The First Excavations
The most famous archaeological site in the world is not hard to name. If there has ever been a site as well preserved, as evocative, as memorable as that of Pompeii, the luxurious resort for the Roman Empire, buried under the ash and
lava erupted by Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD. particularly in Herculaneum, the earliest excavations revolved around collecting valuable artefacts rather than systematic excavation. By simply digging for objects with aesthetic and
commercial value, they were taken from being in situ to private collections and much of the information on them was lost. in situ refers to an artefact that has not been moved from its original place of deposition. It is stationary or still. Other objects not considered worthy by pursuers were destroyed or damaged in the process of retrieving other
items. These valuable objects once discovered were also disorganized and lost all historical meaning: a collection of bronze letters originally fixed on a wall in Herculaneum, once removed by the bourbon kings, were taken out of order
without recording the original placement or meaning.
The first excavations were to take treasures and they didn't care about the site and what it could tell us about the past. Later excavations were careful but lots of damage had been done.
lava erupted by Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD. particularly in Herculaneum, the earliest excavations revolved around collecting valuable artefacts rather than systematic excavation. By simply digging for objects with aesthetic and
commercial value, they were taken from being in situ to private collections and much of the information on them was lost. in situ refers to an artefact that has not been moved from its original place of deposition. It is stationary or still. Other objects not considered worthy by pursuers were destroyed or damaged in the process of retrieving other
items. These valuable objects once discovered were also disorganized and lost all historical meaning: a collection of bronze letters originally fixed on a wall in Herculaneum, once removed by the bourbon kings, were taken out of order
without recording the original placement or meaning.
The first excavations were to take treasures and they didn't care about the site and what it could tell us about the past. Later excavations were careful but lots of damage had been done.