Download Pompeii: Back from the Dead

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World History – Mrs. Schenck
Pompeii: Back from the Dead
EQ – How do we use inferences and connections from primary sources to build understanding?
For each section of the video, record a primary source historians looked at and something
historians learned about life in ancient Rome using that evidence.
The History of a Buried City
 Pompeii in 79 A.D. had around 12,000 people
 wealthiest seafront town in Roman Empire (where the rich had vacation homes or villas)
 well planned city with excellent water system, oldest amphitheater, etc.
 Primary Source: Pompeiia’s (wife of an emperor) villa – wall paintings survived in beautiful
color and detail
Beneath the Layers of Ash: The People of Pompeii
 70 ft. of ash from Mt. Vesuvius buried the entire town (no lava!) – we compared this to the
eruption of Mt. St. Helen’s in Washington state in 1980 (62 people died, ash cloud, crater in the
mountain, destruction, etc.)
 Primary Source: historians created body casts of the victims (when ash buried the bodies, they
decomposed and left holes where the bodies were that historians filled with plaster to make casts
of the people) – unfortunately the plaster destroyed the remaining bones, which could have given
historians more info using modern technology – further complicated by the fact that most
Romans cremated their dead – this makes the find of 54 skeletons in the cellar of the villa an
amazing discovery!
Seismic Activity in Italy (ends at 9 minute mark)
 August, one week before the eruption, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the town
 Italy is prone to earthquakes/volcanic activity because they are in between two tectonic plates
 much was destroyed and thus many people left Pompeii
 Primary Source: huge crack in the wall of Pompeiia’s villa
The Mystery Cellar in Pompeii
 skeletons separated in two groups – wealthy with many treasures and no possessions
 box with gold leaf and a seal tell us the “green man” was the owner of the warehouse and a
wealthy merchant in Pompeii
 Primary Sources: coins (tell us the type of business, bigger denominations, so good business),
jewelry, cart wheels in the stone (tell us this was a warehouse that got a lot of deliveries), etc.
The Green Lady
 bones of a wealthy woman were stained green from the reaction of the metal jewelry she brought
with the bone (there was a green man with her too – above – was the owner of the cellar)
 Primary Source: bones show she was pregnant
From Slave to Free Person
 historians think ¾ of the town of Herculaneum may have been slaves who had earned their
freedom and a good livelihood after *this is huge because it was not possible in most other slave
owning societies
 Primary Source: bones of the African found in the cellar were found with jewelry and the same
green stains (slavery in Rome was not based on race, but citizenship)
(*Ends around 22 minutes)
Pompeian Lifestyle
 many villas had double toilets (you sat two at a time, considered a time to socialize!) – there was
even writing on the bathroom wall like today!
 Primary Source: the sewer system below still contains excrement that historians used to
determine the Pompeian diet – they ate a wide and nutritious diet (eggs, fish, fruit, etc.)
Disease in Pompeii - SKIP THIS PART
The Eruption Begins (starts again at 28 mins)
 spectators at the amphitheater first notice the plume of smoke from the volcano mid-day and
chaos ensues as people try to escape the city, many were trampled!
Mt. Vesuvius Explodes
 it had been 1,500 years since the last eruption, so most people had no idea it was a volcano
 pumice and hot rock spewed out first, then larger debris that killed many trying to flee
 Primary Source: bones of family crushed under a staircase
Chaos and Death in Pompeii
 as more ash and gas spews from the volcano, many suffocate
 by 6pm the ash turned the sky pitch black
 Primary Source: body castes show us the final moments of these people - strained, hiding,
crouched, agonized positions
The Final Moments of the Pompeian’s
 debris is falling at 4 ft./hr. – actually created more land, so the cities are a ¼ of a mile further
inland than in 79 A.D.
 final eruption is the pyroclastic surge – 400 degrees of heat and toxic gasses surge down the
mountain and incinerate everything in its path
 Primary Source: bones of the people in the cellar probably survived the initial pyroclastic
surge’s heat (protected in the cellar) because there are no heat cracks in the bones, but suffocated
when the toxic gases filled their lungs
FQ: How could the destruction of Pompeii “benefit” historians today?
“To hear and learn about their deaths is sad, but through death they have given us a glimpse into
their lives and the lives of Romans during this time.”
Exit Slip: Describe one inference historians made using the archaeological evidence from Pompeii.
“Based on the evidence that…, historians can infer… EXPLAIN”