KO: Pompeii
Subject: History | Year: 7
Name: _________________________ Class/Set: ____________ Date: ____________
1. Key Knowledge / Core Facts
- 79 AD: The year Mount Vesuvius erupted, destroying Pompeii and Herculaneum.
- Mount Vesuvius: The stratovolcano located near the Bay of Naples, Italy.
- Volcanic Ash: Fine material that buried the city, preserving it for centuries.
- Pumice: Light, porous volcanic rock that rained down on the city during the eruption.
- Pliny the Younger: Roman writer who provided the only eyewitness account of the disaster.
- Rediscovery: The city remained lost until its accidental finding in 1748.
- Giuseppe Fiorelli: Archaeologist who developed the technique of making plaster casts of victims.
- Preservation: The unique conditions under the ash kept buildings, frescos, and even food intact.
2. Key Vocabulary
- Forum: The central public square used for markets, justice, and business.
- Amphitheatre: A large circular building used for gladiator contests and public displays.
- Thermopolium: A Roman 'fast food' bar where hot food was sold to the public.
- Garum: A popular, pungent fermented fish sauce produced in Pompeii.
- Atrium: The open-roofed central hall or entrance court of a Roman house (domus).
- Frescos: Mural paintings created on wet lime plaster.
- Hypocaust: An ancient Roman underfloor heating system used in villas and baths.
3. Roman Social Hierarchy
- Emperor: The supreme leader of the Roman Empire and head of state.
- Patricians: Wealthy, landowning noble families who held high political offices.
- Plebeians: Common Roman citizens, including farmers, bakers, and craftsmen.
- Freedmen: Former slaves who had been granted or bought their freedom.
- Slaves: People with no legal rights, often captured in war, who worked in homes or mines.
- Social Mobility: The rare ability for individuals (like Freedmen) to change their social status.
4. Key Historians and Research
- Mary Beard: Leading British Classicist; expert on the daily realities of Roman life.
- Interdisciplinary Research: Combining archaeology, geology, and history to understand the past.
- Graffiti: Wall inscriptions that reveal political slogans, jokes, and personal messages from citizens.
- Bio-archaeology: Studying skeletal remains to learn about the diet and health of Pompeians.
- Context: Understanding why an object was in a specific place to learn its purpose.
- Modern Challenges: Managing 'over-tourism' and weather damage to prevent the site's decay.
5. Source Analysis (KS3 Skills)
- Primary Source: Evidence created at the time of the event (e.g. the ruins of Pompeii).
- Secondary Source: Evidence created after the event (e.g. a modern history textbook).
- Utility: How 'useful' a source is to a historian for answering a specific question.
- Reliability: The level of trust a historian has in a source’s accuracy.
- Provenance: Where a source comes from, who made it, and when it was made.
- Inference: What a historian can work out from a source even if it isn't stated directly.
6. Key Timeline
- 80 BC: Pompeii officially becomes a Roman colony.
- 62 AD: A massive earthquake causes significant damage to the city's infrastructure.
- 79 AD (Autumn): Mount Vesuvius erupts, burying Pompeii in metres of ash and stone.
- 1594 AD: Architect Domenico Fontana finds the ruins but they are re-buried.
- 1748 AD: Systematic excavations begin under King Charles III of Naples.
- 1860 AD: Giuseppe Fiorelli takes charge as director of excavations, introducing scientific methods and systematic archaeological techniques.
- 1863 AD: Fiorelli creates the first successful plaster casts of victims by pouring plaster into voids in the volcanic ash.
Knowledge Retrieval Task
Task A: Identify the specific year Pompeii was destroyed.
Task B: Define the term 'Patrician'.
Task C: State one reason why Mary Beard is a significant historian for this topic.
Task D: Choose the correct definition for 'Atrium':
a) ☐ A Roman snack bar.
b) ☐ A fermented fish sauce.
c) ☐ An open central hall in a house.
d) ☐ A type of gladiator.
⚠ TEACHER’S GUIDANCE
💡 Pedagogical Pulse
- Oracy Opportunity: Conduct a "Talk Like an Archaeologist" session. Ask students to describe a plaster cast (Fiorelli’s method) using only Tier 3 vocabulary (Primary Source, Preservation, Context).
- Misconception Alert: Many students believe the eruption happened in 79 BC or that everyone died instantly from lava. Clarify that 79 AD is the date and that ash, pumice, and pyroclastic flows (not lava) were the primary causes of death and preservation.
- Differentiation: For GDS (Greater Depth) students, challenge them to debate the Utility of Pliny the Younger's letters versus the Reliability of graffiti on the walls of the Lupanar.
✅ Answer Key & Mirror-Labeling
- Task A Answer: 79 AD.
- Task B Answer: A member of the wealthy, landowning noble families in Rome.
- Task C Answer: She is a leading British expert who focuses on the "real" daily lives of ordinary Roman people rather than just emperors.
- Task D Answer: c) ☐ An open central hall in a house.
