T9 Pompeii. Tower IX.
According to Van der Graaff –
“Today, the twelve towers built into the Pompeian circuit are in ruins, their tall structures toppled during the earthquake of the 60s CE and the eruption of Vesuvius…………………..
Each tower consisted of three floors supported by barrel vaults and interconnected by means of rear internal stairways. A door in the back provided access to the city side, and one on either flank opened on the wall-walk. A small postern in the ground floor usually opened onto the exterior side of the defences.”
See Van der Graaff, I. (2018). The Fortifications of Pompeii and Ancient Italy. Routledge, (p.71/2). (See p.71-81 – The Towers).
According to Van der Graaff –
“Between 1993 and 2002, the Japanese Institute of Paleological Studies conducted a study to establish the existence of the so-called Porta Capua on the north-east side of Pompeii. (Note 80). The excavations of the 1800’s had detected a structure that was possibly a gate, but its nature and even existence were unclear. The importance of assessing the presence of the gate correlated to the orthogonal layout of the city and its urban development. Giuseppe Fiorelli, a firm believer in the existence of a Porta Capua, defined it as a counterpart to the Porta Nocera and projected a street on the axis between the two gates. Although we now know that this street did not exist, the theory had led Fiorelli to divide the city into the administrative regions, or regiones, according to the gates and street still used today. (Note 81). Rather than a gate, the team recovered the remains of Tower IX and traces of a defensive ditch that once extended in front of the building. Deep excavations revealed traces of the Pappamonte and Orthostat walls, whereas the recovered materials confirmed an early third century BCE date for the Samnite fortification.”
See Van der Graaff, I. (2018). The Fortifications of Pompeii and Ancient Italy. Routledge, (p.19-20, and Notes 80 and 81) (See p.71-81 – The Towers).
The foundations of Tower IX built in the late second century BCE cut through an earlier culvert that likely drained water from inside the city. (Note 113)
See Van der Graaff, I. (2018). The Fortifications of Pompeii and Ancient Italy. Routledge, (p.104 and Note 113).
T9 Pompeii. May 2006. Tower IX, looking towards the west.
T9 Pompeii. May 2006. Tower IX, looking towards the east.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking west along north wall. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
“Despite these uncertainties, the majority of the opus incertum tracts surviving in the city walls probably represent post-siege repairs related to the battle and its immediate aftermath. …………………….. The remains at Tower IX point to a large post-Social War reconstruction effort, including the full reconstruction of the building and 20 metres of adjacent western curtain wall.” (Note 20).
See Van der Graaff, I. (2018). The Fortifications of Pompeii and Ancient Italy. Routledge, (p.114 and Note 20).
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2006. Looking west from east end of site.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking east across site. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south across east side of tower. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south across east side of tower. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010.
Looking south across main chamber of tower. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010.
Looking south across west side of main chamber of tower. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south on west side of tower. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south on west side of tower, continued. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south on west side of tower, continued. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south on west side of tower, continued. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south on west side of tower, continued. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south on west side of tower, continued from above photo. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south on west side of tower, detail. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking south-east from west end of site.
Tower IX, Pompeii. June 2012. Looking north at west end of site. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. June 2012. Looking east from west end. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking east across site. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking east.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking east.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking north-east from west end of site.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking north-east.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking east along north side, from west end. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Detail from west end. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking north-east from west end. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking north-east from near west end, continuation. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking north-east from near west end, continuation. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking east towards Tower, continuation from above photo. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking east towards Tower, continuation from above photo. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2006. Looking south-east from west side.
According to Van der Graaff –
“Despite these uncertainties, the majority of the opus incertum tracts surviving in the city walls probably represent post-siege repairs related to the battle and its immediate aftermath. …………………….. The remains at Tower IX point to a large post-Social War reconstruction effort, including the full reconstruction of the building and 20 metres of adjacent western curtain wall.” (Note 20).
See Van der Graaff, I. (2018). The Fortifications of Pompeii and Ancient Italy. Routledge, (p.114 and Note 20).
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking south.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking south-east.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking south.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking south-east towards tower.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south-east across Tower. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking east towards Tower. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking north-east across Tower. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking south across main chamber in tower.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking south across tower.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking south, at east end of site.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking south-west from east end of site.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south-west from east end of site. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
According to Van der Graaff –
“Nearby the ruins of Tower IX differ significantly compared with the other Towers. It remains are part of a post-Sullan reconstruction of the building that included a stretch of the adjacent curtain wall. The ruins display the traces of a barrel vault that once covered a large chamber. In the back, a door surmounted by a small window gave access to street level on the city side of the walls. This design is unique because it implies that the fortifications did not have an agger in this area of the circuit. The lack of stairs and further windows implies that the new building only had a ground floor and changed its function to a warehouse. Nevertheless, the rebuilt structure featured the same First Style embellishments as the other Towers, suggesting that it retained some sort of military or public function in unison with the fortifications. Fragments of a previous Tower complete with First Style ornamentation have emerged as they had fallen during the Sullan siege. …………………….”
See Van der Graaff, I. (2018). The Fortifications of Pompeii and Ancient Italy. Routledge, (p.134-135).
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking west.
T9 Pompeii. May 2006. Tower IX, looking north towards Vesuvius.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking north, from south side of site.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking north-west across site.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking north-west across Tower room. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking north towards south wall of Tower, with doorway. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Tower doorway in south wall, detail – looking north. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
T9 Pompeii. Tower IX. May 2006. Looking towards south-west interior corner of large tower-room.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. West wall of Tower room. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. North wall of Tower room. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking east towards north end of Tower room. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. East wall and north-east corner of Tower room. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. East wall and south-east corner of Tower room. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking south-east towards Tower. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. South wall of Tower with doorway. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking west from east end of site. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking north-west from east end. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.
Tower IX, Pompeii. May 2010. Looking west from east end, continuation from above photo. Photo courtesy of Ivo van der Graaff.