Junior High Latin Students Spend “A Day in Pompeii”

On Friday, October 3, the Latin students in grades 7, 8 and 9 traveled to Discovery Place in Charlotte and explored daily life in ancient Pompeii. Cookware, scales, coins, statues, furniture, frescoes, graffiti and other objects used by Pompeian citizens before the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. are arranged to give visitors a glimpse of what life was like almost 2000 years ago. Visiting this exhibit brought events that the students had previously only read about to life. The excavations at Pompeii and other Roman towns near Mt. Vesuvius provide us with some of the best information about the daily life of the ancient Romans, whether they lived on the Bay of Naples, in Rome or in other parts of the Empire. There are over 200 artifacts on display, and the final room of the exhibit contains several of the original plaster casts that were made by archaeologists as they excavated. Through these figures, the students were able to see what the final moments were like for the victims of Mt. Vesuvius’ eruption. The exhibit will be in Charlotte through January 4, 2009, and it is well worth the trip. -Elizabeth Rief

Click here to view more photos from the trip.