Articles by Jacqueline F DiBiasie-Sammons
American Journal of Archaeology, 2022
This article analyzes the types, locations, and visual characteristics of charcoal graffiti from ... more This article analyzes the types, locations, and visual characteristics of charcoal graffiti from Herculaneum. This type of ancient inscription has been largely ignored in scholarship since the delicate medium has left many of these charcoal graffiti with uncertain readings and few remain extant. I show that while charcoal graffiti were produced differently than inscribed graffiti at Herculaneum, the types of messages are similar. Yet the size, paleography, and visual impact differ dramatically between the two production methods. Charcoal graffiti were typically much larger than their inscribed counterparts, which, I suggest, resulted in their being written (or being allowed to be written) in different areas of the city. Using archival research on the field notebooks of Matteo Della Corte, the epigrapher who first documented the graffiti from Herculaneum, I examine the paleography, aesthetics, and visual impact of these charcoal graffiti. His line drawings provide, in many cases, our only glimpse into the layout, handwriting, design, and visual impact of the charcoal graffiti. While few, the charcoal graffiti of Herculaneum illustrate a class of inscriptions that was likely ubiquitous in the ancient world and provide important insights into the epigraphic fabric of the city.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of Epigraphic Studies, 2021
This article considers the process of drawing ancient graffiti from Campania and the impact of th... more This article considers the process of drawing ancient graffiti from Campania and the impact of this documentation method on the study of these inscriptions. I show that while graffiti were often reproduced visually in the first few years of their study, this emphasis declined in later
supplements of the CIL. I argue that graffiti must be studied not just as texts, but as artifacts for which considerations of style, form, and context are essential. I examine a set of graffiti located in the House of the Triclinium (v.2.4) in Pompeii to show how line-drawings of these texts indicate
a group of writers experimenting with style. These authors also wrote their texts to heighten visibility. Line-drawings of these graffiti in context illustrate the visual impact of the graffiti on the viewer and indicate how the graffiti responded to one another stylistically and in context.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 2020
In this article, I use two methodologies, Decorrelation Stretch (DStretch) and archival research,... more In this article, I use two methodologies, Decorrelation Stretch (DStretch) and archival research, to propose a new transcription for a painted inscription from Herculaneum: CIL IV.10479. In addition to this new transcription, I show the immense promise and capability of DStretch to visualize painted inscriptions. While DStretch has been applied to pictographs and wall paintings at various sites, to my knowledge it
has never before been applied to Campanian graffiti or dipinti. This process, especially when coupled with archival research, allows us to visualize the letters of the inscription and, subsequently, provide a new reading of the text. The results suggest that DStretch should hereafter be the standard methodology for presenting and visualizing painted inscriptions.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (ZPE) 210: 251-262, 2019
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Oplontis: Villa A ("of Poppaea") at Torre Annunziata, Italy. Volume 2. The Decorations: Painting, Stucco, Pavements, Sculptures, 2019
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
From Document to History: Epigraphic Insights into the Greco-Roman World, 197-219, 2019
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 361, 2016
This article describes the goals and activities for the first field season of The Herculaneum Gra... more This article describes the goals and activities for the first field season of The Herculaneum Graffiti Project. Our project fo-cuses on documenting and digitizing to make more broadly accessible the first-century handwritten wall-inscriptions, also called graffiti, in Herculaneum. Following an overview of the presence of ancient graffiti in Herculaneum, this report details the methodology we used to locate and document the inscriptions and the preservation status of ancient graffiti in each insula, or city-block, of the excavations. We further describe the preliminary results of the project’s documentation efforts. We are currently studying, processing, and digitizing these inscriptions and contributing them for inclusion in the Epigraphic Database Roma and EAGLE, the Europeana network of Ancient Greek and Latin Epigraphy. We conclude with a brief mention of development of The Ancient Graffiti Project, the digital resource and search engine devoted to ancient handwritten inscriptions.