Pompeii:Life in a Roman Town

Catalog description

The Roman city of Pompeii, utterly destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 C.E., has captured the world’s imagination for nearly three centuries. This semester, we will examine the material remains of Pompeii, analyzing how evidence as diverse as standing architecture, monumental inscriptions, portable and permanent art, and even garbage and graffiti can be used to reconstruct ancient lives. Working together as a class, we will investigate the development of Pompeian studies from the earliest systematic excavations of the 1750s to current projects utilizing groundbreaking technologies, and propose new directions for future research in a city that has many more secrets to reveal.