Living History at SMAC

Interested students already dived into the year 79 AD during the train ride by reading one of the classical sources on this subject, Pliny. From these two letters of Pliny we drew many descriptions and could already guess the drama of the events.

These premonitions already manifested themselves in the first installation, in which the students were accompanied through the day of the eruption of Vesuvius. Via the archaeological finds and findings, the museum guide spanned the arc to everyday life in Pompeii. We learned about trade, eating habits, three-legged statues, visiting the thermal baths and about the spectacle of gladiator fights. Students were impressed by similarities of ancient cookshops to today's fast food culture. Of course, what should never be missing from Roman daily life is the business to be done and the origin of our current idiom.

More emotional for the students was the last part of the exhibition, because here the fate of the victims was cast in stone. The last seconds of the inhabitants of Pompeii could be captured by an ingenious method of the archaeologists. Thus, the dying in their last posture were covered by the ashes of the fire-breathing volcano. After the life had gone out of these persons and their mortal remains had passed away, only the cavity under ashes remained. Archaeologists were able to fill this cavity with plaster, leaving behind memorials of the natural disaster in human form.

Afterwards, things got less emotional and more practical. The sixth graders were allowed to try their hand at fun and games in Roman: Describing wax tablets, throwing nuts and writing on papyrus formed the successful conclusion of this excursion. The momentum from this excursion to SMAC Chemnitz will help us progress in our history classes and hopefully sparked an interest in Roman civilization, which will have an impact on enrollment numbers for upcoming Latin courses.