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This article discusses the application of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) to ancient gra... more This article discusses the application of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) to ancient graffiti from Herculaneum, Italy. RTI is a computational photography technique that makes it possible to digitally manipulate the light direction within a 2D image. This allows researchers to examine the graffiti (and individual details and letterforms) under a variety of lighting conditions. Furthermore, RTI is able to enhance the surface and color of the wall plaster on which the graffito was written. Several examples of this application to ancient graffiti show that RTI enables researchers to decipher graffiti, especially individual letterforms. RTI mimics the process of personal autopsy on site and allows scholars to reexamine the graffiti from anywhere in the world. In combination with other methods of archaeological documentation, RTI digitally preserves these inscriptions for the future.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This article describes the goals and activities for the first field season of The Herculaneum Gra... more This article describes the goals and activities for the first field season of The Herculaneum Graffiti Project. Our project focuses on documenting and digitizing to make more broadly accessible the first-century handwritten wall-inscriptions, also called graffiti, in Herculaneum. Following an overview of the presence of ancient graffiti in Herculaneum, this report details the methodology we used to locate and document the inscriptions and the preservation status of ancient graffiti in each insula, or city-block, of the excavations. We further describe the preliminary results of the project's documentation efforts. We are currently studying , processing, and digitizing these inscriptions and contributing them for inclusion in the Epigraphic Database Roma and EAGLE, the Europeana network of Ancient Greek and Latin Epigraphy. We conclude with a brief mention of development of The Ancient Graffiti Project, the digital resource and search engine devoted to ancient handwritten inscriptions.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Research by Jacqueline F DiBiasie-Sammons
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Conference Organization by Jacqueline F DiBiasie-Sammons
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The Vergilian Society invites proposals for papers for the 2019 Symposium Campanum at the Villa V... more The Vergilian Society invites proposals for papers for the 2019 Symposium Campanum at the Villa Vergiliana in Cuma, Italy.
This symposium investigates the role of inscribed materials in the cities, towns, and villas of Campania. Unlike the nearly bare walls of today's ruins, the written word had a vibrant presence in antiquity. From the large, stone inscriptions on buildings and monuments, to the small, nearly invisible graffiti in private homes, writing was ubiquitous. The goal of the symposium is to investigate the role of inscriptions in the Bay of Naples. How did everyday people interact with the writing on their walls, tombs, statues, and buildings? Does the presence and quantity of writing inform our understanding of ancient literacy? What is the potential and limitations of inscriptions to illuminate aspects of Roman society, or their limitations?
Recent scholarship on epigraphical material has focused on examining inscriptions in light of other types of evidence: artistic, archaeological, literary. We, therefore, invite papers that synthesize multiple strands of evidence and expand epigraphical study beyond the inscriptions themselves. Papers could, for example, contextualize evidence from inscriptions within the social, economic, or political fabric of the city. We are especially interested in papers that focus on the possible writing of the unfree, women, and the lower classes.
Another recent turn in epigraphical research has been to contextualize inscriptions within their physical environments. Graffiti, especially, responded to each other and the spaces in which they were written. The location of the Symposium Campanum provides an ideal venue for considering the contextualization of inscriptions. With this in mind, we plan to invite interested scholars to present their research on-site, in a building or area that pertains to their paper, if logistics permit.
The symposium will include three days of papers and discussion. Papers will be 30 minutes long with time for discussion. The schedule will also include visits to selected sites nearby. Meals and housing will be provided by the Villa Vergiliana. There will be a moderate fee (ca. $400) to cover registration, room, and board. Participants should plan their arrivals on Wednesday, Oct. 23 and departures on Sunday, October 27, 2019.
