This study is an urban analysis of Roman Pompeii. It explores the spatial structure of the town just before the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 72, and how public space was used for movement, activity and interaction between people. For this, Space Syntax was used, a topological method developed in the 1980s to analyse and plan modern urban contexts, based on the configuration of spatial systems in the axial and in the convex dimension, representing movement and “place” respectively. This method was used to establish an axial map of Pompeii, and to analyse the spatial configuration of three specific movement axes. The axial map strengthens one of the hypotheses discussed in current research about Pompeii, namely that of an older town nucleus in the west part of Pompeii. One part of the thesis is a hypothetical reconstruction of a town-wide traffic system for wheel-borne traffic. The routes were reconstructed to fit the archaeological evidence and meet certain other criteria, and were then independently checked against the axial analysis. As a conclusion, a regulated traffic system could be seen to have existed. A good case was made for how it could have worked. Another part of the thesis deals with the relation between public and interior space. The different types of interior spatial units lining the three chosen movement axes were investigated. The aim was to see how differences in both density of doorways and type of interface gave rise to different urban environments.  It was found that commerce and a concomitant dense interface with many street doors largely followed the dimension of movement. The segmentation of public space along the movement axes was explored in order to gain an insight into which segments of space held specific functions, and how how these functions related to dense and less dense interfaces between public and interior space. This segmentation emphasizes official buildings and monuments, which are allowed to disrupt what is otherwise the norm for the permeable interface between exterior and interior space. As a result, the picture of a town with two different types of interaction between people emerges. On the one hand, both fleeting and more intense interaction was facilitated in those spaces where official buildings and monuments were prominent, and where group identity was stressed. On the other hand, the more unregulated interaction largely took place “along the road” between these spaces.

The Roman town of Herculaneum, due to its burial by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79, provides the rare opportunity to study the diet of middle and lower class Romans living in an urban context in mid-1^st century AD Italy. Knowledge concerning Roman diet, prior to the growth of bioarchaeology in the 1960s and 1970s, was derived from the ancient texts and focused primarily on the elite diet. The diets of the poorer classes have often been considered monotonous and unhealthy and consequently, malnutrition is believed to have been widespread in urban centres. Collaboration between the numerous sub-disciplines of bioarchaeology, including archaeobotany and zooarchaeology, has begun to take place amongst scholars working on the Vesuvian sites and diet is currently being studied using a more holistic approach. The ancient sources act as a secondary resource and it is now the physical food remains that play a crucial role in examining Roman diet and associated topics such as trade, health and nutrition. This thesis investigated the bioarchaeological remains from the Cardo V sewer that ran beneath the shop/apartment complex of Insula Orientalis II in Herculaneum. It is the first large scale study to combine both new and existing bioarchaeological material from Herculaneum in an effort to provide the site with its own bioarchaeological data set, particularly with regards to food and diet. In total, 220L of soil was examined for carbonized and mineralized seeds, seashells, eggshells and fish bones. 194 taxa were identified, included including 94 botanical, 45 fish, 53 shellfish and two bird taxa. 114 of the 194 taxa can be considered edible foodstuffs. The statements of the ancient authors concerning dietary diversity have been examined in light of these findings and found to be comparable. The material displayed little taphonomic bias when compared to Pompeian bioarchaeological assemblages. The excellent preservation of the material, combined with data from modern food sciences, has allowed for much needed interpretation to take place in the areas of health and nutrition. The variety of cereals, fruits and seafood indicate close connections with the nearby land and sea and consequently, the economic implications of such extensive resource exploitation have been considered. A nutritional analysis of the finds have shown that diets were nutrient dense and healthy, enabling the people of Herculaneum to achieve modern day stature as well as survive and recover from illness. Thus it can no longer be assumed that those of moderate means ate an unhealthy and monotonous diet, that malnutrition was widespread in urban centres, and finally, that descriptions of foodstuffs in the ancient sources apply only to the wealthy.

