Ancient graffiti have traditionally been studied as brief texts, but that is only part of the information they communicate. I propose a more comprehensive approach that considers their content and form and situates them more firmly within their physical and social environment. Engaging more closely with the spatial context of graffiti informs us about the ancient use of space and the human activity within it. It also allows us to see what else, besides text, was inscribed on the walls of Pompeii. The concept of the dialogue offers a flexible model of inquiry and provides a fresh perspective for examining the numerous graffiti of a residential space. From number games to drawings to clever compositions of poetry, the graffiti of the House of Maius Castricius reveal wide participation and a strong interest in the act of writing, a popular activity here and throughout Pompeii.

An overview and discussion of conventions for writing on the walls in domestic residences in the early Roman Empire. Writing inside homes differs in form, function, and audience from writing in public spaces. This work discusses size, audience, and nature of handwritten inscriptions in the highly inscribed residences of Pompeii (first century AD/CE).

This chapter explores the creation of localized, elite and non-elite discourses within shared epigraphic spaces — specifically, the accretion of non-official graffiti within the urban fabric of ancient Pompeii between circa 120 BCE and 79 CE. The shift from an-epigraphic cultures to epigraphic cultures is not simply a matter of commissioning the carving of an inscription or scratching graffiti: it also demonstrates new mentalities regarding the use of language, the relationship between local elites and the rest of the population and between local elites and the imperial power. The creation and replication of written spaces also marks a radical departure for some pre-Roman communities in the West and a new medium for the expression of local statuses and identities. As importantly, graffiti inscriptions record communications in informal contexts using vernacular media, offering the possibility of writing history about people living in the cities of these times which does not depend solely on the views of the cultural elites surviving in the European manuscript tradition and in formal epigraphic contexts. By the same token, examining the words and images inscribed on an ancient city’s monumental fabric — its walls, doorposts, pillars, tombs, and so on — provides a means of assessing the manner by which and the degree to which ordinary men and women absorbed and exchanged culture and language through inscribed speech-acts under Roman rule. In consequence this essay examines the different trajectories of the creation and replication of discursive environments in a variety of locations within the urban fabric of Pompeii. KEY WORDS graffiti, non-official discourse, cultural space, Pompeii

When the teacher of Ancient History in New South Wales first scans the listing of examinable content relating to the Core Unit on the Cities of Vesuvius newly introduced for the 2006 Higher School Certificate, the usefulness of incorporating graffiti into a program of study as one of the range of available sources may not be readily apparent. This article aims to survey the nature of graffiti at the site of ancient Pompeii as a category of material culture incorporating written and archaeological features and as a useful primary and supplementary source for evidence about the economy, social structure, politics, religion and daily life in Roman Campania of the Republican and early Imperial historical period. This discussion will touch incidentally on issues regarding the limitations, reliability and evaluation of graffiti as a source and as evidence.

This paper explores the creation of localized, elite and non-elite discourses within shared epigraphic spaces – specifically, the accretion of non-official graffiti within the urban fabric of ancient Pompeii between circa 120 BC and AD 79. The shift from an-epigraphic cultures to epigraphic cultures is not simply a matter of commissioning the carving of an inscription or scratching graffiti: it also demonstrates new mentalities regarding the use of language, the relationship between local elites and the rest of the population and between local elites and the imperial power. The creation and replication of written spaces also marks a radical departure for some pre-Roman communities in the West and a new medium for the expression of local statuses and identities. As importantly, graffiti inscriptions record communications in informal contexts using vernacular media, offering the possibility of writing history about people living in the cities of these times which does not depend solely on the views of the cultural elites surviving in the European manuscript tradition and in formal epigraphic contexts. By the same token, examining the words and images inscribed on an ancient city’s monumental fabric – its walls, doorposts, pillars, tombs, and so on – provides a means of assessing the manner by which and the degree to which ordinary men and women absorbed and exchanged culture and language through inscribed speech-acts under Roman rule. In consequence this paper examines the different trajectories of the creation and replication of discursive environments in a variety of locations within the urban fabric of Pompeii.

Short contribution to catalogue of modern art exhibition by Susan Kooi (Amsterdam)

This paper focuses on material culture - the graffiti from Pompeii - to discuss some images of the different meanings of gladiators’ presentations. Epigraphic evidence is used in this paper to show how this particular kind of Roman entertainment can help us to rethink social relationships and Roman identity.