Interested scholars should send an abstract of no more than 300 words to symposiumcampanum2019@gmail.com by March 1st, 2019.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Conference Presentations by Jacqueline F DiBiasie-Sammons
Presented at CAMWS-SS 2019 (Winston Salem, NC)
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Presented at Symposium Campanum 2017 (Cumae, Italy)
Ancient graffiti, which once dotted the urban landscape of Pompeii, provide much evide... more Ancient graffiti, which once dotted the urban landscape of Pompeii, provide much evidence about the political, economic, and social fabric of the town. They have been used to investigate topics such as ancient literacy, sexuality, and groups typically marginalized from the literary record like women and slaves. Much recent work on Pompeian graffiti has been devoted to investigating particular genres within the graffiti (Milnor 2014), graffiti in domestic space (Benefiel 2010, 2011, 2016), the spatial distribution of graffiti (Keegan 2016), and the genre of graffiti writing itself (Kruschwitz 2010, 2014). This paper takes a different approach in investigating the graffiti of one group of workers and this group’s predilection for graffiti writing: the fullers.
The fullers are well-known in Pompeii through the archaeological evidence of several fulleries as well as wall paintings that depict their activities. Less well-known are the graffiti that mention the fullers or were made by particular fullers. In this paper, I discuss graffiti that can be associated with the fullers and their spatial distribution within the city. One particular fuller, Crescens, inscribed 13 messages in one house alone. These messages are primarily greetings from Crescens to various individuals and groups. However, others address the fullers directly and the symbol of their corporate identity, the owl. The fullers were also active in the political sphere; fullo is joined to the name of the rogator in several programmata (CIL IV 998, 2966, 3476, 3478, 3529).
These graffiti, especially when combined with the archaeological evidence, indicate the movement of the fullers in the ancient city. They complicate our understanding of literacy in the ancient world and provide a glimpse into the lives of craftsmen in ancient Pompeii.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America 2017
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This paper presents the methods, challenges, and results of reflectance transformation imaging (R... more This paper presents the methods, challenges, and results of reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) application to ancient graffiti from Pompeii and Herculaneum. This work is part of the Herculaneum Graffiti Project, which aims to record and digitize the graffiti from Herculaneum. Ancient graffiti were typically lightly scratched into wall plaster, which makes them difficult or impossible to photograph with normal photography techniques. Further, poor lighting conditions and degradation of the wall plaster makes photographing them even more difficult. I argue that the use of RTI enables researchers to read the graffiti more easily and is a better method of digital preservation for the future. RTI is a computational photography technique that amalgamates multiple photographs of an object under different lighting conditions into one file. The user can then manipulate the resulting image by changing the direction of the light on the graffito. Essentially, this process allows for raking light—which has long been the standard in photography of incised graffiti—from all angles. Furthermore, RTI is able to enhance the surface of the wall, which further clarifies the graffito. I begin by presenting the basics of RTI and special challenges I encountered in applying this technique to graffiti. Some of the issues included photographing columns, shadows on the graffiti, and ambient light. Next, I present the results of this application to several graffiti from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The benefit of the process was immediately obvious. RTI produced clear images of the graffiti that could be manipulated to create the best possible lighting conditions for reading the text. Further, these images can be disseminated to allow interested scholars to examine the graffiti for themselves. Previously, since photographing graffiti has proved so difficult, scholars have usually provided only line drawings of the text in publications. RTI enables scholars from anywhere in the world to examine the graffiti and offer new readings. Further, the images serve as thorough documentation of the graffiti for cultural-heritage management, especially as graffiti from both sites are disappearing at an alarming rate. I show that this methodology allows for the best possible reading of the graffiti and should become the standard for documenting and preserving these inscriptions in the future.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
"This paper investigates the applicability of access analysis for understanding graffiti concentr... more "This paper investigates the applicability of access analysis for understanding graffiti concentrations within the domestic spaces of Pompeii. Building on the work of Benefiel 2010 and 2011, I focus on the context of graffiti in the domestic spaces of Pompeii. However, unlike previous work, this study uses a spatial configuration theory—access analysis—to analyze the location of graffiti throughout domestic space in order to better visualize and understand graffiti concentrations.
