Cultural Resiliency at Pompeii: The Spatial Relationship Between Painted Fountains and Private Water Access, 62-79 CE

Abstract

This thesis examines the spatial relationship between painted fountains and private water access as a maker of human resilience at Pompeii. Seventeen years prior to the 79 CE eruption that sealed the city, Pompeian citizens experienced an earthquake that disrupted the city’s water system. Over the course of the city’s remaining years, its people attempted to return the city to its former standards, including renovating public and private water systems and restoring the décor of their homes. Were fountain paintings created when actual fountains could not be used? Using chi-square analysis to calculate the relationship between variables, the results indicates there is no statistically significant relationship between painted fountains and private water access. Instead, painted fountains represent a realistic representation of gardens as a psychological mechanism to bring order to the chaotic natural world in the aftermath of the earthquake.