The final section of my paper will be a very critical view of the method of interpretation itself and how this is problematic towards the rediscovery of not only Pompeii, but all of antiquity.
2. Short Background.
Before I am able to continue with this essay, I find it necessary to provide a short background on the the reason for the uniqueness and thus, importance of ancient Pompeii, so that some understanding and context can be created. In the year 79AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted in the ancient city of Pompeii. During this time, man's knowledge and understanding of the nature around him was still in its more primate stage, where predictability of natural events was left solely in the hands of the Gods. Therefore, when the eruption took place, the dangers thereof was unknown and precautions did not seem necessary. Curiosity must have been their response to the signs of frequent earthquakes and the enormous black clouds emerging from Vesuvius. The people of ancient Pompeii therefore carried on with their everyday life and it is in this precious moment, on the 24 of August, that Mount Vesuvius claimed the lives of not only thousands of people, but the life of an entire ancient civilization (Cooley 2003:37).
However, the irony is that this sudden mass extermination of Pompeii, and the nature in which it happened, preserved the city in a time-capsule-like state, allowing the modern world a glimpse in the everyday life of an ancient Roman city. Vesuvius has thus both destroyed and immortalised Pompeii, as it is one of the most studied and excavated ancient civilizations, with excavations dating back to more than two hundred years. The ash and rock covered Pompeii, after being discovered, presented the opportunity for the uncovering, excavating and studying of various types of materials which lay hidden and perfectly preserved underneath the rubble. It is this natural preservation of the lost city and its contents which make it unique (Cooley 2003: 48).