Erotic tokens or the so-called spintriae leave little to the imagination. These coin-like tokens depict acts of love making couples with Roman numerals on the reverse. The tokens are believed to have been in use during the 1st century A.D. and is often attributed to the reign of Tiberius. The material examined in the thesis are the four spintriae from Uppsala University Coin Cabinet. Due to the specific characteristics, scholars have been questioning the function of the erotic tokens. The most accredited hypothesis is that erotic tokens was used as payment in brothels. The purpose of this thesis is to discern whether the erotic tokens had a monetary value in Pompeii. The study also aims to examine if the tokens were used as payment in brothels instead of contemporary currencies and as to why the reason for this could be. To be able to discern a purpose, function and value of erotic tokens, three analyses on the basis of graffiti, iconography and ancient literature are made.

This study looks at graffiti in Pompeii that seems to indicate male prostitution, to find out whether this activity occurred in antiquity and whether it was meant for both men and women. The hypothesis, which formed the basis of this study, was that male prostitution was just as common as female prostitution in the city of Pompeii. The information that has been relevant to this study is the one which helps us understand the Roman sexuality and sexual morality, Roman sense of humour and their opinions on prostitutes. To get an answer, both primary and secondary sources that deal with these various subjects have been studied and analysed. The information provided and the discussion of them have been divided thematically, where the first part deals with graffiti that indicates prostitution. The graffiti that mentions male prostitution is compared with the graffiti announcing female prostitution as a means to analyse it. Ancient texts that talk about submissive men are also discussed and analysed. Information about infamia and what effect it has on prostitutes in society follows in the next section, a discussion and analysis about the graffiti that appear to be insults is also to be found. Finally, we have informative texts about the Roman sense of humour, examples of this humour both in ancient texts and graffiti are discussed and analysed. All discussion and analysis have then come to confirm my hypothesis. Male prostitution was just as common during antiquity as female prostitution in the city of Pompeii, it was also meant for both women and men. Graffiti that suggests male and female prostitution does not differ significantly; ancient texts also mention women who take part in these sexual services. Graffiti that mentions male names together with a sexual service and a price are the ones we can state verifies male prostitution. Similar graffiti that excludes a prize is most likely an insult or a joke between two Romans. Further studies are required to be able to discuss and analyse the names that arise in the graffiti mentioning male prostitution.

Le tablinum est une salle que l’on trouve dans presque toutes les demeures du monde romain : il s’agit de la pièce principale de l’atrium, entièrement ouverte sur celui-ci et située au terme de son axe longitudinal, en face de l’entrée. Son étymologie dérive du terme latin tabula, signifiant tablette, registre de comptes. On a donc déduit qu’il s’agissait d’un espace servant à conserver les documents administratifs et juridiques de la famille, inscrits sur ces tablettes et réunis sous forme d’archives. Les sources latines confirment, par ailleurs, cette hypothèse. Le tablinum serait alors un réceptacle de la mémoire officielle de la familia. Il existe toujours, néanmoins, plusieurs interprétations contradictoires sur la nature du tablinum, sa définition, son apparition dans la maison romaine ainsi que sur son évolution architecturale et stylistique. À travers les témoignages du genre les mieux conservés du monde romain : ceux de la cité campanienne de Pompéi, nous tentons dans la présente étude de retracer l’histoire du tablinum romain, son origine étrusque, ses différentes formules et articulations, d’exposer toute la gamme de décors qui ornaient ses murs et de revenir sur les différentes fonctions qu’il put occuper au cours des siècles. / The tablinum is a room found in almost all homes in the Roman world: it is the main room of the atrium, fully open on it and located at the end of its longitudinal axis, in front of the entrance. Its etymology derives from the Latin word tabula, meaning tablet, account register. It was therefore deduced that this was a space used to store the family’s administrative and legal documents, inscribed on these tablets and collected in the form of archives. Moreover, Latin sources confirm this hypothesis. The tablinum would then be a receptacle of the official memory of the familia. There are still, however, several contradictory interpretations about the nature of the tablinum, its definition, its appearance in Roman houses as well as its architectural and stylistic evolution. In this study, through the best-preserved testimonies of the Roman world – those found in the Campanian city of Pompei –we attempt to retrace the history of the Roman tablinum, its Etruscan origin, its different forms and articulations, to expose all the range of decorations that adorned his walls and to rediscover the different functions that it could occupy over the centuries.

