2010 Field Season approaching

Things just have a way of sneaking up on you when you aren't looking. The field season for Pompeii Food and Drink starts in exactly 9 weeks. Time seems to have flown past this year so far and I am sure I will be in Italy before I know it.

This year I aim to post some useful information and a number of activities and thought provoking discussion questions. I am hoping I can get some video shot whilst on site and while working to give you an idea of what life is like on a day to day basis in the field...as long as I can get tech working over in Pompeii....anybody know where I can hire a cheap satellite vid phone?

With volcano's erupting in Europe I hope its not some sort of chain reaction. Our OHS meeting prior to commencing work will no doubt remind us of the realistic futility of evacuating all 2 million plus people from the Vesuvius neighbourhood, so if it goes up its off to the pub to wait it out.

I'll post some more detail to this years work as soon as I can although I know we will be working in the House of Julia Felix and the Garden of the Fugitives so these will provide excellent case studies.

My students start work on Cleopatra this term, with Pompeii and Sparta now behind us.

I hope you follow my work in Pompeii this season.

More on Superintendent Position

Again thanks to Sarah Court and Blogging Pompeii for this story. More information on the Superintendecy in Pompeii. Students who look at the role of international organisations and private companies in the management, conservation and restoration of the Vesuvian sites should be interested in some of the information in Sarah's post.


Minister of Culture, Sandro Bondi, has confirmed the interim superintendent of Pompeii with be Proietti until a permanent head of the superintendency can be found.

He also mentioned plans to change the management of the Pompeii superintendency to a foundation following the model used by the Egyptian Museum in Turin which brings together public and private partners. Rumours of this have been going round for a long time, but it was thought that it was off the cards following the Protezione Civile scandal, as the Special Emergency Commissioner (who is from the Protezione Civile) was to be a key player in the foundation. Watch this space for further developments...

Pompeii Superintendent Retires

Thanks to Sarah Court at the HCP and Blogging Pompeii here is some news for students about the new changes in Superintendent in Pompeii. With new Superintendents sometimes come new ideas for management of the site......

The Archaeological Superintendent for Naples and Pompeii, Mariarosaria Salvatore retired at the beginning of the week. No new superintendent has been nominated, and it may be necessary for the Ministry of Culture to organise a public competition to choose one. In the meantime it is being suggested that Giuseppe Proietti (current Superintendent of Rome) will temporarily fill the gap until the end of the month.

More news/speculation in this Italian-language article published in Il Mattino: "Il sovrintendente «Lascio realtà molto difficili». Per la successione a Mariarosaria Salvatore si fa il nome di Proietti"

NOTE: It has been announced that Proietti will hold the temporary position for the next 6 months.