Pompeii Casts. Victim 81 found outside Porta Capua / Tower IX in 2002. The Shackled Man.
Victim 81. The Shackled Man. Porta Capua 2002.
The body of a young man of 20-25 years, who may have been shackled, found outside of the Porta Capua.
He had been fleeing at the time of the eruption in AD 79 when he was overcome by one of the hot gas surges.
He had an iron ring around each ankle. The inner diameter of these as shown is now c. 100mm but may have originally been larger as they appear to have a thick corrosion crust.
These unfortunately do not appear to have been X-radiographed and so there is no way of telling whether they are formal shackles or rings.
Both have a pronounced thickening at one point, possibly suggesting shackles.
See Etani, H., Niwa, Y., Sakai,
S., Shigematsu, Y. and Iorio, V. 2003-4. ‘La campagna di scavo del Japan Institute of Paleological Studies di
Kyoto del 2002’, Opuscula Pompeiannia
12, p. 125-37, p. 128, Foto 5-8.
See Etani, H. (ed.) 2010. Pompeii. Report on the Excavations at Porta Capua 1993-2005, The Paleological Association of Japan, Inc., Kyoto, Fig. 58 no. 1.
See Cool H. E. M., 2006, revised 2015. Selected Roman Small Finds from the Cemetery at nos. 3 and 6 Driffield Terrace, York. York Archaeological Trust.
Found outside the northern wall at tower IX. This is now believed to be an adult male of over 20 years old, probably 30 to 40 years old.
The victim was found a few metres from another body (Victim
number 80) a
similar partial cast was obtained from this.
There are possible traces of a belt left
around the torso.
The man wore an iron ring on one finger of his left hand and a belt at his
waist, the iron buckle of which is preserved.
On the left arm, near the elbow, there are remains of iron which are difficult to interpret.
See Osanna, N.,
Capurso, A., e Masseroli, S. M., 2021. I Calchi di Pompei da Giuseppe
Fiorelli ad oggi: Studi e Ricerche del PAP 46, p. 507, Calco n. 81.
Victim 81. March 2024. The man wore an iron ring on one finger of his
left hand and a belt at his waist, the iron buckle of which is preserved, both shown
here front left.
See Osanna, N.,
Capurso, A., e Masseroli, S. M., 2021. I Calchi di Pompei da Giuseppe
Fiorelli ad oggi: Studi e Ricerche del PAP 46, p. 507, Calco n. 81.
Photo courtesy of
Giuseppe Ciaramella.
Victim 81. March 2024. The two iron rings are referred to in this catalogue, and on the display card in the Palaestra, as being found on victim 80, whereas they are usually displayed on victim 81, as seen in our photos, but are not mentioned in the catalogue for that victim.
See Osanna, N., Capurso, A., e Masseroli, S. M.,
2021. I Calchi di Pompei da Giuseppe Fiorelli ad oggi: Studi e Ricerche
del PAP 46, p. 505, Calco n. 80.
Photo courtesy of
Giuseppe Ciaramella.
Victim 81. The Shackled Man. Porta Capua 2002.
The exhibition card says:
The shackles on this man's ankles identify him – even so long after death – as a criminal or a slave, left behind when others fled Pompeii.
He had struggled to reach one of the town gates when the pyroclastic surge overtook him.
Photographed at “A Day in Pompeii” exhibition at Melbourne Museum. September 2009.
Victim 81. The Shackled Man. Porta Capua 2002. Photographed at “A Day in Pompeii” exhibition at Melbourne Museum. September 2009.
Victim 81. Porta Capua 2002. The Shackled Man in a group of casts of other victims.
Photographed at “A Day in Pompeii” exhibition at Melbourne Museum. September 2009.