Este trabalho investiga os afrescos da cidade de Pompeia, especificamente aqueles que representam a leitura e/ou a escrita e corpos leitores e/ou escritores. Foi realizado um estudo sobre a escrita e a leitura no mundo antigo, especialmente na Grécia e em Roma, e então a análise de dezoito afrescos com imagens relacionadas às atividades de escrita e leitura, objetivando o alargamento das discussões concernentes à história da escrita e da leitura no mundo antigo, bem como a um uso qualitativo das imagens como fontes históricas. À luz de teorias da história e da história da arte, constatou-se que, além de uma utilização puramente funcional, a escrita e a leitura exerceram sobre os pompeianos um poder de enobrecimento de suas figuras, além de possibilitarem o atingimento do sublime, através da literatura, e do sagrado, através dos textos e oráculos divinos. / This research investigates the frescoes in the city of Pompeii, specifically those portraying reading and/or writing and reading and/or writing bodies. A study was done on the reading and writing in the ancient world, especially in Greece and Rome, and then an analysis was done on eighteen frescoes portraying images related to the activities of reading and writing, aiming to heighten discussions concerning the history of reading and writing in the ancient world, as well as qualitative use of images as historical sources. Under historical and art history theories, we have observed that, beyond a purely functional use, writing and reading brought upon the people of Pompeii an ennoblement of their figures, and enabled them to achieve sublimity, through literature, and sacredness, through divine texts and oracles.

When ancient people entered a temple or other sacred space, how did the art and architecture of the site work upon their senses as mediators of divine presence? This thesis demonstrates that the ancient perception of the deity's actual presence in visual images created a tension that was intensified by the spatial environment and the theatricality of ritual performance. Visual representations acted in concert with cultic ritual to manipulate the visitor through a revelatory experience and create the phenomenon of epiphany. Epiphany, from the Greek word epiphaneia, is the visible manifestation of the deity. Epiphany in the ancient world could manifest as miracles, signs and natural phenomena; however, my thesis will focus primarily on visual epiphany of deity. My aim is to describe how the elements of the built environment and performative ritual combined to create not only the expectation but the actualization of an epiphanic experience for the beholder. The phenomenon of visual epiphany has been largely overlooked until relatively recently. Scholarly examination of temples and other ritual spaces has focused more on archaeological description, formal analysis, mythic narrative, and social and political structures. There has been very little exploration of the actual ritual and neuro-phenomenological experience of religious participants as it relates to the visual environment. With this work my aim is to contribute to the scholarly knowledge of the ancient viewer's experience of epiphany as it was shaped by sacred space and mediated by religious ritual in the ancient world. / text

Este trabalho investiga os afrescos da cidade de Pompeia, especificamente aqueles que representam a leitura e/ou a escrita e corpos leitores e/ou escritores. Foi realizado um estudo sobre a escrita e a leitura no mundo antigo, especialmente na Grécia e em Roma, e então a análise de dezoito afrescos com imagens relacionadas às atividades de escrita e leitura, objetivando o alargamento das discussões concernentes à história da escrita e da leitura no mundo antigo, bem como a um uso qualitativo das imagens como fontes históricas. À luz de teorias da história e da história da arte, constatou-se que, além de uma utilização puramente funcional, a escrita e a leitura exerceram sobre os pompeianos um poder de enobrecimento de suas figuras, além de possibilitarem o atingimento do sublime, através da literatura, e do sagrado, através dos textos e oráculos divinos. / This research investigates the frescoes in the city of Pompeii, specifically those portraying reading and/or writing and reading and/or writing bodies. A study was done on the reading and writing in the ancient world, especially in Greece and Rome, and then an analysis was done on eighteen frescoes portraying images related to the activities of reading and writing, aiming to heighten discussions concerning the history of reading and writing in the ancient world, as well as qualitative use of images as historical sources. Under historical and art history theories, we have observed that, beyond a purely functional use, writing and reading brought upon the people of Pompeii an ennoblement of their figures, and enabled them to achieve sublimity, through literature, and sacredness, through divine texts and oracles.

