Pompeii by Nancy Goor
"Pompeii: Exploring a Roman Ghost Town" by Ron and Nancy Goor offers a detailed examination of the ancient city of Pompeii, providing insights into its historical significance and the archaeological efforts that have revealed its past. The book is structured into an introduction, five chapters, and an epilogue, beginning with a letter from historian Pliny the Younger that recounts the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which led to the city being buried under ash and lava. The authors describe the initial disorganized excavations starting in 1748 and the improvements made by Giuseppe Fiorelli in the 1860s.
The narrative encompasses the urban layout of Pompeii, highlighting its major public areas and advanced water system, which served baths, gardens, and fountains. It examines both the public and private lives of its inhabitants, detailing their governance, religious practices, and entertainment venues, as well as the domestic arrangements within their homes. The economic activities of Pompeiians, including agriculture and trade, are also explored, emphasizing the city's role in regional commerce due to its strategic ports. The Goor's work positions Pompeii as a "living" ghost town, illustrating how the ongoing archaeological efforts continue to connect modern audiences with this vibrant historical site.
Subject Terms
Pompeii by Nancy Goor
First published: 1986; illustrated
Subjects: Nature, politics and law, and religion
Type of work: History
Time of work:A.D. 79
Recommended Ages: 10-15
Locale: Pompeii, located on the coast of the Bay of Naples in southern Italy
Principal Personages:
Giuseppe Fiorelli , an archaeologist who in 1864 discovered a way of creating plaster casts of the organic objects (humans, animals, and plants) killed in Pompeii when volcanic ash covered them in a.d. 79Wilhelmina Jashemski , an archaeologist who has determined the identities of plants growing in Pompeian gardens in August, a.d. 79L. Caecilius Jucundus , a wealthy Pompeian auctioneer whose belongings were preserved by volcanic ashPliny the Younger , a natural historian who, in a letter to Tacitus, provides the only eyewitness account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the submersion of Pompeii under lava and ash
Form and Content
In Pompeii: Exploring a Roman Ghost Town, Ron and Nancy Goor write in the objective third-person point of view as historians and archaeologists to establish the relationships among centuries of activities at the site of Pompeii—ranging from the earthquake in a.d. 62 to the volcanic eruption in a.d. 79—through the gradual excavation and partial restoration of the town. The Goors divide Pompeii into an introduction, five chapters, and an epilogue. The introduction, a letter written by the historian Pliny the Younger, an eyewitness, tells of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the burial of Pompeii under lava and ash. The first chapter, “Death and Discovery,” describes both the catastrophe and the archaeological attempts to excavate the Roman town centuries later. The first inept archaeological explorations began in 1748. By the 1860’s, Giuseppe Fiorelli instituted more careful methods for excavating the buried city.
The second chapter discusses the arrangement of Pompeii, a walled Roman town with eight city gates. Streets intersect to form blocks called insulae. Pompeii had three large public areas: a sports area, a theater area, and a political area. Because Roman law forbade burial within the town, tombs lined the roads leading to the gates of the city. The most remarkable element of Pompeii was its water system. An aqueduct brought water to large public baths, swimming pools, private villas, gardens, and fountains.
Chapters 3 and 4 describe the public and private lives of the Pompeians. Public life revolved around government, religion, and entertainment. The principal site of government in Roman cities was the forum; the map of Pompeii also shows seven temples. Two theaters, an immense gymnasium, public baths, and an amphitheater were places for entertainment. Private life centered around the home, a dwelling that had an atrium with cubiculae (small rooms) located around it.
Chapter 5, entitled “Work,” explains the commercial interests of this city, which had two ports—one on the Mediterranean and one on the Sarno River. Pompeians grew and processed grapes, olives, and flowers for perfume. The wool industry required the growing of sheep and the establishment of fulleries to clean, bleach, and dye wool from which togas were made. Professional work included medicine, architecture, engineering, and teaching. The Goors close Pompeii with an epilogue in which they call Pompeii a “living” ghost town because its continued presence re-creates the past. Maps, black-and-white photographs, and drawings illustrate the text.
Critical Context
Pompeii: Exploring a Roman Ghost Town unites the study of history with the discoveries of archaeologists. The book shows the many specific parts that make up a civilization and the care necessary in the excavation of such a complex site. Each excavated item gains significance when it is fitted into the whole, and the whole gains actuality from the tangible parts. Pompeii can supplement historical studies because it reveals the multiple sources from which historians must draw in order to create a complete and valid assessment of a past civilization. Those interested in the discoveries of other ancient civilizations may want to read Robert Silverberg’s Lost Cities and Vanished Civilizations (1962) and Malcolm Weiss’s Sky Watchers of Ages Past (1982).
The Goors’ interest in Pompeii may have originated during their travels in Italy. To Ron Goor, Pompeii offered an opportunity to use photography to depict the objects of Pompeii. Through these objects, the life of the people of the city can be reconstructed. Other books by the Goors in which photography plays an integral part include Shadows: Here, There, and Everywhere (1981), an American Library Association Notable Book, and In the Driver’s Seat (1982), a Junior Literary Guild selection. Insect Metamorphosis: From Egg to Adult (1990) stems from the Goors’ earlier work with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, where they created an insect zoo.