Culture Resources

General

***Please be aware that there are very many websites about Pompeii and Herculaneum. While most have excellent images, the written content is not always accurate or up to date in its scholarship. Where you come across a statement which seems to contradict what has been written in the textbook, please rely on the textbook, which has had careful academic review.***

The official Italian website for Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other archaeological sites of the Bay of Naples: http://www.pompeiisites.org/ 

A British Museum site outlining the timeline of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in AD 79: http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/pompeii_and_herculaneum/pompeii_live/eruption_timeline.aspx 

An excellent BBC site on Mt Vesuvius and the eruption of AD 79: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/collections/mount_vesuvius   

The latest news from those working at Pompeii: http://bloggingpompeii.blogspot.co.uk/  

A superb resource of three videos about graffiti in Pompeii: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/classical-studies/latin-graffiti-pompeii   

An article about ancient graffiti in Pompeii and Herculaneum: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/03/adrienne-was-here/475719/  

3.1 Roman Housing

Vitruvius’ account of the ideal Roman House: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/6*.html 

A comprehensive website for Ostia Antica: http://www.ostia-antica.org/  

A detailed description of the Insula of Diana: http://www.ostia-antica.org/regio1/3/3-3.htm 

Southampton University’s Research page for the Insula dell’Ara Coeli at the foot of the Capitoline hill: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/insula.page 

A clickable plan of a Roman house with plenty of good photos and commentary: http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/house.html   

A reconstruction of the House of Caecilius Iucundus in Pompeii: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETd7pszxhnc

3.2 The Roman Home and Family

An entertaining video about family life in ancient Rome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juWYhMoDTN0&vl=en 

And one about a day in the life of a Roman client: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJSZKNa_bgQ  

Modern food critics taste Roman food: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzrEW-0tNz0&t=448s  

Some recipes from the Roman cookbook of Apicius: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/233472.html 

3.3 Society

A detailed analysis of the class structure of Roman society: http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/socialclass.html  

An analysis of Roman slavery in the city of Tipasa in modern Algeria: http://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/?pg=33&s=films_details&id=655  

A BBC Radio 4 In Our Time episode about Spartacus: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03wq2p3 

A site dedicated to campaigning against modern slavery: https://www.antislavery.org/  

3.4 Leisure and Entertainment

Three BBC articles about the Colosseum and gladiators: www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/colosseum_01.shtml  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/launch_ani_colosseum.shtml 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/gladiators_01.shtml  

A Smithsonian article about the Colosseum: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/secrets-of-the-colosseum-75827047/  

Information about Pompeii’s amphitheatre and the riot: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/gladiators/pompeii.html 

Detailed information about the history of the Circus Maximus: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/circusmaximus.html 

Detailed information about Roman Chariot Racing: http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/circus.html  

An introduction to the Roman theatre: http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/leisure.html  

A detailed description of the Large Theatre at Pompeii: https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/public-buildings/large-theatre 

A short video reconstruction of the Large Theatre and the gladiator barracks behind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3xlnRCSn4s  

An introduction to the Roman baths: http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/baths.html 

The website for the Roman baths at Bath: https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/ 

A detailed description of the Central baths at Herculaneum: https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/herculaneum-1/insula-vi/central-thermae