Este trabalho investiga os afrescos da cidade de Pompeia, especificamente aqueles que representam a leitura e/ou a escrita e corpos leitores e/ou escritores. Foi realizado um estudo sobre a escrita e a leitura no mundo antigo, especialmente na Grécia e em Roma, e então a análise de dezoito afrescos com imagens relacionadas às atividades de escrita e leitura, objetivando o alargamento das discussões concernentes à história da escrita e da leitura no mundo antigo, bem como a um uso qualitativo das imagens como fontes históricas. À luz de teorias da história e da história da arte, constatou-se que, além de uma utilização puramente funcional, a escrita e a leitura exerceram sobre os pompeianos um poder de enobrecimento de suas figuras, além de possibilitarem o atingimento do sublime, através da literatura, e do sagrado, através dos textos e oráculos divinos. / This research investigates the frescoes in the city of Pompeii, specifically those portraying reading and/or writing and reading and/or writing bodies. A study was done on the reading and writing in the ancient world, especially in Greece and Rome, and then an analysis was done on eighteen frescoes portraying images related to the activities of reading and writing, aiming to heighten discussions concerning the history of reading and writing in the ancient world, as well as qualitative use of images as historical sources. Under historical and art history theories, we have observed that, beyond a purely functional use, writing and reading brought upon the people of Pompeii an ennoblement of their figures, and enabled them to achieve sublimity, through literature, and sacredness, through divine texts and oracles.

Les espaces de la Cité antique sont définis par la traditionnelle dichotomie opposant intérieur et extérieur, ville et campagne. Le travail présenté ici s’intéresse à l’ensemble formé par la ville et ses espaces périurbains en Méditerranée occidentale, dans le but de réviser notre vision du fait urbain antique. L’évolution récente de la recherche et le développement des études périurbaines tendent à considérer les marges urbaines comme un tissu conjonctif entre la cité et son territoire rural. Par la diversité des exemples présentés et les fenêtres d’étude de Cumes et de Pompéi, nous tentons d’identifier les processus de croissance ou de régression de ces espaces, leurs éléments constitutifs et leurs relations avec la cité ainsi que leurs aspects spatiaux, religieux, économiques et sociaux. Sans remettre en question le rôle central de la ville, nous soulignons les imbrications et les complémentarités existant entre ces divers composants des agglomérations antiques. La démarche historiographique, diachronique et comparatiste, complétée par deux études inédites de terrain à Cumes et à Pompéi, vise à définir les limites urbaines, les fonctions périurbaines, les zones de contrôle, d’influence et d’exclusion et les interdépendances dans une dynamique montrant les pulsations à l’œuvre dans l’ensemble composé par la ville antique et ses périphéries sur la longue durée. / The areas of the ancient City are defined by the traditional dichotomy opposing inside and outside, city and countryside. This work studies the couple formed by the city and its periurban spaces in the western Mediterranean, in order to revise our vision of the ancient urban fact. The recent evolution of research on this topic and the development of peri-urban studies tend to consider urban margins as a connective tissue between the city and its rural territory. Through the diversity of the examples analyzed and through the case studies of Cumae and Pompeii, we try to identify the processes of growth and/or regression of these areas, their constituent elements and their relationships with the city as well as their spatial religious, economic and social aspects. Without challenging the central role of the city, we emphasize the interlinkages and complementarities between the main components of the ancient agglomerations: centre, periphery and countryside. The historiographic, diachronic and comparative approach, completed by two unpublished archaeological excavations at Cumae and Pompeii, aims to define urban boundaries, periurban functions, zones of control, influence and exclusion as well as interdependencies in a dynamics showing the historical pulsations of the couple formed by the ancient city and its peripheries over the longue durée.