Investigating the past. Pompeii & Herculaneum

Your Playlist:

Description

Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and the cities of Pompeii & Herculaneum were completely buried. For 1600 years, their secrets were lost in time. When a peasant in the early 1700s discovered marble blocks while deepening his well, he found Herculaneum. Thus began the removal of anything valuable from both cities. In the 1800s, significant and ground breaking archaeology of the sites began. Guiseppe Fiorelli was the inspiration for new methods of excavation, but was best known for his plaster casts of victims of the eruption.The 20th Century saw many exciting developments, beginning with the work of Amedeo Maiuri. New research and technology, guided by Sarah Bisel, Estelle Lazer and Haraldur Sigurdsson, uncovered a society frozen in time. However ethical issues surrounding the display of human remains, and how best to conserve and reconstruct the sites, pose challenges which continue today.