A Unique Urban Social Space in Pompeii: Insula VII 4

Despite crucial advancements in our understanding of the early history of Pompeii during the last decades, studies into the long term transformation of the town remain an immense challenge. Given its position within the urban structure, Insula VII 4 offers an interesting potential to investigate how two key regions for our understanding of Pompeiis urban evolution, Regio VI and the so-called Altstadt, were connected or separated throughout the centuries. Previous research and our preliminary investigations point to the unique role of this town area as an urban hinge and a transitional space between the public centre of Pompeii and the surrounding territory. The development of this area differs from the surrounding town zones: during the earliest period it appears to form a broad strip of land around the Altstadt that was left unbuilt. The peculiarities of the area make us assume that its character of use was closely linked to the significance of the immediately adjacent zones: the public centre on the one hand, perhaps indeed the oldest settlement core; and on the other, a road junction at the southern end of Via di Mercurio, undoubtedly the most important road junction in the western part of Pompeiis urban structure. Especially for the early phases of Pompeii between the 6 th and the 3rd centuries BC, thus, the area has high potential to discuss the urban, pre-urban or non-urban character of the settlement, a matter that is still of intense academic dispute. In the course of our project we aim to better understand the early topography and land-use in the zone and its impact on the urban development. In this way we hope to shed light on some much-discussed problems of Pompeii`s early history: the potential existence of an enclosure and of an undeveloped strip of land around the Altstadt in the Archaic period and the existence of possible early traffic routes in this area. For the last three centuries of Pompeii between the late 3rd century BC and 79 AD, on the other hand, the rich archaeological evidence already available spurs our conviction that the insula can also serve as a very good case study to investigate into the interrelated mechanisms of spatial and social formation processes. In these centuries, Insula VII 4 was occupied by entirely different types of domestic and commercial space, among which important domus of the urban élite such as the Casa di Arianna. For various periods, there is rich evidence for intense economic activities, mostly related to perfume production and the textile industry. By integrating architectural and urbanistic research with a multi-faceted archaeological approach we aim to discuss the social and economic dynamics behind the urban development. This approach will include multidisciplinary artefact studies, various bio- archaeological studies, as well as studies of other articulations of social status and identity such as wall decorations and pavements.