The Pompeii Cast Project
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact

The POmpeii Cast Project.

In 2013, Dr Estelle Lazer and Associate Professor Kathryn Welch began the Pompeii Cast Project with a Classics and Ancient History faculty grant from the University of Sydney. They quickly assembled a team of experts to collaborate on the project including Dr Alain Middleton (NSW Institute of Forensic Medicine, Westmead Hospital department of Oral Health), Associate Professor Dzung Vu (University of Notre Dame) and Stijn Luyck (STL International, Antwerp). In collaboration with Professor Massimo Osanna, Director General of the Pompeii Archaeological Park and his colleagues the team began with the investigation of a selected number of casts using both CT and X-Ray imaging techniques. In partnership with Lion Television and the BBC, a 16 slice CT scanner was bought onto the archaeological site to analyse 16 plaster casts, with high quality X-Ray images taken of several casts which due to their awkward shapes could not be CT scanned. The results were surprising.

A number of the casts, in particular those that were made in the 19th and 20th centuries, did not contain full skeletons, and one cast, the dog, contained no skeletal elements at all.

In 2017, the team ventured again into the field. This time with the support and assistance of Roberto Canigliula, a representative of Philips (Italy), and film documentary colleagues, including Elena Mortelliti, an additional five casts were selected to be analysed at the Casa di Cura Maria Rosaria hospital in modern Pompei. This was a major undertaking. Moving the casts off-site required special permissions, expensive insurance and the expertise of restorers to carefully transport the casts in specially made crates.  The utilisation of the equipment at the hospital has allowed the team to gather a range of new information to be analysed and researched throughout this project. The findings so far have been surprising, and lead to new avenues of research that will help us understand the victims of the AD79 earthquake.

This ongoing commitment to the Plaster Cast Project was highlighted in 2017 when the University of Sydney and Pompeii Archaeological Park entered into a Memorandum of Understanding that will allow for the continuation of the project well into the future. 

Our Team.

REsearch and Analysis

Picture

Dr Estelle Lazer
the University of Sydney

Picture

AssC. ProF. Kathryn Welch
The University of Sydney

Picture

  Prof. Massimo Osanna
  Director general, Parco           Archeologico di Pompei

Picture

DR ALAIN MIDDLETON
NSW INSITITUTE OF FORENSIC MEDICINE, WESTMEAD HOSPITAL

Picture

ASSC. Prof. Dzung Vu
University of Notre Dame

Picture

Stijn Luyck
STL International, Antwerp

Picture

Roberto CanigliuLa
Philips (Italy)

Picture

GIOVANNI BABINO
L'Universita degli Studi di Salerno

Picture

Alberta Martellone
PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO DI POMPEI

Picture

Bruno de Negris
PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO DI POMPEI

DOCUMENTARY 

WEbsite

Picture

Elena Mortelliti
Producer

Picture

Candace Richards
Nicholson Museum, The University of Sydney

COPYRIGHT

Every effort has been made to secure permission for any copyright material. In the event of any material being used inadvertently, please contact us, stating the location and nature of the copyright issue, your contact details and whether you are the copyright holder or what your role is in relation to the copyright holder. 
The pictures on this site are copyright © The Pompeii Cast Project
THEY MAY NOT IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BE USED FOR GAIN OR REWARD COMMERCIALLY.
Permission is granted to use the material for personal research or study provided that each item is acknowledged and copyright is credited to The Pompeii Cast Project.
Copyright © 2018 · All Rights Reserved · The Pompeii Cast Project 
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact