LESSON 5.2 How do we know about ancient Rome?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to:
• identify a range of source material about ancient Roman history • analyse a range of source material about ancient Roman history.
Tune in In addition to the many written records, the Romans left many archaeological remains.
SOURCE1 Some of the many columns and sculptures that were created in ancient Rome
1. Describe what you can see in SOURCE 1. 2. Why are columns and sculptures from 2000 years ago still in good condition? 3. What does their condition tell us about the skills of ancient Romans?
5.2.1 How do we know about ancient Rome? The Romans wrote many records about their time. Famous writers like Seneca (c. 4–65 CE), Tacitus (c. 55–117 CE) and Suetonius (c. 69–140 CE) are still read today. Many people visit Italy to see ancient Roman buildings like the Colosseum and the Forum. Pompeii Many also visit the ruins of Pompeii near Naples. It was buried in ash and pumice when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. In the 1800s archaeologists, led by Giuseppe Fiorelli, dug up Pompeii, ýnding streets, houses and even grafýti ‘frozen in time’. They pumped plaster into cavities left by bodies in the hardened ash to create the forms you can see in SOURCES2 and 3 . Pompeii provides us with detailed evidence of Roman town life because: • the town was destroyed very quickly • those lucky enough to escape had no time to take their belongings • the town was preserved undisturbed under metres of ash.
130 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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