Jashemski, Wilhelmina Feemster 1910-2007 (Wilhelmina F. Jashemski, Wilhelmina Mary Feemster Jashemski)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born July 10, 1910, in York, NE; died December 24, 2007, in Silver Spring, MD. Archaeologist, historian, educator, and author. Jashemski was a historian and archaeologist of ancient Pompeii, with a special interest in the gardens buried under the famous ruins. She taught ancient history at the University of Maryland from 1946 to 1980, with a focus on ancient Roman law. Jashemski made the first of many visits to Pompeii in 1955 and later claimed that it was one of few places in the world where she truly felt at home. An avid gardener herself, she began to dig into the archaeological remnants of Pompeian horticulture, and it was not long before garden archaeology became her life's work. It was reportedly her groundbreaking work that led to the recognition of her field as a legitimate academic discipline. Jashemski was interested in all aspects of ancient gardens, from the vineyards to the medicinal collections, from backyard or communal herb and vegetable gardens to larger commercial enterprises. She also discovered gardens that were intended for religious observances or as havens for personal meditation. Jashemski wrote or edited several books, often heavily illustrated with her husband's photographs. These include Pompeii, and the Region Destroyed by Vesuvius in A.D. 79 (1965), The Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the Villas Destroyed by Vesuvius (1979), Ancient Roman Gardens (1981), A Pompeian Herbal: Ancient and Modern Medicinal Plants (1999), and a more comprehensive exploration, The Natural History of Pompeii (2001).

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PERIODICALS

Washington Post, January 14, 2008, p. B6.