The Eruption
What is the name of the volcano that erupted and what year was it?
Mt Vesuvius in 79AD
Which city was larger at the time of the AD 79 eruption: Pompeii or Herculaneum?
Pompeii
What was a thermopolium?
A shop selling prepared food/drink
Name one industry evident at Pompeii.
Wine, olive oil, textiles/fulleries, garum
Name one major deity worshipped at Pompeii
Jupiter, Apollo, Venus, Isis
Which ancient writer provides the major eyewitness account of the eruption?
Pliny the Younger
What was the Forum primarily used for?
Civic, commercial, religious and political activities
What do public baths reveal about Roman life?
Importance of hygiene, leisure and social interaction
What product was produced using fish in Pompeii?
Garum/fish sauce
What household spirits protected Roman families?
The lares
How many metres of volcanic material buried Pompeii and Herculaneum following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79?
Pompeii: approximately 4–6 metres
Herculaneum: up to approximately 20 metres.
What large entertainment building in Pompeii, capable of holding thousands of spectators, was used for gladiatorial contests?
The Amphitheatre
What evidence provides information about food and diet?
Food remains, carbonised food, bones, seeds, amphorae, kitchens, latrines, etc.
What do shops and workshops attached to houses suggest about the economy?
Commercial and domestic activities were closely connected.
What religious building at Pompeii provides evidence for the popularity of an Egyptian cult?
The Temple of Isis
What archaeological technique developed by Giuseppe Fiorelli allowed archaeologists to preserve the forms of victims buried by volcanic material?
Plaster casting
What type of public building in Pompeii and Herculaneum served as an important place for bathing, exercise and social interaction?
Thermae
What archaeological feature found in many Pompeian houses provided an open-air space for gardens, dining and relaxation?
The peristyle
What type of workshop processed and cleaned cloth and provides evidence for Pompeii's textile industry?
The Fullery
What form of worship connected religion with loyalty to the Roman emperor and his family?
Imperial cult
What geological phenomenon occurred shortly before the AD 79 eruption and was recorded by Seneca as causing significant damage to Pompeii and Herculaneum?
The 62AD Earthquake
What modern scientific technique has been used to examine the internal structures of casts and human remains from the Vesuvian sites without physically opening or damaging them?
CT scanning
What room in a Roman house was traditionally used as the formal dining room, where guests reclined while eating?
The triclinium
Which Pompeian building is named after an individual whose electoral notices were found nearby and contains evidence of large-scale cloth processing?
The Fullery of Stephanus
Which deity was worshipped at a temple located near the Triangular Forum and was particularly associated with theatre and wine?
Dionysus/Bacchus