Traffic Systems of Pompeii

The Traffic Systems of Pompeii is the first sustained examination of the development of road infrastructure in Pompeii—from the archaic age to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE—and its implications for urbanism in the Roman empire. Eric E. Poehler, an authority on Pompeii's uniquely preserved urban structure, distills over five hundred instances of street-level "wear and tear" to reveal for the first time the rules of the ancient road. Through athorough, yet lively, investigation of every facet of the infrastructure, from the city's urban grid and the shape of the streets to the treatment of their surfaces and the individual elements of construction, the intricacies of the Pompeian traffic system and the changes to its operation over time emerge in vividdetail. Though archaeological expertise forms the backbone of this book, its findings have equally important historical and architectural implications. Later chapters probe how the street design and infrastructure affected social roles and hierarchies among property owners in Pompeii, illuminating the economic forces that push and pull upon the shape of urban space. The final chapters set the road system into its broader context as one major infrastructural and administrative artifact of theRoman empire's deeply urban culture. Where does Pompeii's system fit within the history of Roman traffic control? Is it unique for its innovation, or only for the preservation that permitted its discovery? Poehler marshals evidence from across the Roman world to examine these questions. His measuredand thoroughly researched answers make The Traffic Systems of Pompeii a critical step forward in our understanding of infrastructure in the ancient world.

This is a thorough, and very well documented book about a topic that has been waiting for a systematic treatment for decades.... The main line of argument always remains clear, and is where necessary clearly illustrated with high-quality maps, and pictures. This, in other words, is a book that will last. It has a clear relevance now, and will still have its relevance in twenty, thirty years' time., The book is a major contribution to the study of infrastructure, traffic, urban streets and networks, and municipal management. It is remarkable for the completeness and authoritativeness with which it treats the topic of vehicular traffic throughout the empire, and the depth and degree of detail it provides about its primary case-study., The Traffic Systems of Pompeii is an exemplary product of Poehler's long-term engagement with the archaeology of urban spaces ... this volume should be mandatory reading for every student of the ancient world who despairs at the apparent insolubility of historical questions, who argues against the subordinate position of archaeology in discussions of human activity, and who seeks a theoretical and methodological guide to best practice in making sense of the past., In this book, longtime Pompeii insider Eric Poehler blends (1) a bench scientist's gift for critical analysis, (2) an apparently-encyclopedic knowledge of the city's streets and archival material, and (3) his own pioneering method for detecting and scrutinizing patterns of the wheeled traffic that scarred, scraped, and rubbed against Pompeii's stones. The result is the most extensive, systematic, technical, and archaeologically rich contribution to the study of Pompeian traffic to date. All interested in this city, and even Roman urbanism more generally, will want The Traffic Systems of Pompeii on their shelf and in their bibliography., Based on brilliant archaeological detective work this book is destined to become a Pompeian classic. Poehler makes the technical details of the city's infrastructure come alive every bit as much as does the tour de force view of the traffic system through the eyes of Sabinus the Muleteer in chapter 7. The importance of this study for our understanding of Roman urbanism is difficult to overstate.

Eric E. Poehler is Associate Professor of Classics, Director of the Five Colleges Blended Learning and Digital Humanities programs, and Co-Director of the Pompeii Quadriporticus Project at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has published widely on Roman urbanism, infrastructure, and architectural history.