Pompeii, graffiti inscriptions found, evidence of the people who passed through those places

During ongoing archaeological investigations in Regio IX, Insula 10 of Pompeii Archaeological Park, numerous graffiti were found in the Black Hall and some nearby rooms. An in-depth article on these findings was published in the E-Journal of Pompeii Excavations.

These are graffiti inscriptions, autograph signatures left by people who passed through those places and thus evidence of their passage. Alongside the representations of Helen and Paris appear painted names in Greek, including the “scratched” one of a certain Pudens, the calligraphic one of a Vesbinus, and the rudely traced one of a Valerius, while a greeting seemed to be addressed to a certain Silvanus. In addition, there are traces of a/an Modest- (Modestus? Modesta?).

There is also a greeting, for someone had wished, perhaps to the masters of the house, happiness and well-being hic et ubique, “here and everywhere”-a formulaic expression known almost exclusively from the Pompeian walls. EvenShakespeare’s Hamlet begins with “hic et ubique” when addressing the ghost of his omnipresent father. This interpretation is the result of studies by Maria Chiara Scappaticcio, professor of Latin Language and Literature at the Federico II University of Naples, and Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.

Pompeii, graffiti inscriptions found, evidence of the people who passed through those places

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