Vesuviana. An International Journal on Archaeological and Historical Studies on Pompeii and Herculaneum. 2. 2010

There are two reasons for the creation of a journal expressly devoted to Pompeii. Both are connected to the recent history of our archaeological heritage in the area around Vesuvius. Since the beginning of this century, dozens of Italian and foreign expeditions have returned to Pompeii to work toward one of the most ambitious goals in archaeological research - reconstructing a settlement's origins and its development over time. And thanks to these contributions, the archaeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum are at the vanguard of research and experimentation in the latest conservation techniques, again taking up their former role as the great laboratory for classical archaeology and its related disciplines (historical, epigraphic, linguistic and sociological). Hence, the main reasons for launching this journal: to avoid the continued dissipation of a vast legacy of skills and knowledge, laboriously acquired over the last hundred years, and to best enhance the value of results from this new period of research. The many disciplines linked to the noblest significance of Pompeii studies - nowadays so often compressed into the narrow realm of increasingly specialized studies and publications - will be especially represented by young scholars and researchers. To them falls the onerous task of continuing the previous body work and ensuring that it will not be dispersed in the imperfection that characterizes all human activity, our studies reduced to superficial and banal popularization.