Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Pompeii is a wonderful place to visit and study. My own work there has been helped at every stage by the staff of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei (under Pietro Giovanni Guzzo), who go out of their way to assist visiting scholars; and, in particular, I have learnt a great deal about Pompeii, both ancient and modern, from Mattia Buondonno. Maria Pia Malvezzi and Andrew Wallace-Hadrill of the British School at Rome have also done an enormous amount to make possible the research that lies behind this book. Visits to Pompeii were made more enjoyable by Zoe and Raphael Cormack – and, of course, by Robin Cormack, whose eagle-eyes and Pompeian expertise helped me to see even more on the site than I ever expected. Some of the sharpest observations in the book I owe to him.

Many friends at home and abroad have helped my work in all kinds of ways. I am especially grateful to Rebecca Benefiel, John Clarke, Louise Guron, Edith Hall, Henry Hurst (and the students of his Pompeii class in 2008), Bradley Letwin, Michael Larvey, Roger Ling, Martin Millett, Clare Pettitt, Mark Robinson and Nicholas Wood (for his marvellous reconstructions of the House of the Tragic Poet). Discussions with Andrew Wallace-Hadrill have provided some of the most memorable, funny, and instructive moments in getting to know Pompeii.

Part of the book was written while I was Visiting Scholar at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles, where I was able to draw on the expertise of Ken Lapatin and Claire Lyons, and the able assistance of Kristina Meinking. As always the staff and colleagues in the Faculty of Classics and the Classical Faculty Library (under Lyn Bailey) have helped in more ways than they know; so too has the team at Profile Books – Claire Beaumont, Peter Carson, Penny Daniel, Andrew Franklin, Kate Griffin, Ruth Killick.

Chapter 9 would have much less to say if it were not for the conversations about Roman religion (and much else) that I have enjoyed with Simon Price over the last thirty years, since we first met in Cambridge in 1978. This book is for Simon.