Laurel Lopez April 14, 2014 Final Project: Pompeii When comparing all the testing that was

done in the numerous site in Pompeii to the project that we did at the parking lot in Salt Lake Community College as far as looking for evidence in pollution, the same could have been done as far as using the hand auger to dig up and take up the dirt to be compared to a Munsell color chart. In doing so, it could have helped them be able to tell just how long ago the volcano erupted and what the habits were of the people before the volcano erupted.

Above is a picture of a map of the Pompeii site that has been uncovered and also parts of the city that are still covered (dogsofpompei.com).

However, in this case I dont think that any of what we did in class was necessarily used to help uncover the city of Pompeii. If anything, a lot of the information on what happened to the city was found in Pliny the Youngers journal entries he completed before he died (Eye Witness to History). The objectives were completely different in the uncovering of Pompeii and what we did which was look for evidence of pollution on our campus. While we had to use a hand auger to look at the dirt in the area, most of what the archaeologists had to do in the Pompeii site is dig down and uncover the homes and the bodies that were there and preserve the bodies with the casting method. However for the records, what we did in class with the triangulation and measuring where bodies were found in comparison to the other bodies or how far they were to the wall of a building must have been used. And also like in our project, special movements and measures were taken to help preserve what evidence was found. Most of that evidence, rather than dirt ended up being the nicely preserved frescos that were found underground and a lot of the decorations, and important metals found around in that area. This left over artifacts also helped them date it back to how old it really was and along with the journal of Pliny the Younger, helped them date exactly when the volcano erupted. A lot of the stuff that they found had to be carefully observed so as not to destroy it.

In the picture above shows some archaeologists studying the frescos that were found underground with an ultrasonic machine that doesnt disturb the fresco or destroy it (archaeology.org) Right now and what has been the goal for the past few years is to make sure that all that they have found in the site is nicely preserved. So thats why buildings were excavated from the top down instead of the bottom up and why the archaeologists took that extra effort to caste the bodies that were found. Also in the picture above it demonstrates just how careful they were to make sure nothing was destroyed too much in the process of uncovering the site (Pompeii.co.uk). So in conclusion, there are very little similarities between the project that we did in the parking lot and in class and with the excavation that was done in Pompeii. Both goals were completely different and if similar tools were used, it wasnt for the same goals.

Works Cited Cartwright, Mark. "Pompeii." Ancient.eu.com. N.p., 17 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Owens, James. "Ancient Roman Life Preserved at Pompeii." National Geographic. Nationalgeographic.com, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. "A Brief History of Pompeii." A Brief History of Pompeii. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew, Professor. "Pompeii: Portents of Disaster." BBC.com. BBC.com, 29 Mar. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. The Destruction of Pompeii, 79 AD, EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1999) "Saving the Villa of the Mysteries - Archaeology Magazine." Saving the Villa of the Mysteries - Archaeology Magazine. N.p., 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

"Pompeii Interactive." Pompeii Interactive. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

"The Dogs of Pompeii: Tour the Bay of Naples." The Dogs of Pompeii: Tour the Bay of Naples. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.