Plaster Casts
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As mentioned briefly on the excavation page, the volcanic debris that came from Mount Vesuvius entombed many objects when it hardened into rock. Some organic matter, such as food decomposed over time and left a hollow. Bodies of people and animals that were suffocated by the ash and toxic gases were also entombed. Over time these bodies would have also decomposed leaving a skeleton and little else. In 1777, the skeletal remains of a woman were found at the Villa Diomede. As well as her skeleton, it was discovered that the outline of her body had imprinted on the hardened rock surrounding her. For years afterwards, many similar discoveries were made but there was no way to preserve this. In 1864, the director of excavations Giuseppe Fiorelli discovered a way of preserving these moulds. This involved pouring plaster into these pockets of air instead of digging them out. After a few days, they would dig out the plaster cast.
The process of creating these casts is extremely difficult. The plaster must be of the right consistency, too thick and it could damage the brittle skeletons and it won't pick up the finer details of the mould such as clothing, hair and facial expressions. Too thin and it won't set and could also cause the skeleton to lose it's shape. Around 1150 bodies have been discovered at Pompeii but approximately 100 have been immortalised through the plaster casts, as well as animals that were kept by Pompeiians. One of the most famous being the extremely detailed cast of a tethered dog, which shows it's collar and teeth.
The preservation of these moulds, and further the plaster casts themselves, tell us a lot more about the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Within these moulds, jewellery and some clothing was preserved. Often arm bands were inscribed with their names and allowed experts to identify these people. The moulds also picked up finer details like facial expressions, showing how they were when they died quite emotively. This makes the whole seem more real which can be difficult to believe when it happened so long ago. It shows us not only the effect of the landscape and architecture and buildings, but also the people.
At Herculaneum, excavations found over 300 bodies at the beach. This supports the idea that there was some form of evacuation. It is likely these people were waiting to be picked up by boats when they were hit by a surge. This would have carbonised all of their bodies and clothing but it left their skeletons and non-organic personal possessions. These possessions show what they grabbed in the panic and what they believed to be important and valuable.
The process of creating these casts is extremely difficult. The plaster must be of the right consistency, too thick and it could damage the brittle skeletons and it won't pick up the finer details of the mould such as clothing, hair and facial expressions. Too thin and it won't set and could also cause the skeleton to lose it's shape. Around 1150 bodies have been discovered at Pompeii but approximately 100 have been immortalised through the plaster casts, as well as animals that were kept by Pompeiians. One of the most famous being the extremely detailed cast of a tethered dog, which shows it's collar and teeth.
The preservation of these moulds, and further the plaster casts themselves, tell us a lot more about the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Within these moulds, jewellery and some clothing was preserved. Often arm bands were inscribed with their names and allowed experts to identify these people. The moulds also picked up finer details like facial expressions, showing how they were when they died quite emotively. This makes the whole seem more real which can be difficult to believe when it happened so long ago. It shows us not only the effect of the landscape and architecture and buildings, but also the people.
At Herculaneum, excavations found over 300 bodies at the beach. This supports the idea that there was some form of evacuation. It is likely these people were waiting to be picked up by boats when they were hit by a surge. This would have carbonised all of their bodies and clothing but it left their skeletons and non-organic personal possessions. These possessions show what they grabbed in the panic and what they believed to be important and valuable.