Cities of Vesuvius

Cities of Vesuvius

Topics

Geographical context

the physical environment: the geographical setting, natural features and resources of Pompeii and Herculaneum
plans and streetscapes of Pompeii and Herculaneum

Outline the main features of streetscapes in Herculaneum. In your answer, use Source F (streetscape) and your own knowledge. (2015: 8 lines; 4 marks)

Using Source B (picture of a street in Herculaneum) and your own knowledge, describe the streetscapes in Herculaneum. (2008: 12 lines; 4 marks)

The nature of sources and evidence

The range of available sources, both written and archaeological, including ancient writers, official inscriptions, graffiti, wall paintings, statues, mosaics, human and animal remains.
The limitations, reliability and evaluation of sources.
The evidence provided by the sources from Pompeii and Herculaneum for:
The eruption

With reference to Source E (an extract from “Raising the roof”) and other sources, explain how Pompeii and Herculaneum were affected differently by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (2013: 18 lines; 6 marks)

Using Sources A (plaster casts of bodies in Pompeii) and B (skeletal remains from the seashore at Herculaneum) and your own knowledge, explain what human remains reveal about the causes of death in the eruption of 79 AD. (2012: 10 lines; 4 marks)

The economy: trade, commerce, industries, occupations

Describe types of economic activity which took place in Pompeii and Herculaneum. In your answer, use sources C (translation of a text on an image of a pottery vessel) and D (view of a thermopolia [bar] in Herculaneum) and your own knowledge. (2014: 28 lines; 6 marks)

What do Sources C (a picture of a fishing net and net mending tools from Herculaneum) and D (a picture of the Fullery of Stephanus in Pompeii) and other sources reveal about industries in Pompeii and Herculaneum? (2009: 25 lines; 8 marks)

Social structure; men, women, freedmen, slaves

Explain what is known about the role of women in Pompeii. In your answer, refer to Sources B (an advertisement from the estate of Julia Felix) and D (a wall painting from the Villa of the Mysteries) and your own knowledge. (2016: 16 lines; 6 marks)

Using Sources F (a receipt for rental payment by a slave) and G (an extract from the World of Pompeii about the role of slaves) and your own knowledge, discuss the contribution that slaves made to society in Pompeii and Herculaneum. (2012: 18 lines; 6 marks)

What do Sources D (a statue of Eumachia, from Pompeii), E (tomb inscriptions outside the Herculaneum Gate) and other sources reveal about social class in Pompeii and Herculaneum? (2010: 21 lines; 7 marks)

Local political life
Everyday life: leisure activities, food and dining, clothing, health, baths, water supply and sanitation:

Describe the key features of political life in Pompeii and Herculaneum. In your answer, refer to Sources B (political notice painted on a water tower in Herculaneum) and D (inscription by Caius Valgus and Marcus Porcius dedicating their construction of the amphitheatre in Pompeii) and your own knowledge. (2017: 27 lines; 6 marks)

Explain what the evidence reveals about leisure activities in Pompeii. In your answer, use Sources B (image of a strigil and an oil container found at Pompeii) and G (mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii) and your own knowledge. (2015: 16 lines; 6 marks)

What do Source A (picture of food preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius) and other sources reveal about the diet of people in Pompeii and Herculaneum? (2013: 7 lines; 3 marks)

Using Sources F (graffiti from a street in Herculaneum) and G (graffiti from a house in Pompeii) and your own knowledge, explain how examples of graffiti contribute to our understanding of life in Pompeii and Herculaneum. (2011: 18 lines; 6 marks)

Using Source B (plan of the Forum Baths at Herculaneum) describe the features of baths in Herculaneum. (2009: 13 lines; 5 marks)

Using Source B (picture of a fountain in Pompeii) and your own knowledge, explain the ways in which water was distributed in Pompeii and Herculaneum. (2007: 12 lines; 4 marks)

Using Source B (picture of a fast food bar in Herculaneum) and your own knowledge, describe how food was prepared and sold in Pompeii and Herculaneum. (2006: 12 lines; 4 marks)

Public buildings – basilicas, temples, fora, theatres, palaestra, amphitheatres

Outline the purposes of public buildings in Pompeii. Refer to Source C (diagram of the forum in Pompeii) and your own knowledge of specific buildings. (2016: 8 lines; 4 marks)

Using Source C (two inscriptions from Pompeii) and your own knowledge, explain the importance of the amphitheatre in Pompeian society. (2008: 30 lines; 8 marks)

Using SourceC (layout of the forum in Pompeii) and your own knowledge, explain the importance of the forum in Pompeii. (2006: 30 lines; 8 marks)

Private buildings – villas, houses, shops

What do Sources B (a decoration from a house in Pompeii) and C (floor plan of a house in Pompeii) reveal about the uses of houses in Pompeii? (2010: 8 lines; 3 marks)

Influence of Greek and Egyptian cultures: art, architecture, religion

Outline the influence of Egyptian culture in Pompeii. In your answer, refer to Source F (details from a mosaic showing the Nile River) and your own knowledge. (2017: 14 lines; 4 marks)

Briefly outline Greek influences at Pompeii and Herculaneum. In your answer, use Source A (image of actors rehearsing a play, found in the House of the Tragic Poet at Pompeii) and your own knowledge. (2014: 8 lines; 3 marks)

Religion: temples, household gods, foreign cults, tombs.

