Welcome to my Pompeii and Herculaneum blog. This section of my website is designed to help you access up to date information, provide links to current articles and information, and to challenge you to think about issues
critically. I might ask guest bloggers to post, include classwork and sample
work, link to websites or videos or generally write about what interests
me.
I've had a lot of fun teaching Ancient History at Chifley Senior, largely because I can talk crazy obsessive Ancient History talk with my friend and colleague Terri Katsikaros. Terri has taken a year off this year but her imprint is all over the resources I will use in class with you guys . So, because she's so amazing I wanted to ask her to write the inagural blog post for this website.
Here it is. Thanks Terri :)
Pompeii conjures up a wide range of images. Volcano, eruption, Roman Empire, luxury, mystery, adventure. There are many ways that individuals have approached the city. Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote The Last Days of Pompeii whilst having a skull from Pompeii on his desk. He felt that the individual was intelligent and evil and used it as the inspiration for his evil character. Kings, such as Prince d'Elbeuf, saw it as a treasure hunting exercise taking artefacts from the site for his villa. Theatrical performances were conducted using the human remains from Pompeii. Macabre? Yes, but just one of many attitudes to the finds at the site. Also one of the many reasons researchers have had difficulty preserving and restoring the site.
Many preconceptions exist about the city and seldom do people think of the other cities, like those of Herculaneum, Oplontas and Stabiae that also suffered. But these and others were impacted on by the eruption of Vesuvius in79 AD. The eruption left behind, what has been described as a living museum, but it is also a dying one because, as with all archaeology, once a site is uncovered it will begin to deteriorate and raise significant issues about conservation and restoration. Questions about who should be responsible for the site? Whose heritage is it? Who should pay or the maintenance and research of the site? Should we display the human remains? The site raises these and other questions.
In your study of Pompeii and Herculaneum you will examine the remains and consider what is revealed about the society, you will consider what value we place on the site and question the value of conservation and restoration. Is it a losing battle? Is it worth fighting the ravages of time? Finally, is the site being used for political and financial benefit by the
government? Is the history of everyday life that it reveals worth our respect and interest? You decide. Happy
digging (but with care!)
Terri Katsikaros
critically. I might ask guest bloggers to post, include classwork and sample
work, link to websites or videos or generally write about what interests
me.
I've had a lot of fun teaching Ancient History at Chifley Senior, largely because I can talk crazy obsessive Ancient History talk with my friend and colleague Terri Katsikaros. Terri has taken a year off this year but her imprint is all over the resources I will use in class with you guys . So, because she's so amazing I wanted to ask her to write the inagural blog post for this website.
Here it is. Thanks Terri :)
Pompeii conjures up a wide range of images. Volcano, eruption, Roman Empire, luxury, mystery, adventure. There are many ways that individuals have approached the city. Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote The Last Days of Pompeii whilst having a skull from Pompeii on his desk. He felt that the individual was intelligent and evil and used it as the inspiration for his evil character. Kings, such as Prince d'Elbeuf, saw it as a treasure hunting exercise taking artefacts from the site for his villa. Theatrical performances were conducted using the human remains from Pompeii. Macabre? Yes, but just one of many attitudes to the finds at the site. Also one of the many reasons researchers have had difficulty preserving and restoring the site.
Many preconceptions exist about the city and seldom do people think of the other cities, like those of Herculaneum, Oplontas and Stabiae that also suffered. But these and others were impacted on by the eruption of Vesuvius in79 AD. The eruption left behind, what has been described as a living museum, but it is also a dying one because, as with all archaeology, once a site is uncovered it will begin to deteriorate and raise significant issues about conservation and restoration. Questions about who should be responsible for the site? Whose heritage is it? Who should pay or the maintenance and research of the site? Should we display the human remains? The site raises these and other questions.
In your study of Pompeii and Herculaneum you will examine the remains and consider what is revealed about the society, you will consider what value we place on the site and question the value of conservation and restoration. Is it a losing battle? Is it worth fighting the ravages of time? Finally, is the site being used for political and financial benefit by the
government? Is the history of everyday life that it reveals worth our respect and interest? You decide. Happy
digging (but with care!)
Terri Katsikaros