Pompeii Casts. Victims found in the Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius at Oplontis in 1984.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. July 2010. Resin cast of a woman found in 1984. Rear view.

According to the Soprintendenza notice at Oplontis, this was a new technique using resin instead of plaster.

This gave a transparent result which allowed the bones, and the jewellery worn, to be seen.

Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

According to Malandrino, During the excavation of the villa of L. Crasso Terzo there was also found the first victim from the Pagus Oplontino, of which it was possible to obtain a cast:

She was a young woman, adorned with armlet and gold earrings, affected by the poisonous fumes while she attempted to escape in a vain hope of salvation.

See Malandrino, C., 1981, Sylva Mala II, p. 3-4.

In 1994, some cast x-rays were carried out which confirmed that it was a female individual, but of mature age and not a girl as had previously been believed.

This new resin-based technique allows you to make transparent casts, but the transparency is not long-lasting, as demonstrated by the current state of the cast, which has become opaque and darker in color.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. 1984. Resin cast of a woman. View of right side.

According to Antonio D’Ambrosio, the new method of casting, invented by the restorer Amedeo Cicchitti, uses epoxy resin instead of plaster. The rather complicated procedure consists of first making a cast in wax, around which is built a plaster mould; then with a sort of lost wax technique, the wax was replaced with the epoxy resin. The resulting cast is more resistant than plaster to breakage and climatic variation. It is therefore easier to transport. Unlike plaster it is semi-transparent, which means that any small objects the victim was wearing or carrying are visible through the cast.

See Conticello, B., Ed, 1990. Rediscovering Pompeii. Rome: L’Erma di Bretschneider. (p. 133).

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Resin cast of a woman found in 1984. Frontal view.

According to the PAP information sheet:

With this new resin technique, in the intermediate stages of execution, it was possible to replace the gold bracelet that the woman was wearing on her left arm with a copy; locate the iron ring with an engraved gem that she wore on her little finger and the necklace with glass paste beads found on her abdomen; recover the coins, a piece of silver foil and an engraved gem that he carried in a small canvas bag in her left hand. With the same technique, an incomplete cast of a child was also obtained.

In 1994, some cast x-rays were carried out which confirmed that it was a female individual, but of mature age and not a girl as was previously believed.

This new technique allows you to make transparent casts, but the transparency is not long-lasting, as demonstrated by the current state of the cast, which has become opaque and darker in color.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Resin cast of a woman found in 1984. View of right side.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Incomplete resin cast of a child found in 1984.

Oplontis Villa B. Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Drawing and photos of bodies found as shown on the information board.

These two victims were part of a group of 54 individuals who, crowded together and thrown on top of each other in a tragic tangle of bodies, met their death in the room where they had sought refuge.