Pompeii FAQs
There are a number of questions that are always asked about Pompeii and being a part of a dig in Pompeii. They are:

1. Hasnt it all been excavated already?
2. Find anything good?
3. Find any dead bodies?
4. Do you really live in tents?
5. Are you afraid of the volcano?
6. Isn't digging really tedious?
7. There's a modern Pompei?
8. What's the deal with the spelling? Is it with one or two I's?
9. Why do you only dig during the summer?
(This is only a start, ask me more if you have other questions.)

And answers...

1. No, by no means. Pompeii was first discovered in the late 16th century and 'excavated' of the volcanic debris and ash in the mid 18th centrury. These digs only removed material down to the floor level of the city when the volcano buried it, the 79 AD level. My dig starts there, at that floor level, and goes down, excavating to find out how the block developed over time to end up as it was when the volcano buried it. Property lines changed, use of space changed, and there is evidence for all of that in the dirt. So while 2/3rds of the ancient city has been uncovered to the 79AD level, very very little of this area has undergone proper archaeological excavation below that level. The remaining third of the still-buried city will remain as such since the Soprintendenza of Pompeii passed a law forbidding further excavation of still-buried areas. A very good move from a conservation standpoint, and I'll go into that further later.

2. Yes. Dig most places in Italy and you cant help but find stuff. Pottery, glass, metal, bone (animal bone), brick and tile, mostly discarded and broken in ancient times, but LOTS of it. Probably a couple of tons of pottery each season.

3. No, no dead bodies. Our block is located just inside the Herculaneum gate. Firstly, this is the closest area of Pompeii to Vesuvius and the people that lived there were probably the first to run (complete speculation, but if you're a person living closest to a smoking volcano, you'd run too, wouldn't you). More importantly, when Pompeii was first excavated in the 1700s, this excavation began at the Herculaneum gate and moved south. Our block was the first to be uncovered. So any of the 79AD artifacts (including dead bodies) would have been removed then.

4. Yes, we really live in tents. I just got a new 5x7 foot tent. And yes, our campsite is called Camping Spartacus. More on campsite living when I get there and can post pictures.

5. I am not afraid of Vesuvius. Although it is still active. It erupted last sometime in the 40s, and is getting due for another one, I'm told, but I'm not worried at all. Mom might be a little worried, but she's more worried about my relative closer proximity to Iraq (this is a needless worry too, as far as I'm concerned, since I live in DC most of the year, which is certainly a better target than Pompeii).

6. Sometimes digging is tedious, but not as much as some people would expect. We get to use big tools sometimes (pickaxes and big shovels) and while care is necessary, we do not excavate with brushes. Brushes are overkill. We move a lot of dirt in the five weeks that we're there, so digging quickly but carefully is a must.

7. Yes, there is a modern Pompei. Ancient Pompeii is located in the middle of the Bay of Naples, a very populous area of Italy. The ruins are right in the middle of several towns, one of which is modern Pompei. It's a kinda grungy town that is better known in Italy for being home to the Cathedral of Pompei. Anyway, There's no getting away from tourists and roads and people and cities and civilization. I'm not out in the middle of nowhere. I live a quick walk away from a very large supermarket, down town modern Pompei, the south Italy highway, and all the other amenities of an Italian city (gelato!).

8. Ancient Pompeii has two I's as it is the Latin plural of Pompeius, the family the city was named after. Modern Pompei has one I cause it's Italian and the second I was dropped somewhere in the evolution of Latin to Italian.

9. We only dig in the summer for a couple of reasons. The dig is run by Professors and other academics, all of whom have to go home to their universities during the academic year to teach. Secondly, the vast majority of the fieldschool students (who do all the digging) are college kids and have the summer off. Thirdly, winters in Italy are rainy and mud is really hard to dig.

Ask me more questions if you have them!
- posted by Claire @ 6:49 PM