Pompeii and Herculaneum: Similarities and Differences (Movie Review Sample)

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8th November 2012
Pompeii and Herculaneum: Similarities and Differences
Introduction
The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were ancient cities that existed in ancient Roman in years following 79 A. D. before they were destroyed by ash and pumice coming from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A. D. because of their adjacent locations, these towns had similarities and differences that might be of interest to the archeologists especially with the current excavation activities going on in these two regions. However, the discovery of the two towns happened almost 200 year apart and this has continued to cast an interesting area of comparison in archeology that can help to discover the early life of roman people ( HYPERLINK "/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Marina+Ciaraldi%22" Ciaraldi, 7). This paper analyses the similarities and differences that may have existed between Pompeii and Herculaneum before they were destroyed by the volcanic eruption.
Similarities
According to Wallace-Hadrill (20), one major similarity between Pompeii and Herculaneum is that the two towns existed during the same period and were destroyed in the same year resulting from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79 A.D. As such, the levels of preservation that the covered material exhibits are similar in preservation and look, even though Pompeii was discovered much earlier than Herculaneum thus setting the archeologists interest in Pompeii than Herculaneum. The fact that the two towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum were covered under volcanic ash and pumice for many years, there was preservation of material and signs that point to the similarities between the two towns. According to Conticello (21), Pompeii and Herculaneum were ancient towns in the early Roman that were inhabited by people who were civilized and who embraced a political system that elected their leaders. Both towns had their own political leaders and they were independent from each other despite the fact that they existed within the same proximity. Pompeii and Herculaneum also provided a dwelling place for people who were moving across the large roman region as merchants and sailors. They were both famous town in Roman region that equally attracted visitors from far off places.
Further, notes that since their discovery in the 18th century, the two towns have continued to attract tourists in Italy even and are some of the most visited sites in the country with annual visits exceeding 2 million people. Pompeii and Herculaneum also remain centers of focus for popular culture as they attract conservation groups who are all engaged in the preservation of the two areas for the purposes of preservation. Bones and other artifacts have been discovered in the two sites and these materials are kept in museums in Italy and Britain.
Differences
Evidences from the two sites indicate notable differences in the daily life of the people who lived in the two towns. According to the evidences that have been excavated from the two towns, Pompeii was more of a commercial center while Herculaneum was a residential center where people went to stay after they came from the market (Wallace-Hadrill, 12). This is why the two materials that are excavated from the two sites tend to differ remarkable in nature and also the intended use. Even more, the forms in which the two towns seem to have been destroyed differ in nature. Pompeii was more likely destroyed by the covering of in ash and pumice that led to the collapse of the structures in the area under the weight of accumulating material that were falling from the sky. Because the material were falling from the sky, Pompeii was destroyed downward, which means that the structures who covered deep into the earth as the materials continued to accumulate (Wallace-Hadrill, 10). On the other hand, Herculaneum is more likely to have been destroyed by high moving waves of material horizontally that were coming from the erupting mountain. As a result the town maintained well preserved and more particularly the wood that continues to provide a lot of information on how the two towns interacted with each other.
Furthermore,  HYPERLINK "/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22J.+Marc.+Merrill%22" Merrill (5) argues that since Pompeii was destroyed from the materials that were falling from the sky, the structures at town accumulated detritus material that covered all the structures leaving no area uncovered. The falling materials were widespread in nature and presented a thick blanket covering even hills and tallest trees that were in the town. On the other hand, the horizontal nature of destruction of the town of Herculaneum spread the town as they moved towards the sea, carrying some of the structures in the town into the sea. This explains why a lot of skeletons have been found along the sea shore covered into tuffaceous material. It is assumed that the flowing material carried the skeletons of people who had been killed by the eruption into the sea and later crystallized after reaching the water. Evidently, some of these moving molten materials either were too hot and travelled several miles into the sea before they started cooling or the sea has since expanded to occupy some of the areas that were reached by the moving material.
Conticello (23) observed that based on the number of structures and places that are found in each town, suggestions indicate that Pompeii was a production center where most of the goods that were produced were for local consumption. However, Herculaneum embraced local lifestyle with people shielding themselves from the outsiders. Characteristically, Herculaneum was more of a consumer city while Pompeii was a producing city. The two cities primarily depended on each for supply of demand and supply.
A further difference is revealed in the architectural designs and the interior designs that defined the walls and floors in the two cities. Whereas Pompeii used rare and complex marble floors, Herculaneum marble pavements that were not found at Pompeii. In Herculaneum, even modest houses have the complex marbles on their pavements and this is an indication that the economic status of people who lived in this region were economically well off compared those who were living in Pompeii ( HYPERLINK "/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22J.+Marc.+Merrill%22" Merrill, 8). Also, Herculaneum was better organized politically into a municipal town meaning that the town had well planned social amenities like streets which were lacking in Pompeii. In terms of wealth, Herculaneum was more endowed in terms of wealth tha...