More specifically, through a study of the graffiti from one house in Pompeii, I demonstrate that access analysis offers a unique perspective in proving why certain rooms, because of their relationship to other rooms and the street, were natural locations for large graffiti concentrations.
Access analysis is a space syntax technique developed by Hillier and Hanson to understand and visualize how a building’s design inhibits or promotes social interaction. In this methodology, an analytical plan is created that shows the circulation through the building and the connection of spaces to one another. Grahame,
in his analysis of the House of the Faun in Pompeii, suggests that rooms that connect to the greatest number of rooms encourage social gatherings by means of their openness and are those likely to be public spaces. Recently, Anderson has used access analysis to explore the location of construction materials after the earthquake of 62 C.E. and found that they were located in spaces connected to many others and thus were more accessible. Following on these insights, I explore how graffiti concentrations correlate to the traffic patterns and architectural connectivity within the house, as well as the relationship of certain rooms to the street.
To do this, I use three computer programs, JASS, DepthMap, and ArcGIS, to identify and model areas of control (nodes) within the home. I then correlate these findings with the concentration of graffiti located within the spaces. Further, I compare the location of the graffiti with the presence availability (accessibility to the outside) of the spaces. I prove the usefulness of access analysis in understanding graffiti concentrations and highlight the benefits of each modeling program.
Graffiti are abundant in the domestic spaces of Pompeii, but there are more in some spaces than in others. This paper shows that access analysis provides one way to understand the differences in this distribution."
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This paper offers an analysis of genre manipulation in Pompeian graffiti for the creation o... more This paper offers an analysis of genre manipulation in Pompeian graffiti for the creation of humor. Building on recent work by Benefiel 2010 and Milnor 2009, I recontextualize graffiti within Roman cultural discourse and show that Pompeians were knowledgeable of graffiti genres and adept at manipulating them in order to create jokes. In particular, I combine a cultural approach to graffiti with the study of visual humor (cf. Clarke 2003), and emphasize attention both to the graffito as a text and to its location as a determinant of humor and meaning. I demonstrate the wide-spread nature of this phenomenon through examples from various graffiti genres. Finally, I argue that the graffito’s location, when taken in context, can add further nuance to the humor found within the text.
This paper’s main example is CIL IV.1384 which was found outside a supposed brothel (though identification is not clear) in Region VI.11.16 in Pompeii. The graffito is in the format of a programma, or political advertisement, and urges the reader to vote for Isidorus, though his qualifications for office are most unusual (ISIDORUM AED II V(os) (f)AC(iatis)/ OPTIME CUNULINCET IV . . . T . .). Most programmata ask voters to vote for the candidate as he is dignum r(ei) p(ublicae) but this graffito emphasizes his sexual abilities instead. The graffito contains several features of the programma (candidate’s name in the accusative followed by the office, abbreviations, qualification for office, located on façade) but blends it with several features of the brothel graffito (sexual services, name of prostitute). The location of this graffito adds to the humor as it faces from several other graffiti of the ‘brothel genre’ which advertise Isidorus’ services as a prostitute (CIL IV 4699, 4441).
The author of this graffito, I argue, has effectively blended the programma and brothel graffiti genres to make fun not only of Isidorus, but also poke fun at the genre of electoral programmata. The format and language of the programma invite the reader to expect the political message that usually accompanies this genre. The reader is therefore surprised when the qualifications for office are divulged, and the juxtaposition between the lowly and the lofty, thus creates humor. Further, this graffito uses the generic devices of an upper-class genre, the programma, to display a sub-elite message; as such, this graffito offers example of intergroup humor that is used as a weapon of social conflict and as a means to retain the ascendency of one group over another (Clarke 2003).
