Written in Stone: A Review of Roman Graffiti

Figure 1: Roman Graffiti (Source: Tony Lilley)

 

Graffiti is a term used to describe writings or drawings, often created without permission, left in public view.  Today in American (and many Western) society(ies), there is a love/hate relationship with graffiti.  Some are fans, claiming it is an important means of self-expression, whereas others identify it as a blight and a form of vandalism.  Chances are you have seen some sort of graffiti (if not been a creator of it)-be it on train cars, bathroom walls, tags on playgrounds or fire hydrants, or any number of other locations.  Graffiti may be controversial, but it is an excellent source of information about the people and culture of the area where it is found.  This makes it of particular interests to anthropologists of all kinds, particularly archaeologists who want to gain insights into groups of people that historians often neglect to mention.  This blog post will further explore the ancient graffiti of ancient Romans and address what sorts of information we can glean from the study of graffiti.

The ancient graffiti found throughout several Roman cities, particularly Pompeii and Herculaneum, has provided great insights into the popular culture and common Roman people (Figure 1).  These cities, which were locked in time due to a volcanic eruption that decimated the cities and their inhabitants over a period of three days, hold a treasure trove of information related to what ancient Roman life was like.  Because the volcanic ash covered the cities so quickly it also provided optimal preservation to allow for easy study of what remains.  This is perfect for studies of ancient Roman graffiti, which exists in several Roman sites but may no longer be accessible due to natural and man-made degradation of sites.

From studies of ancient graffiti at Pompeii and Herculaneum archaeologists have learned that people were far more literate than what was originally believed.  Graffiti was created by every member of Roman society, which included men, women, slaves, free citizens, rich, and poor, particularly as it was an accepted means of writing (versus today).  Many graffiti writers signed their names and provided additional identifying remarks (e.g. “I am a slave”), thereby allowing scholars to get this information.  As the graffiti was created by all members of the Roman society greater insights into the daily lives of the common people is able to be collected.  

Figure 2: Graffiti of a Bird (Source: Carole Raddato)

While there is a great diversity in the types of messages left in ancient Roman graffiti there are several central themes.  First, the large majority of the graffiti is written messages, although there are quite a few pictures as well.  The pictures largely include people, particularly gladiators, and items, such as animals and boats (Figure 2), that were commonly used or seen by the local people.  One particular image that was common place was the penis.  Several of the penis images were meant to be vulgar, but the majority of them were actually meant to promote good luck either to the individuals or locations where the images were produced.

Written graffiti messages also had specific themes.  As is the case today, one of the most common messages was “(name) was here”.  Ancient Romans wanted to memorialize their presence in specific important locations.  Other messages included messages of good tidings (e.g. “Pompeii is a wonderful place to visit”), declarations of love, announcements of hate, as well as messages against improper actions, particularly related to people defecating in public places.  The messages of love are quite interesting as they describe both heterosexual and homosexual relationships (the latter being a little more popular than the former), as well as display situations of unrequited love, such as the case of a man declaring his love for a slave girl who did not share these same feelings.

Overall, the graffiti found in ancient Roman contexts provides us a great deal of insights into the lives of the common people in Roman, thereby increasing our knowledge and understanding of this once great culture.  Through the study of the graffiti we can see that the ancient Romans were not that different from modern people.  They felt love, loss, and offense to negligence just as we do today.  They were fascinated by the sights they saw, as well as felt a desire to memorialize their presence.  As the saying goes, The more things change the more they stay the same, and the evidence of ancient Roman graffiti definitely supports that.   

Bibliography

Benefiel, R. R. (2018). The Ancient Graffiti Project: A Digital Resource for Studying the Graffiti of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Retrieved from Ancient Graffiti.org: http://ancientgraffiti.org/Graffiti/

Edwards, C. (2017, July 20). ‘Graffiti in Pompeii and Herculaneum give insight into groups marginalized by history books’. Retrieved from The Local: https://www.thelocal.it/20170720/pompeii-herculaneum-graffiti-history-archaeology-marginalized-groups-ancient-rome-slaves-women-vesuvius-social-media

Harvey, B. (2018, December 30). Graffiti from Pompei. Retrieved from Pompeiana.org: http://www.pompeiana.org/Resources/Ancient/Graffiti%20from%20Pompeii.htm

Ohlson, K. (2010, July 26). Reading the Writing on Pompeii’s Walls. Smithsonian Magazine.

Taylor, E. (2016). Ostia Graffiti. Retrieved from Ostia-Antica.org: http://ostia-antica.org/inter/graffiti.html

Williams, A. (2013, January 31). What Does First-century Roman Graffiti Say? National Geographic Magazine.