BAFTA nomination for Pompeii: Life and Death in a Roman Town

Congratulations to Mary Beard whose TV programme Pompeii: Life and Death in a Roman Town has been nominated for a BAFTA. See here for more details.

Pompeii skeletons reveal secrets of Roman family life

Just discovered this BBC story and video featuring Mary Beard. For those who missed the December 14th BBC broadcast. http://ht.ly/3pkjw

Article: Pompeii skeletons reveal secrets of Roman family life

On the BBC website today, an article by Mary Beard:

Pompeii skeletons reveal secrets of Roman family life

The remains of the Roman town of Pompeii destroyed by a volcanic eruption in AD79 continue to provide intriguing and unexpected insights into Roman life - from diet and health care to the gap between rich and poor.

The basement storeroom under a large agricultural depot in the little suburb of Oplontis was full of pomegranates. To many of the Pompeians trying to find shelter from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, it must have seemed strong and safe.

About 50 people took cover there. We know they did because archaeologists in the 1980s found their skeletons, well preserved.

They were overwhelmed by the volcanic debris and burning gases in the very place where they hoped they would be saved.

We know how these poor people died and we know what killed them. But these skeletons can also tell us fascinating things about how the people in Pompeii actually lived.

There are some very simple surprises.

Read more here.

 

Pompeii: Life and Death in a Roman Town

For those of us in the UK, Mary Beard's BBC2 programme about Pompeii is set to be shown next Tuesday at 9pm (England, N.Ireland and Wales only). Here are the details:

Pompeii: one of the most famous volcanic eruptions in history. We know how its victims died, but this film sets out to answer another question - how did they live? Gleaning evidence from an extraordinary find, Cambridge professor and Pompeii expert Mary Beard provides new insight into the lives of the people who lived in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius before its cataclysmic eruption.

In a dark cellar in Oplontis, just three miles from the centre of Pompeii, 54 skeletons who didn't succumb to the torrent of volcanic ash are about to be put under the microscope. The remains will be submitted to a barrage of tests that will unlock one of the most comprehensive scientific snapshots of Pompeian life ever produced - and there are some big surprises in store.

Using the latest forensic techniques it is now possible to determine what those who perished in the disaster ate and drank, where they came from, what diseases they suffered, how rich they were, and perhaps, even more astonishingly, the details of their sex lives.

The way the remains were found in the cellar already provides an invaluable clue about the lives of the people they belonged to. On one side of the room were individuals buried with one of the most stunning hauls of gold, jewellery and coins ever found in Pompeii. On the other, were people buried with nothing. It looked the stark dividing line of a polarised ancient society: a room partitioned between super rich and abject poor. But on closer examination the skeletons reveal some surprises about life in Pompeii.