This is not an isolated example; other graffiti (CIL IV 575, CIL IV 9131, CIL IV 1177, CIL IV 10619, and CIL IV 5244) prove that examining graffiti and the genres within them call for a more nuanced approach than has been used previously. In conclusion, I show that analyzing graffiti genres allows the humor of these graffiti, often obscured by examining them out of context, to emerge. Their unique location allowed for a wide dispersal and audience for the jokes. Thus, analyzing their context allows for a deeper understanding of the purpose for the graffiti and the genre types being manipulated for humors sake.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Articles by Jacqueline F DiBiasie-Sammons
supplements of the CIL. I argue that graffiti must be studied not just as texts, but as artifacts for which considerations of style, form, and context are essential. I examine a set of graffiti located in the House of the Triclinium (v.2.4) in Pompeii to show how line-drawings of these texts indicate
a group of writers experimenting with style. These authors also wrote their texts to heighten visibility. Line-drawings of these graffiti in context illustrate the visual impact of the graffiti on the viewer and indicate how the graffiti responded to one another stylistically and in context.
has never before been applied to Campanian graffiti or dipinti. This process, especially when coupled with archival research, allows us to visualize the letters of the inscription and, subsequently, provide a new reading of the text. The results suggest that DStretch should hereafter be the standard methodology for presenting and visualizing painted inscriptions.
Research by Jacqueline F DiBiasie-Sammons
Conference Organization by Jacqueline F DiBiasie-Sammons
This symposium investigates the role of inscribed materials in the cities, towns, and villas of Campania. Unlike the nearly bare walls of today's ruins, the written word had a vibrant presence in antiquity. From the large, stone inscriptions on buildings and monuments, to the small, nearly invisible graffiti in private homes, writing was ubiquitous. The goal of the symposium is to investigate the role of inscriptions in the Bay of Naples. How did everyday people interact with the writing on their walls, tombs, statues, and buildings? Does the presence and quantity of writing inform our understanding of ancient literacy? What is the potential and limitations of inscriptions to illuminate aspects of Roman society, or their limitations?
Recent scholarship on epigraphical material has focused on examining inscriptions in light of other types of evidence: artistic, archaeological, literary. We, therefore, invite papers that synthesize multiple strands of evidence and expand epigraphical study beyond the inscriptions themselves. Papers could, for example, contextualize evidence from inscriptions within the social, economic, or political fabric of the city. We are especially interested in papers that focus on the possible writing of the unfree, women, and the lower classes.
Another recent turn in epigraphical research has been to contextualize inscriptions within their physical environments. Graffiti, especially, responded to each other and the spaces in which they were written. The location of the Symposium Campanum provides an ideal venue for considering the contextualization of inscriptions. With this in mind, we plan to invite interested scholars to present their research on-site, in a building or area that pertains to their paper, if logistics permit.
The symposium will include three days of papers and discussion. Papers will be 30 minutes long with time for discussion. The schedule will also include visits to selected sites nearby. Meals and housing will be provided by the Villa Vergiliana. There will be a moderate fee (ca. $400) to cover registration, room, and board. Participants should plan their arrivals on Wednesday, Oct. 23 and departures on Sunday, October 27, 2019.
Interested scholars should send an abstract of no more than 300 words to symposiumcampanum2019@gmail.com by March 1st, 2019.
Conference Presentations by Jacqueline F DiBiasie-Sammons
The fullers are well-known in Pompeii through the archaeological evidence of several fulleries as well as wall paintings that depict their activities. Less well-known are the graffiti that mention the fullers or were made by particular fullers. In this paper, I discuss graffiti that can be associated with the fullers and their spatial distribution within the city. One particular fuller, Crescens, inscribed 13 messages in one house alone. These messages are primarily greetings from Crescens to various individuals and groups. However, others address the fullers directly and the symbol of their corporate identity, the owl. The fullers were also active in the political sphere; fullo is joined to the name of the rogator in several programmata (CIL IV 998, 2966, 3476, 3478, 3529).
