Pompeii Arches.
This page shows the locations of all the arches in Pompeii. All these
arches are honorific and not triumphal. The names
that have been attributed are very varied and can be confusing. The
names we have used are based on most common usage and those used by the
Soprintendenza. According to John Dobbins “While the
arches are early imperial, their precise dates, the date of removal of the one,
and the individuals to whom they were dedicated are unknown”.
Please click
on one of the links to go to the page for that arch.
The Arches button on the
left hand side of every page will always bring you back here.
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Arco
di Druso, figlio di Tiberio [Spano and Sogliano] |
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| North west corner of
the Forum at the south west corner of the Temple of Jupiter |
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Arch
of Tiberius or Caligula or Augustus [Gell]
Arch of C. Caesar Augustus and castellum aquae
[Fiorelli]
Arch of Nero [Mau]
Arch of Mercurio [after street location]
[but according to Katherine E Welch, the
statue on which the naming as Caligula is based is probably Marcus Tullius who
donated the adjacent Temple of Fortuna.]
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Between VI.8 SE and VI.10 SW
Crossroads of Via di
Mercurio and Via delle Terme, Via della Fortuna and Via del Foro |
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This arch may be the one
now in the NE and that it was at some time moved northwards to
its present position. [SANP, Nappo**] |
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| North east corner of
the Forum at the south east corner of the Temple of Jupiter |
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Arco di Nerone [Garucci]
Arch of Nero Caesar (son of Germanicus) [Mommsen]
Arco di Tiberio [Mau]
Arco di Germanico e dei suo figli Druso e
Nerone [Spano and Sogliano]
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| North east corner
entrance to the Forum, north of the Arch of Nero and south of the
Arch of Caligula |
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| North-west corner
entrance to the Forum |
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Arched
monument
for
Augustus
statue?
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One of four monuments for
the imperial family, probably the pedestal
for a colossal statue of Augustus. The other bases nearby were for
statues of Claudius,
Agrippina and Nero. [Mau] |
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Midway along the south end of the Forum |
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Inscribed statue found here |
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| Via
dell' Abbondanza at junction with Via Stabiana, near the Stabian
Baths. |
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* See
Van der Poel, H. B., 1983. Corpus Topographicum Pompeianum, Part II.
Austin: University of Texas.
**See Nappo, S., 1998. Pompeii: Guide to the lost
City. London: Weidenfield and Nicolson. p. 104.
Arch attributed to Augustus The Arch of
Augustus is located in the north west corner of the Forum at the south west
corner of the Temple of Jupiter.
Arch attributed to Caligula The Arch of
Caligula is located at the crossroads of Via di Mercurio and Via delle Terme,
Via della Fortuna and Via del Foro.
Arch attributed to Nero The site of the Arch
of Nero (now demolished) is located in the north east corner of the Forum at the
south east corner of the Temple of Jupiter.
Arch of Tiberius?
This arch is the north east corner entrance to the Forum. It is north of the
Arch of Nero and south of the Arch of Caligula.
Arched Entrance in North West Corner of Forum This arched
doorway is one of two entrances at the north west corner of the Forum.
Arched
monument [for a statue of Augustus?] at south end of Forum This arched monument,
which may be a base for a statue of Augustus, is a small arch located
midway along the south end of the Forum and has three other monument bases
nearby.
Arch of Marcus Holconius
Rufus
This is a Tetrapylon arch with remains of four pillars each with a statue base.
It is located on the Via dell'Abbondanza at its junction with the Via Stabiana.
The names we have used.
The
individuals to whom the arches were dedicated are unknown. The names
that have been attributed over time have been very varied and can be confusing.
For clarity, the names we have used are based on most common
usage and those used by the Soprintendenza. On the web site of the
Soprintendenza it states:
"Archi Onorari: - In opera laterizia, un tempo rivestiti in
marmo, chiudono scenograficamente il Foro a Nord, a celebrare la famiglia
imperiale. Dei dueeretti ai lati del tempio di Giove quello ad Ovest è
attribuito ad Augusto, quello ad Est a
Nerone,
abbattuto forse dopo la morte (68 d.C.) e condanna dell'imperatore ovvero
per non ostruire la vista dell'altro arco retrostante, all'ingresso Nord del
Foro. Questo presenta su una fronte due nicchie, che accoglievano statue di
Nerone e Druso, sull'altra
due fontane: una statua equestre (forse dell'imperatore Tiberio) sormontava
quest'arco. L'altro arco, posto sullo sfondo all'inizio di via di Mercurio,
è detto di Caligola, perché nelle vicinanze fu trovata una statua equestre,
forse raffigurante l'imperatore Caligola, che probabilmente era collocata
sull'arco."
The Soprintendenza says the arches are
honorific [i. e. not triumphal].
The
arch in the SW corner of the temple is the Arch of Augustus.
In the SE corner of the temple was the Arch of
Nero, this latter being removed perhaps after the death and sentencing of
Nero in 68AD (the senate had declared him a Public Enemy) or perhaps to
improve the view of the other arches behind. According to John Dobbins, the
arch was “removed in antiquity and the places where
its piers were located were filled in with limestone paving slabs in a
pattern that identifies the location of the arch”. See Dobbins, J.
J. and Foss, P. W., 2008. The World of Pompeii. Oxford: Routledge. p.
160.
The one immediately
behind this was possibly surmounted by an equestrian statue of the Emperor
Tiberius, with niches for statues of Drusus and Nero, and fountains on the
other side.
Behind that was the arch attributed to Caligula, because of a
statue possibly resembling him that was found in the vicinity.
