Pompei e il network marittimo-fluviale del golfo di Napoli: nuove strategie di approvvigionamento nel corso dell’opera di ricostruzione post-62 d.C. della città

This paper is part of a broader investigation into the restoration works undertaken on the public monuments of the Forum of Pompeii following the devastating earthquake which struck the city in 62 CE. The contribution focuses on the strategic importance of the city’s integration into the maritime and fluvial network of the Bay of Naples and the transformation of the city’s supply chains occurred in the last years of Pompeii’s life. The change of sources supply is related to the large-scale introduction of non-local building materials – specifically Neapolitan yellow tuff and so-called type B bricks – extensively used in both public and private structures after 62 CE and quarried and manufactured in the Phlegraean zone and in the surrounding areas. The study investigates the logistical and economic factors underlying the transition from local resources to imported materials from the Phlegraean area, reconstructing the infrastructure and maritime routes which enabled their transportation, and focusing on the key role of the port of Puteoli within the redistribution system that supported the reconstruction of Pompeii. By analysing archaeological record and epigraphical sources, this paper argues for a central coordinating role played by imperial authority in managing and funding some phases of the extensive reconstruction programme of Pompeii, offering new insights into the socio-economic and political dynamics which characterised the post-seismic recovery and into the response deployed by local community and authority to the natural catastrophe.