Dr. Hartnett's lecture paints a picture of the social dynamics of one corner in Pompeii. From barmaids and woolworkers to former slaves and fancy officials, this neighborhood’s denizens met in contentious and often explosive encounters. Streets, in other words, not only literally connected hovels and mansions, temples and brothels, but also set a city’s diverse population in contact with one another. The physical remains allow us to watch as the Pompeians preen, reprove, slander, and upstage one another.