Using Source C (religious painting from a house in Pompeii) and your own knowledge, what were three important features of household religion at Pompeii and Herculaneum? (2011: 9 lines; 4 marks)

Using Sources C (picture of the Temple of Isis in Pompeii) and D (picture of statuettes of two gods) and your own knowledge, describe what the evidence shows about religion in Pompeii and Herculaneum. (2007: 28 lines; 8 marks)

Investigating, reconstructing and preserving the past

changing methods and contributions of nineteenth and twentieth century archaeologists to our understanding of Pompeii and Herculaneum
changing interpretations: impact of new research and technologies
issues of conservation and reconstruction: Italian and international contributions and responsibilities; impact of tourism
ethical issues: study and display of human remains

How have conservation efforts attempted to deal with the impact of tourism at Pompeii and Herculaneum. In your answer, refer to Sources G (excerpt from “Tourists are finishing what the volcano started in Pompeii”) and H (photo of Herculaneum) and your own knowledge. (40 lines; 10 marks)

Explain the contribution that new research and technologies have made to reconstructing the past of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In your answer, refer to Sources F (a digital reconstruction of the Villa of the Papyri) and G (an extract from ‘Gardens’ in The World of Pompeii) and your own knowledge. (2016: 40 lines; 10 marks)

How has the understanding of ethical issues related to the study and display of human remains in Pompeii and Herculaneum changed over time? In your answer, refer to Sources E (photograph of human skeletons in a boathouse in Herculaneum), H (an excerpt from “Victims of the cataclysm”, by Dr Estelle Lazer) and I (an excerpt from “Pompeii’s not-so-ancient Roman remains” by Mary Beard) and your own knowledge. (2015: 40 lines; 10 marks)

Describe Italian and international contributions to the conservation of the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In your answer, refer to Sources H (picture of an excavation trench after conservation and construction of new protective shelters), I (map of all visitor movement at Pompeii) and J (two news items about conservation efforts at Pompeii and Herculaneum) and your own knowledge. (2014: 40 lines; 10 marks)

With reference to the information and ideas represented in Sources F (an extract from Resurrecting Pompeii), G (a graph of the age and sex distribution of the skeletons found at Herculaneum) and H (an extract from an article about the use of DNA analysis on skeletal remains at Pompeii and Herculaneum) and your own knowledge, explain how new research and technologies since the 1980s have changed earlier interpretations of human remains from Pompeii and Herculaneum. (2013: 40 lines; 10 marks)

Using Sources A (plaster casts of bodies in Pompeii), B (skeletal remains from the seashore at Herculaneum) and H (computer reconstruction of a street in Herculaneum) and your own knowledge, explain the different ways in which archaeologists have reconstructed the past in the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. (2012: 40 lines; 10 marks)

Discuss the challenges of conserving the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In your answer, refer to Sources H (photo of a building which collapsed in Pompeii in 2010) and I (quote from an article on preserving Pompeii) and your own knowledge. (2011: 40 lines; 10 marks)

To what extent has research since the end of the 1960s changed our understanding of the evidence from the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum? In your answer, refer to Sources F (picture of excavated human remains from Herculaneum) and G (an excerpt from “The Distribution of Pompeian House Contents and Its Significance”) and your own knowledge. (2010: 40 lines; 10 marks)

To what extent has tourism influenced the way the sites of Pompeii and/or Herculaneum have been managed since the 1800s? In your answer, refer to Sources E (quote from Ray Laurence from the University of Birmingham) and your own knowledge. (2009: 40 lines; 10 marks)

Using Sources D (picture of conservation at Herculaneum) and E (quote from two archaeologists) and your own knowledge, assess methods used by archaeologists and/or other specialists to reconstruct the past at Pompeii and/or Herculaneum. (2008: 38 lines; 10 marks)

Using Sources E (picture of excavation work at Pompeii) and F (picture of excavation work at Herculaneum) and your own knowledge, assess the different methods used by archaeologists over time to investigate the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. (2007: 34 lines; 10 marks)

Using Source D (photo of the plaster cast of the ‘Lady of Oplontis’) and your own knowledge, explain how new research methods and technologies have contributed to our understanding of everyday life in Pompeii and Herculaneum. (2006: 34 lines; 10 marks)