Excavating experience: methodological shifts in the study of Pompeii’s urban fabric

Journal article : Review

Since 2018, Pompeii has witnessed a resurgence of archaeological activity, supported by substantial investment and renewed institutional direction, constituting the most extensive programme of excavation since the mid-twentieth century. These campaigns, in the one-third of the city still unexcavated, have brought to light properties that expand our understanding of Pompeii's urban development and social fabric, most especially in Regio V.Under the directorship of Gabriel Zuchtriegel (appointed February 2021) these initiatives have been expanded further, most notably in Regio IX, Insula 10, with the introduction of large-scale excavation areas accessible to the public via purpose-built viewing platforms and accompanied by the deployment of advanced digital-recording technologies. This phase of revitalisation follows the Grande Progetto Pompei, which was an ambitious conservation scheme launched in 2012 in response to decades of structural neglect and the ongoing degradation of the site. Whereas the Grande Progetto was principally concerned with stabilisation, the more recent interventions have been distinguished by an explicit commitment to documenting the material culture of everyday life, particularly the belongings of non-elite and enslaved inhabitants. These groups were marginalised in earlier excavations, where artefacts of quotidian use were frequently discarded or recorded in a less-than-thorough fashion. This new emphasis on everyday material culture intersects with broader intellectual trends within Roman studies, most notably the succession of so-called Spatial, Movement, and Sensory 'turns', which from the 1990s onwards have reframed the study of ancient urbanism and domesticity. Studies informed by the 'Spatial Turn', in particular, have reassessed processes of urbanisation and their social impact, emphasising space.

Authors: Venner, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Journal: Antiquity
• Volume: 100
• Issue: 409
• Pages: 236-242
• Publication date: 2026-02-11
• DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2025.10228
• EISSN: 1745-1744
• ISSN: 0003598X, 0003-598X
• Language: English
• Keywords: Urban planning
• Subtype: Review