Ancient Inequalities

Dr Rick Jones, Reader in Roman Archaeology at the University's Department of Archaeological Sciences, is leading an Anglo-American Project in Pompeii.

The project is committed to unravelling the changing fortunes of the people who lived in Pompeii over the five centuries that led up to its destruction by Mount Vesuvius in AD79.

They are involved in a ten-year project to study a complete block of Pompeii using the latest archaeological techniques. The project's analyses of tiny traces of bones and seeds have shown that these people enjoyed a diet of expensive fish and oriental spices.

The luxuries they were eating matched their houses' decoration of marble and painted walls.

Rick said: "The rich got richer and the poor got poorer in ancient Pompeii. We can show how the rich and powerful extended their homes to take over what had been three or four small houses. The big houses were made ever more luxurious - with elaborate gardens and water fountains, while the poor were squeezed into living in small shops and workshops. The Romans are famous for their aqueducts and running water - here the water was used for fountains and swimming pools for the rich to show off their wealth."

The international team is working in a part of Pompeii that was first cleared of volcanic debris more than two hundred years ago. Much has been lost, but this new research shows how much information modern archaeology can still find out.

The block also reveals the whole history of how Pompeii has been studied and treated in modern times, from early attempts at conservation to destruction by Allied bombing in the Second World War.



Today more than two million people a year visit Pompeii to experience the feeling of a place frozen in time.

The Bradford team is working with the Italian authorities, the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei, on the best ways to present the story of the city to future generations.


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