The Graffiti and Dipinti of Insulae VIII.7 and I.1

Abstract

Abstract Archival records preserve evidence for eight painted inscriptions (dipinti) and five inscribed graffiti from Insulae VIII.7 and I.1 at Pompeii. Of the painted inscriptions, only four were certainly programmata—political posters—despite the busy nature of the Porta Stabia neighborhood. This distribution reflects a larger pattern in the city, by which programmata cluster in the central districts, with fewer on the periphery. Decorrelation Stretch (DStretch) software allows one of these notices to be read today; it advertised the candidacy of Cuspius Pansa and likely dates to the Republican period. The few graffiti known from the area were found on the walls surrounding gardens, attesting to the traffic through, and visibility of, these spaces. Given the long history of exploration at the Porta Stabia, however, other examples likely were recovered but survive neither in the archival record nor on site today.