These graffiti, especially when combined with the archaeological evidence, indicate the movement of the fullers in the ancient city. They complicate our understanding of literacy in the ancient world and provide a glimpse into the lives of craftsmen in ancient Pompeii.
More specifically, through a study of the graffiti from one house in Pompeii, I demonstrate that access analysis offers a unique perspective in proving why certain rooms, because of their relationship to other rooms and the street, were natural locations for large graffiti concentrations.
Access analysis is a space syntax technique developed by Hillier and Hanson to understand and visualize how a building’s design inhibits or promotes social interaction. In this methodology, an analytical plan is created that shows the circulation through the building and the connection of spaces to one another. Grahame,
in his analysis of the House of the Faun in Pompeii, suggests that rooms that connect to the greatest number of rooms encourage social gatherings by means of their openness and are those likely to be public spaces. Recently, Anderson has used access analysis to explore the location of construction materials after the earthquake of 62 C.E. and found that they were located in spaces connected to many others and thus were more accessible. Following on these insights, I explore how graffiti concentrations correlate to the traffic patterns and architectural connectivity within the house, as well as the relationship of certain rooms to the street.
To do this, I use three computer programs, JASS, DepthMap, and ArcGIS, to identify and model areas of control (nodes) within the home. I then correlate these findings with the concentration of graffiti located within the spaces. Further, I compare the location of the graffiti with the presence availability (accessibility to the outside) of the spaces. I prove the usefulness of access analysis in understanding graffiti concentrations and highlight the benefits of each modeling program.
Graffiti are abundant in the domestic spaces of Pompeii, but there are more in some spaces than in others. This paper shows that access analysis provides one way to understand the differences in this distribution."
This paper’s main example is CIL IV.1384 which was found outside a supposed brothel (though identification is not clear) in Region VI.11.16 in Pompeii. The graffito is in the format of a programma, or political advertisement, and urges the reader to vote for Isidorus, though his qualifications for office are most unusual (ISIDORUM AED II V(os) (f)AC(iatis)/ OPTIME CUNULINCET IV . . . T . .). Most programmata ask voters to vote for the candidate as he is dignum r(ei) p(ublicae) but this graffito emphasizes his sexual abilities instead. The graffito contains several features of the programma (candidate’s name in the accusative followed by the office, abbreviations, qualification for office, located on façade) but blends it with several features of the brothel graffito (sexual services, name of prostitute). The location of this graffito adds to the humor as it faces from several other graffiti of the ‘brothel genre’ which advertise Isidorus’ services as a prostitute (CIL IV 4699, 4441).
The author of this graffito, I argue, has effectively blended the programma and brothel graffiti genres to make fun not only of Isidorus, but also poke fun at the genre of electoral programmata. The format and language of the programma invite the reader to expect the political message that usually accompanies this genre. The reader is therefore surprised when the qualifications for office are divulged, and the juxtaposition between the lowly and the lofty, thus creates humor. Further, this graffito uses the generic devices of an upper-class genre, the programma, to display a sub-elite message; as such, this graffito offers example of intergroup humor that is used as a weapon of social conflict and as a means to retain the ascendency of one group over another (Clarke 2003).
This is not an isolated example; other graffiti (CIL IV 575, CIL IV 9131, CIL IV 1177, CIL IV 10619, and CIL IV 5244) prove that examining graffiti and the genres within them call for a more nuanced approach than has been used previously. In conclusion, I show that analyzing graffiti genres allows the humor of these graffiti, often obscured by examining them out of context, to emerge. Their unique location allowed for a wide dispersal and audience for the jokes. Thus, analyzing their context allows for a deeper understanding of the purpose for the graffiti and the genre types being manipulated for humors sake.
supplements of the CIL. I argue that graffiti must be studied not just as texts, but as artifacts for which considerations of style, form, and context are essential. I examine a set of graffiti located in the House of the Triclinium (v.2.4) in Pompeii to show how line-drawings of these texts indicate
a group of writers experimenting with style. These authors also wrote their texts to heighten visibility. Line-drawings of these graffiti in context illustrate the visual impact of the graffiti on the viewer and indicate how the graffiti responded to one another stylistically and in context.
has never before been applied to Campanian graffiti or dipinti. This process, especially when coupled with archival research, allows us to visualize the letters of the inscription and, subsequently, provide a new reading of the text. The results suggest that DStretch should hereafter be the standard methodology for presenting and visualizing painted inscriptions.
