10/20 Class Starter Copy the question

• What can we learn about life in Roman times from the ruins of Pompeii?

• Visit this website

• http://www.mrsash.com/mrsash/pompend.html

• http://www.mrsash.com/mrsash/pompknow.html

Learning Targets

• I will write about the history of Pompeii and its destruction.

• Bodies from the Ash tells the story of the victims of Pompeii. After Mt. Vesuvius erupted on August 24 and 25, AD 79, Pompeii lay buried until 12 feet of volcanic ash and debris for the next 1700 years. Some attempts were made to excavate the town, but no one was certain of its exact location. Finally, in the mid-1700s, the town was rediscovered. Along with the desired treasures that excavators sought for wealthy patrons, workers also uncovered many skeletons of people who could not escape. At first, these skeletons were placed in locations within the Pompeian ruins as curiosity objects. Later, the hollow space around some skeletons was used as a mold. Workers poured plaster of  Paris into the cavity; when the outer shell of the mold was chipped away, the plaster body of a person remained—an imprint of that person’s last moment alive. 

Write 20 statements about life in Rome and the destruction of Pompeii

Focus on the glimpses of everyday Roman life. for example, how the Roman nobles relied on slaves- to fetch shoes, carry messages, serve meals, lend physical support. How are women portrayed in the video? What picture of Roman society emerges from the lives of different characters in the video ?

Pliny the Elder

• At the time of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79 the Roman fleet under the command of Pliny the Elder was stationed across the Bay of Naples at Misenum. Pliny launched ships and sailed toward the erupting volcano for closer observation and to attempt a rescue. No rescue was possible and Pliny himself died during the eruption,

Pliny the Younger

• Pliny's nephew, whom we know as Pliny the Younger, was with him at Misenum, but did not go with with his uncle on the ships. He stayed back at Misenum and observed. He also received first-hand reports from those who had been with his uncle at his death. Based on this information Pliny the Younger wrote two letters to the historian Tacitus that recount the events surrounding the eruption of Vesuvius and the death of Pliny the Elder. The letters survive and provide a vivid account of the events.

• locate the places named in the Pliny’s letters: Misenum (my-see-num)on the west shore of the Bay of Naples, across from Pompeii, and Stabiae (sta-bee-eye),on the bay south of Pompeii on the bay, and Herculaneam (in the video on the beach men. Women and children die).

Map of Pompeii