The writings on the wall : the spatial and literary context of domestic graffiti from Pompeii

textOver 11,000 graffiti once covered the site of ancient Pompeii, inscribed upon many buildings in the city including houses, temples, and public buildings. Their messages include greetings, proclamations of love and desire, and bits of poetry. These inscriptions have fascinated scholars since the first walls were unearthed at Pompeii in the eighteenth century and this interest has yielded a wide array of methodologies and approaches. As archaeology has evolved over the centuries, so too has the approach to this material. The unique position of graffiti as objects of both philological and archaeological study has necessitated the need for a multidisciplinary approach. This dissertation recontextualizes Pompeian graffiti as artifacts and examines the distribution of graffiti within domestic space in Pompeii including the relationship between content and context. Specifically, this dissertation examines a corpus of graffiti from twelve buildings in Pompeii. I analyze the locations of the graffiti and the rationale for these locations using space syntax, a theory for analyzing the configuration of space. From an examination of their locations, I propose how the Pompeians used the spaces within these buildings and postulate how their use may have changed over time. This analysis indicates that, in general, Pompeians chose highly visible, accessible, and well-trafficked locations in which to write graffiti, indicating that writers of ancient graffiti, unlike many modern, wrote these messages in areas under surveillance. Visitors and inhabitants wrote them in areas where they would be seen doing so. Further analysis of the interaction between graffiti and their context shows that while these messages occupy highly visible areas, they were written in such a way as to not detract from the overall aesthetic appearance of the space. Close study of the content of the individual messages shows how the substance of the graffiti responded to the spaces in which they were written and the other graffiti written around them. This combination of archaeological and philological inquiry allows an identification of types of space and, to some degree, organization of movement within a space, which, in the absence of other artifacts, has been difficult to interpret.Classic

University of Mississippi Archaeology Showcase

Presentations about current research by UM archaeology professors and students. 4:30 WELCOME 4:35-4:45 “NEW CLOTHES FOR A HERO: HERAKLES AND GREEK IDENTITY AT ANCIENT OLYMPIA” Dr. Aileen Ajootian Professor of Classics and Art, Department of Classics 4:50-5:00 “WALKING THROUGH THE PAST: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF 6000 YEARS OF PREHISTORY IN THE HEART OF BAVARIA, GERMANY” Dr. Matthew Murray Associate Professor of Anthropology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology 5:05-5:15 LINE DRAWINGS AND THE STUDY OF CAMPANIAN GRAFFITI Dr. Jacqueline DiBiasie-Sammons Assistant Professor, Department of Classics 5:20– 5:30 CERAMIC ANALYSES FROM 2019 EXCAVATIONS AT THE ELY MOUND, LEE COUNTY, VIRGINIA Shannon Wooten Graduate Student, Department of Sociology and Anthropology 5:35 – 5:45 “THE MATERIALITY AND SENSORY EFFECTS OF SCANDINAVIAN GOLD JEWELRY Dr. Nancy Wicker Professor of Art History, Chair, The Department of Art and Art History 5:50 – 6:00 FROM COLLECTING TO CURATING: ORGANIZING A CENTURY OF LEGACY COLLECTIONS Dr. Tony Boudreaux and Dr. Maureen Meyers Associate Professors of Anthropology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology CLOSING REMARKShttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/classics_lectures/1008/thumbnail.jp

University of Mississippi Archaeology Showcase 2022

WelcomeDr. Aileen Ajootian, Professor, Department of Classics The Artemis Sanctuary at Brauron in Roman Times: A Healing Cult ? Dr. Aileen Ajootian, Professor, Department of Classics The Lives of Ancient Dogs Dr. Carolyn Freiwald, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology Students and Charcoal: Observations From Ancient Graffiti in Pompeii Annabelle Harris, Sydney Lynch, Sierra Thomas, UM Classics majors Swearing By Gold (in the UM Museum), An Update Dr. Brad Cook, Professor, Department of Classics Writing Among the Dead: Charcoal Graffiti in Pompeian Tombs Dr. Jacqueline DiBiasie-Sammons, Assistant Professor, Department of Classicshttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/classics_lectures/1034/thumbnail.jp

Archaeology Showcase (2024)

Professor Jesse Tune, UM Department of Sociology and Anthropology Moving to the Edge of the World: Ireland\u27s First Peoples Professor Jacqueline Frost DiBiasie-Sammons, UM Department of Classics Mapping Media: A bird\u27s eye view of charcoal, chalk and ochre graffiti in Pompeii UM Classics majors Mr. Joseph Cruz, Ms. Karina Glenn, Mr. Greg Palculict, Ms. Maggie Wallace To Rome and Back Professor Aileen Ajootian, UM Department of Classics Young Herakleshttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/classics_lectures/1033/thumbnail.jp

A Walk Around Ancient Pompeii

Dr. Jacqueline DiBiasie-Sammons has been interested in Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius since childhood, when she first discovered her birth date and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD were on the same day. That volcanic event helped preserve the artifacts on which her scholarly career focuses: ancient Roman graffiti. Now she gets to spend nearly every summer walking the streets of the ancient Roman city looking for scribblings of Pompeians who lived nearly 2,000 years ago. Dr. Dibiase-Sammons is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Mississippi and was the 2021 recipient of the Dr. Mike L. Edmonds New Scholar Award in Humanities. Her current research investigates the aesthetics of ancient graffiti and graffiti made using charcoal. Jackie has also pioneered the application of several digital technologies to record and visualize ancient Roman graffiti. For the past several years she has included students in this research as part of the Ancient Graffiti Project, for which she served as Field Director

The atrium and models of space in Latin literature

textThis report examines all the occurrences of the atrium in Latin literature and the context for each occasion. It begins with an overview of the etymology of atrium and the development of the atrium-house plan then analyzes the use of the word atrium in terms of theories of spatial conception. The results are that the atrium as a cognitive model is restricted to an upper class, elite mindset and that the space appears to be more multifunctional in nature than is usually thought.Classic

University of Mississippi Archaeology Showcase

Presentations about current research by UM archaeology professors and students. 6:00 p.m. Dr. Matthew Murray Fragmented, wrapped and infected: new perspectives on death in Iron Age Central Europe 6:10 p.m. Dr. Nancy Wicker Vikings in Iberia? Investigation of a Viking-style deer antler container in Léon, Spain 6:20 p.m. Dr. Jacqueline DiBiasie-Sammons Photographing ancient graffiti: dStretch and Neutral Density Filters Break 6:40 p.m. Arianna Kitchens, Madeline McCracken Inscriptions Lost in Time 6:50 p.m. Hannah Zechman Archaeological Investigations at Friendship Cemetery, Columbus, Mississippi 7:00 p.m. Dr. Aileen Ajootian Actium at Ancient Corinth: a Victory Monument for Octavian?https://egrove.olemiss.edu/classics_lectures/1007/thumbnail.jp