This symposium investigates the role of inscribed materials in the cities, towns, and villas of Campania. Unlike the nearly bare walls of today's ruins, the written word had a vibrant presence in antiquity. From the large, stone inscriptions on buildings and monuments, to the small, nearly invisible graffiti in private homes, writing was ubiquitous. The goal of the symposium is to investigate the role of inscriptions in the Bay of Naples. How did everyday people interact with the writing on their walls, tombs, statues, and buildings? Does the presence and quantity of writing inform our understanding of ancient literacy? What is the potential and limitations of inscriptions to illuminate aspects of Roman society, or their limitations?
Recent scholarship on epigraphical material has focused on examining inscriptions in light of other types of evidence: artistic, archaeological, literary. We, therefore, invite papers that synthesize multiple strands of evidence and expand epigraphical study beyond the inscriptions themselves. Papers could, for example, contextualize evidence from inscriptions within the social, economic, or political fabric of the city. We are especially interested in papers that focus on the possible writing of the unfree, women, and the lower classes.
Another recent turn in epigraphical research has been to contextualize inscriptions within their physical environments. Graffiti, especially, responded to each other and the spaces in which they were written. The location of the Symposium Campanum provides an ideal venue for considering the contextualization of inscriptions. With this in mind, we plan to invite interested scholars to present their research on-site, in a building or area that pertains to their paper, if logistics permit.
The symposium will include three days of papers and discussion. Papers will be 30 minutes long with time for discussion. The schedule will also include visits to selected sites nearby. Meals and housing will be provided by the Villa Vergiliana. There will be a moderate fee (ca. $400) to cover registration, room, and board. Participants should plan their arrivals on Wednesday, Oct. 23 and departures on Sunday, October 27, 2019.
Interested scholars should send an abstract of no more than 300 words to symposiumcampanum2019@gmail.com by March 1st, 2019.
The fullers are well-known in Pompeii through the archaeological evidence of several fulleries as well as wall paintings that depict their activities. Less well-known are the graffiti that mention the fullers or were made by particular fullers. In this paper, I discuss graffiti that can be associated with the fullers and their spatial distribution within the city. One particular fuller, Crescens, inscribed 13 messages in one house alone. These messages are primarily greetings from Crescens to various individuals and groups. However, others address the fullers directly and the symbol of their corporate identity, the owl. The fullers were also active in the political sphere; fullo is joined to the name of the rogator in several programmata (CIL IV 998, 2966, 3476, 3478, 3529).
These graffiti, especially when combined with the archaeological evidence, indicate the movement of the fullers in the ancient city. They complicate our understanding of literacy in the ancient world and provide a glimpse into the lives of craftsmen in ancient Pompeii.
More specifically, through a study of the graffiti from one house in Pompeii, I demonstrate that access analysis offers a unique perspective in proving why certain rooms, because of their relationship to other rooms and the street, were natural locations for large graffiti concentrations.
Access analysis is a space syntax technique developed by Hillier and Hanson to understand and visualize how a building’s design inhibits or promotes social interaction. In this methodology, an analytical plan is created that shows the circulation through the building and the connection of spaces to one another. Grahame,
in his analysis of the House of the Faun in Pompeii, suggests that rooms that connect to the greatest number of rooms encourage social gatherings by means of their openness and are those likely to be public spaces. Recently, Anderson has used access analysis to explore the location of construction materials after the earthquake of 62 C.E. and found that they were located in spaces connected to many others and thus were more accessible. Following on these insights, I explore how graffiti concentrations correlate to the traffic patterns and architectural connectivity within the house, as well as the relationship of certain rooms to the street.
