is often referred to as "Campania Felix" (productive Campania). Boasting many natural resources, in their former glory Pompeii and Herculaneum both had a thriving agricultural industry.

Vines, cabbages, onions, olives and fruit including peaches, pears, figs, apricots, lemons and plums were grown and traded among citizens and the many traders that came into the port towns.

A textile industry was also prevalent primarily using wool from sheep.

In terms of climate, Pompeii and Herculaneum would have experienced hot, dry summers (May-September) and mild, moist winters (October-April).

Pompeii, 70 hectares in area and approximately 30 metres above sea level, is a river town, overlooking the Sarno.

Herculaneum was built on a platau of Vesuvius and it's edges would have backed onto a cliff. As a city it had it's limitations for building, but the view of the sea and mountains surrounding it made it a popular resort town (as NAPLES is now - built on top of buried Herculaneum).

"STRABO said that nowhere could a period of residence and leisure (otium) be more agreeable"

"Pompeii and Herculaneum are two of the most endagered cultural sites, but not everything can be saved for the future. Since conservation can only be carried out at considerable cost and compromise, a resource management plan must be put into effect which will balance the competing interests of tourism, the local economy, scholarly research and the obligation to hand down a unique cultural legacy to future generations." - P. Bradley, Cities of Vesuvius, p193

"This is Vesuvius, shaded yesterday with green vines, here had its far farmed grapes filled the dripping vats. Thses ridges Bacchus loved more than the hills of Nyssa, on this mount of late the satyrs set afoot their dances. This was the haunt of Venus, more pleasant to her than Lacedaemon; this place (Herculaneum) was made glorius by the name of Hercules." - Martial, Epigrams, IV, 44

PLINY THE ELDER used terms such as "pleasant scenery", "life-sustaining", "climate so mild", "abundance" and "sunny hills" to describe Campania in the 1st Century AD -"one of the loveliest places on Earth".

http://tdh46.typepad.com/mondosapore/images/2007/12/14/sunny_italy_campania_style.jpg

http://www.travelplan.it/img/campania.jpg

the geographical setting and natural features
• 20km SE of Naples
• Western Coast of Italian peninsula
• Today – because of Mt Vesuvius’ eruption (AD 79) it lies 2km inland from the coast
• East of Pompeii is the Apennine Mountains
• Mt Vesuvius is to the North
• Pompeii lies at the mouth of the Sarno (Samus) River (which is to the South) – IMPORTANT FOR INDUSTRIES
• Florus described the river among other things as “the finest thing in the world”.
• Pompeii covers 66 hectares of land
• Pompeii was completely covered and hermetically sealed by a 7m layer of volcanic ash, lapilli (rock fragments) and pumice (heavy rock) from Vesuvius in AD79
• Other cities nearby were also buried –
• Herculaneum was covered by heavy rock fill – not just ash and pumice as in Pompeii. Due to its proximity to Vesuvius – it was buried again in 1631 by hard solidified mud (about 18m). Because of this it has been much more difficult to excavate.

resources
• Fertile soil – Vesuvius offers a fertile plain of phosphorus and potash – crop yield was 6x that of the rest of Italy
• Primary agricultural products of Pompeii were Olive oil and wine
Grapes were most abundant around Vesuvius
• Many other products were common also:
o Fish sauce (garum)
o Sheep products
o Millstones
o Perfume
o Cloth and dye industry