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Tempus Fugit

michaeljarvis2015

  We have been pulling long days in pairs and teams shifting between photogrammetry, laser scanning, and Infrared thermal imaging in the 95 or so rooms that make up the sprawling complex of Villa A. In our off hours we have immersed ourselves in studying other comparable Roman sites at Oplontis Villa B (actually a large wine distribution center and waterfront complex) and Pompeii, which was simply overwhelming : colonial Jamestown, St. George’s, Charleston, Philadelphia, etc. couldn’t hold a candle to this densely urban city of 25,000, wiped out nearly overnight in AD 79 when Vesuvius erupted. We have been … Continue reading Tempus Fugit

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Reading Blank Walls?

michaeljarvis2015

Structural wall surfaces, like soil stratigraph, accumulate over time and form a record of the visual appearance of a room’s interior across time. Layers of paint and plaster reflect the cultural and aesthetic choices of a succession of residents. Although less common, the application of paintings, murals, frescoes, drawings and graffiti on walls created  significant visual and historical evidence documenting past cultures, but all too often these texts were plastered or painted over by later inhabitants, and thus visually lost, buried within the walls. In other cases, natural forces have eroded exposed etched graffiti and paintings on visible wall surfaces, … Continue reading Reading Blank Walls?