In 1594 workmen were digging a channel through the eastern part of Pompeii when they hit some blocks of marble. This was the first unofficial excavation of Pompeii although no further action was taken for some time. Excavations in Herculaneum began in 1709 when a theatre was discovered as workmen were sinking a well. This led to a number of statues and some artefacts being found and then carelessly distributed to different places in Europe. The Prince of Elbeuf (a place in France) was one of the main culprits as he used the site to acquire marble and statues or sculptures which he to other people as diplomatic gifts. In 1738 King Charles III of Spain ordered excavations of the area to be resumed and in 1748 the first official excavation site was opened in Pompeii (then unidentified). The motivations of King Charles III for starting excavations were mainly materialistic as he wanted to decorate and furnish his palace and court and to add to his private collection. It wasn't until 1763 that an inscription was uncovered which proved that the site they had been excavating was truly the ancient city of Pompeii. A great number of people who were part of the first excavations did not take care of the preservation of the cities. One example was Rocco Gioacchino de Alcubiere who was sent by King Charles III. Rocco focused on finding valuable objects, artefacts, statues and sculptures and completely disregarded any note-taking on what his findings were and did not take proper care to ensure the best possible preservation of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
It is clear that many of the first excavators on the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum were treasure hunters who were focused on discovering and then gifting, selling or displaying the artefacts they found. They did not treat the sites with care nor document their discoveries nor excavate systematically. Because of the poor management and preservation of the sites, great numbers of artefacts were taken from the original position in which they were found. This meant some artefacts after being removed from their proper place were unable to be understood or put into context and since no record was made on how they were found, a lot of information about them was lost. Consequently, many artefacts lost all of their historical meaning or became completely disorganised like a collection of bronze letter discovered in Herculaneum which were muddled up and placed out of order so they no longer held any meaning, Other artefacts from the early excavations were simply discarded and tossed away since they had no appeal or commercial value to those digging them up. This was the case with a great deal of pottery and some paintings which were ripped from the walls as they were considered worthless. Artefacts which did fit the bill as good enough for those excavating were often stolen or transported to museums. Even more antiquities were damaged in the process of excavation, handled carelessly by excavators. More buildings, statues and paintings were also damaged because of the old tools used for excavation which are not so fit to the purpose and safe as the tools used today. The damage created by the early excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum limit our understanding of Roman Social life. The artefacts which were meddled with ending up losing much of their 'story' or the background behind them, making it harder for historians and archaeologists to decipher their meaning, Thankfully, excavation methods and procedures improved as time went on but much of the harm had already been done.
Although many had commented on the lack of methodical excavating and the poor organisation of the excavation sites it was only in 1860 when Giuseppi Fiorelli became the director of the Pompeii excavations that the cities were excavated in a more systematical manner. Sections were set out to be completely excavated before beginning the excavation of a new section to enable the full discovery and excavation of Pompeii. Fiorelli also came up with the technique of injecting liquid plaster into the body cavities to create casts of the people of Pompeii who died in the Eruption. The way Fiorelli documented all of his findings and excavations helped to highlight the great significance of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius for our understanding of Roman history and ancient Roman social life.
Other ways in which artefacts were damaged during and after much of the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum were through natural exposure and human activity. Once the towns were excavated they became vulnerable as they were exposed to the elements. The sun, wind, rain and just weather in general all contributed to the deterioration of the sites of the two towns. Bones and some artefacts both had trouble enduring the effects of being exposed to open air after thousands of years and a few disintegrated very quickly. Exposure to the sun and light reduced the brilliance of colour in paintings and on sculptures while some buildings were slowly worn away by the weather. By developing and putting into practise some conservation methods many of these issues have been looked after but of course some damage had already been done. There have also been problems with modern-day graffiti and vandalism by those passing through the sites.
Early excavators were only interested in the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum for personal use and not because of their important historical context. This disregard for the preservation and proper excavation of the two towns has caused many of the artefacts (our primary source of evidence for interpreting ancient Roman social life around the time of 79AD) to lose some of their significance as they have been damaged beyond repair, lost or taken out of their true, original historical context.
It is clear that many of the first excavators on the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum were treasure hunters who were focused on discovering and then gifting, selling or displaying the artefacts they found. They did not treat the sites with care nor document their discoveries nor excavate systematically. Because of the poor management and preservation of the sites, great numbers of artefacts were taken from the original position in which they were found. This meant some artefacts after being removed from their proper place were unable to be understood or put into context and since no record was made on how they were found, a lot of information about them was lost. Consequently, many artefacts lost all of their historical meaning or became completely disorganised like a collection of bronze letter discovered in Herculaneum which were muddled up and placed out of order so they no longer held any meaning, Other artefacts from the early excavations were simply discarded and tossed away since they had no appeal or commercial value to those digging them up. This was the case with a great deal of pottery and some paintings which were ripped from the walls as they were considered worthless. Artefacts which did fit the bill as good enough for those excavating were often stolen or transported to museums. Even more antiquities were damaged in the process of excavation, handled carelessly by excavators. More buildings, statues and paintings were also damaged because of the old tools used for excavation which are not so fit to the purpose and safe as the tools used today. The damage created by the early excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum limit our understanding of Roman Social life. The artefacts which were meddled with ending up losing much of their 'story' or the background behind them, making it harder for historians and archaeologists to decipher their meaning, Thankfully, excavation methods and procedures improved as time went on but much of the harm had already been done.
Although many had commented on the lack of methodical excavating and the poor organisation of the excavation sites it was only in 1860 when Giuseppi Fiorelli became the director of the Pompeii excavations that the cities were excavated in a more systematical manner. Sections were set out to be completely excavated before beginning the excavation of a new section to enable the full discovery and excavation of Pompeii. Fiorelli also came up with the technique of injecting liquid plaster into the body cavities to create casts of the people of Pompeii who died in the Eruption. The way Fiorelli documented all of his findings and excavations helped to highlight the great significance of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius for our understanding of Roman history and ancient Roman social life.
Other ways in which artefacts were damaged during and after much of the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum were through natural exposure and human activity. Once the towns were excavated they became vulnerable as they were exposed to the elements. The sun, wind, rain and just weather in general all contributed to the deterioration of the sites of the two towns. Bones and some artefacts both had trouble enduring the effects of being exposed to open air after thousands of years and a few disintegrated very quickly. Exposure to the sun and light reduced the brilliance of colour in paintings and on sculptures while some buildings were slowly worn away by the weather. By developing and putting into practise some conservation methods many of these issues have been looked after but of course some damage had already been done. There have also been problems with modern-day graffiti and vandalism by those passing through the sites.
Early excavators were only interested in the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum for personal use and not because of their important historical context. This disregard for the preservation and proper excavation of the two towns has caused many of the artefacts (our primary source of evidence for interpreting ancient Roman social life around the time of 79AD) to lose some of their significance as they have been damaged beyond repair, lost or taken out of their true, original historical context.