These cities had either been long abandoned or, in the case of Rome, built over. Some buildings, whole or in fragments, last through the ages. Archeologists like Piranesi like to imagine what the buildings first looked like and what they were used for. In the eighteenth century, Herculameum, Rome, as well as cities in Greece and Egypt were being unearthed for the first time since ancient times. This was the dawn of archeology .
Archeology is the science concerned with the excavation and analysis of physical remains.
Every fragment had a story to tell and, with a combination of fact finding and imagination, people were creating a whole new perspective on the past. Piranisi had a vivid imagination and he committed many of his visions to paper. He created an entire series called The Carceri , or The Prisons . They are interior views, dark and frightening filled with machinery, wheels, cablers, pulleys, catapults, and all sorts of other devices. Well, Piranesi was a bit worried about the affect that all the 18th century machines would have on people and society.