The International Association 'Friends of Pompeii' ETS hosts the conference on the subsoil of Pompeii by Daniele De Simone and Graziano Ferrari of the Cocceius Association.
The underground hydraulic system of theancient Pompeii will be the focus of the conference “The underground hydraulic system of the Civil Forum”, which will be held on February 23 at 17 pm in the Auditorium of the Pompeii Archaeological Park.
The event, organized by the International Association 'Friends of Pompeii' ETS, will present the results of the research conducted by the speleologists of the Cocceius Association, with speakers such as the speleologist Graziano Ferrari, president of the Cocceius Association, and the archaeo-speleologist Daniele De Simone. In the period 2018-2020, the Cocceius Association explored and studied the subsoil located under the Civil Forum, via Marina and the so-called Imperial Villa of the ancient city.
This area hosts a complex underground hydraulic system used for the collection, storage and drainage of water in ancient times. After more than a century since the last exploration in the early twentieth century, the system has been examined through speleological techniques that have provided new data on the management of water in the subsoil of the city.
The investigations have provided information on the evolution of the site between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD and on the structural characteristics of the conduits, as well as on the possible causes of degradation and collapse of the structure that continues to perform its function of drainage of the Civil Forum. These data, significant for understanding the construction choices of the ancient designers, represent an essential basis of knowledge for future conservation and protection actions that the Archaeological Park of Pompeii may undertake.
“The ducts which are the object of the research – says Graziano Ferrari – they had been explored only in the year 1900 by the workers assigned to the excavations for the functional restoration of the system, for which reason a survey had never been drawn up. The excavations for the restoration were not completed while recent explorations have thus revealed the existence of a stretch of about 15 m in length in which the original filling rich in earthenware material is still present. This is a so-called 'intact record', – continues Graziano Ferrari – which would therefore merit a delicate archaeological excavation operation in a confined hypogeal environment. This information provides useful data for understanding the urban planning of the domus above and the evolution over time of water management in the sector of Pompeii between the Civil Forum and Porta Marina.”.
Article published on 20 February 2024 - 17:14
