By no means the only Vesuvian town Pompeii is iconic, giving us an extraordinary link to a natural disaster occurring 1900 years ago. The site gives a snapshot of human civilisation and highlights how family, status, art, religion, business and community have remained relatively unchanged over the intervening centuries.
Archaeologically interesting, we looked briefly at artefacts online but the human aspect is where we were focussed. We touched on causes of volcanic eruptions from our Weather topic last year, disaster response, beliefs and looked for similarities in our own town (despite our notable lack of a volcano, much to the boys' disappointment).
We read extracts from Pliny the Younger who wrote to his uncle about what he'd seen at Pompeii, watched a fantastic CGI animation of the timeline of the eruption and finished up with a virtual tour of Pompeii thanks to Google Streetview.
Resources
"You could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men; some were calling their parents, others their children or their wives, trying to recognize them by their voices. People bewailed their own fate or that of their relatives, and there were some who prayed for death in their terror of dying. Many besought the aid of the gods, but still more imagined there were no gods left, and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness for evermore." Pliny the Younger
A computer animation showing a timeline of the volcanic eruption:
http://www.openculture.com/2016/02/watch-the-destruction-of-pompeii-by-mount-vesuvius-re-created-with-computer-animation-79-ad.html
Google street view, explore the ruins from the comfort of home:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7489468,14.4848331,3a,75y,209.48h,82.37t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s1e-bu_kis-dL1BnVGZhDdw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
Pompeii in images (good for quick reference):
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/9557356/Pompeii-in-pictures.html
Pliny the Younger:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pliny_the_younger.shtml
Plus an extended version of his letter:
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pompeii.htm
Full, detailed information on the various buildings etc found:
https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/