To do this, I use three computer programs, JASS, DepthMap, and ArcGIS, to identify and model areas of control (nodes) within the home. I then correlate these findings with the concentration of graffiti located within the spaces. Further, I compare the location of the graffiti with the presence availability (accessibility to the outside) of the spaces. I prove the usefulness of access analysis in understanding graffiti concentrations and highlight the benefits of each modeling program.
Graffiti are abundant in the domestic spaces of Pompeii, but there are more in some spaces than in others. This paper shows that access analysis provides one way to understand the differences in this distribution."
This paper’s main example is CIL IV.1384 which was found outside a supposed brothel (though identification is not clear) in Region VI.11.16 in Pompeii. The graffito is in the format of a programma, or political advertisement, and urges the reader to vote for Isidorus, though his qualifications for office are most unusual (ISIDORUM AED II V(os) (f)AC(iatis)/ OPTIME CUNULINCET IV . . . T . .). Most programmata ask voters to vote for the candidate as he is dignum r(ei) p(ublicae) but this graffito emphasizes his sexual abilities instead. The graffito contains several features of the programma (candidate’s name in the accusative followed by the office, abbreviations, qualification for office, located on façade) but blends it with several features of the brothel graffito (sexual services, name of prostitute). The location of this graffito adds to the humor as it faces from several other graffiti of the ‘brothel genre’ which advertise Isidorus’ services as a prostitute (CIL IV 4699, 4441).
The author of this graffito, I argue, has effectively blended the programma and brothel graffiti genres to make fun not only of Isidorus, but also poke fun at the genre of electoral programmata. The format and language of the programma invite the reader to expect the political message that usually accompanies this genre. The reader is therefore surprised when the qualifications for office are divulged, and the juxtaposition between the lowly and the lofty, thus creates humor. Further, this graffito uses the generic devices of an upper-class genre, the programma, to display a sub-elite message; as such, this graffito offers example of intergroup humor that is used as a weapon of social conflict and as a means to retain the ascendency of one group over another (Clarke 2003).
This is not an isolated example; other graffiti (CIL IV 575, CIL IV 9131, CIL IV 1177, CIL IV 10619, and CIL IV 5244) prove that examining graffiti and the genres within them call for a more nuanced approach than has been used previously. In conclusion, I show that analyzing graffiti genres allows the humor of these graffiti, often obscured by examining them out of context, to emerge. Their unique location allowed for a wide dispersal and audience for the jokes. Thus, analyzing their context allows for a deeper understanding of the purpose for the graffiti and the genre types being manipulated for humors sake.
leadership is about the creation of an image for followers, though this image does not in fact correspond to reality. Vivienne Grey in Xenophon’s Mirror of Princes contends the opposite. She cites multiple examples when Xenophon uses ‘seeming’ in places where irony is not possible. She shows, instead, that Xenophon commonly uses this phrase in order to emphasize
the viewpoint of those seeing the situation at the time and that this image corresponds to reality (Gray 2011; 101).
Through an analysis of περὶ Ἱππικῆς and Ἱππαρχικός I refine Vivienne Gray’s thesis on the Hellenica and Cyropaedia. I demonstrate that the frequency of verbs of seeming, like δοκέω
and φαίνω, in these two works is because leadership, according to Xenophon, is always something that has to be observed by an audience. This reflects Xenophon’s idea of leadership
as something that has to be viewed and the theatrical nature of leadership. This is natural as both works were interested in the display of the horse and spectacle was essential for the success of the cavalry. The addition of these two works shows that these verbs were not only used to demonstrate the viewpoint of the audience but to emphasize Xenophon’s notion of leadership in
general.