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← Ancient History syllabus

QLDAncient History

Unit 3: Reconstructing the ancient world (Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum)

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What do ancient written accounts and modern scholarship contribute to reconstructing Pompeii and Herculaneum, and how reliable is each kind of source?

What do sources reveal about the economy, trade and commercial life of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and how do historians reconstruct it from physical evidence?

What do sources reveal about everyday life, work, leisure, religion and social structure in Pompeii and Herculaneum?

How do physical and written sources allow historians to reconstruct the geographical setting of Pompeii and Herculaneum and the events of the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius?

What do the public and private buildings of Pompeii and Herculaneum reveal about urban life, the economy and social organisation in a Roman town?

What issues of excavation, conservation, interpretation and ethics arise in reconstructing and preserving Pompeii and Herculaneum?

How do historians reconstruct the ancient world from fragmentary evidence, and how should sources be analysed and evaluated for the IA1 source examination?