Dr. Pedar Foss (Depauw University) It has long been held, on the basis of a letter of Pliny the Younger, that Mt. Vesuvius erupted on 24 August, AD 79. But after excavators began to work at the sites of Herculaneum at Pompeii, some scholars expressed doubts, suggesting a date later in the autumn of that year. Debate has increased with recent paleo-environmental research and finds from new excavations. Scholars have divided over a topic that might appear trivial—after all, most…
Find out more »Dr. Sarah Levin-Richardson (University of Washington) This talk brings to life Pompeii’s purpose-built brothel, the only assured brothel from Greco-Roman antiquity. We take a virtual tour of the structure’s material evidence, from architecture to ancient graffiti (including the infamous erotic frescoes). In the process, we discover a world in which male and female prostitutes could flout the norms of society and proclaim themselves as sexual agents, where prostitutes and clients exchanged gifts, greetings, taunts, and praise, and where clients from…
Find out more »Dr. Kevin Dicus (University of Oregon) This talk examines the modern life histories of Pompeii’s body casts. I begin by tracing the development of the casting technique that created the most tangible and poignant remains of Pompeii. These casts, however, are far from being snapshots of that infamous day; rather, modern intervention, and even fabrication, have blurred the distinction between ancient and modern. With the imagined biographies assigned to the victims, to the methods of forming and displaying the casts,…
Find out more »Dr. Mira Green (University of Washington) How did ancient Romans perform daily routines like cooking, dining, and using the toilet? This presentation explores the accounts from Roman literature about cooking, dining, and excreting alongside the archaeological evidence from Pompeii in order to recreate some daily routines in Roman houses. Roman law and literature indicate that household cooks and domestic laborers were assumed to be slaves. Because ancient Rome was a slave society, most households likely relied on slave labor. Thus,…
Find out more »Dr. Jeremy Hartnett (Wabash College, IN) When we think of Roman cities, it is tempting to conjure images of temples, baths, and amphitheaters. This talk storms into the narrow streets of Pompeii to make the case that, for most Romans, the real action happened on the neighborhood level. By examining five stories at just one intersection far from the monumental center of this city, we will learn about (a) streetside religion, the former slaves who presided over it, and the…
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