Salvius wrote this.’ Showing how some artists clearly weren’t afraid to declare their true feelings or claim ownership for their insults to others. Pompeii citizens have taken out their frustrations with neighbours through graffiti, with statements such as ‘Sanius to Cornelius: Go hang yourself,’ and at the House of the Citharist, a drawing of a man with a very large nose, with writing below stating ‘Amplicatus, I know that Icarus is buggering you. Stating their feelings, thoughts, and passions in a short and sweet statement. The fascinating part of graffiti is that it depicts the voices of the Pompeii’s people directly. The oldest known graffiti also happens to be amongst the simplest tag ‘Gaius Pumidius Diphilus was here.’ This is almost humorous in the way that it conjures the image of school children writing on tables or carving their initials into tree trunks. It can be used to commemorate a certain location, document an emotionally important time, or simply mark one’s their territory. The reason for writing a name can be for the individual desire of wanting to leave a trace of yourself on something, or perhaps because an individual feels a personal connection to a place.
A large majority of Pompeii’s graffiti sections have at least one inscription of a name. Here are just some categories of Graffiti found nowadays within the city.Ĭontrary to popular belief tagging is not just a modern phenomenon related to social media but a trend that has been found throughout history, which involves leaving your own name on public walls. All sorts of graffiti has been found in virtually every space of the ancient city, including houses, public buildings, temples and tombs. Humankind cannot seem to help but make their mark, with even the most simple, yet typical, bits of graffiti like ‘(insert name) was here’, being found on the 2000-year-old walls. With over 11,000 graffiti samples found in Pompeii’s excavations, it’s clear that this art form is one of the people.
It’s ongoing existence however is amazing considering it’s consistency over time. Labelled as vandalism by the justice system, graffiti continues to be a controversial topic despite its growing popularity, as seen by the success of Banky, an anonymous street artist. In order to make a public statement with their work, or show defiance, most graffiti is done in urban areas, which has led it to become visualised an an ‘urban problem’. The main tools used today are spray paint, stencils and marker pens to create bold and noticeable artistic pieces on the blandest of public walls or buildings.
Our contemporary view of graffiti is forever changing, but much of it is looked upon with disapproval and controversy, with most graffiti artists choosing to do their art away from the public eye, in secret. One of the most noteworthy practices is graffiti, which can be found scattered throughout the ancient city. While uncovering Pompeii’s secrets, historians have discovered that although their customs and traditions are very different from our own, there are also similarities to our modern age practices. Trapped in a natural time capsule, the city’s artefacts remained intact for modern day people to see. The city re-emerged from the darkness, with crumbling buildings, historic artefacts, and even human remains uncovered from the earth. The city was hidden for decades, fading from memory until its rediscovery. The historic city of Pompeii was a prosperous place before its tragic demise. What was the Graffiti of Pompeii? You’ve heard of the ancient city and its ruins, but have you heard about the array of graffiti that covers its walls?
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