BIBLIOGRAPHY + RELIABILITY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF SOURCES:
Throughout the process of my investigation, I was able to utilize a variety of different types of sources. This ranged from primary sources such as frescoes, architectural structures, graffiti, and wall paintings as well as secondary sources such as websites, photographs, youtube videos, and books. The primary sources helped me to understand the event as they provide a unique source of information about the different aspects of life in an ancient Roman civilization such as Pompeii. In this way I was able demonstrate my own understanding of the significance of the Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD effectively. The secondary sources ultimately support the conclusions I made, and also allowed me to investigate my primary sources accordingly.
The significance of the Vesuvius eruption is that it provides a window into the world of Pompeii in that period of time. It is thanks to the eruption that we are able to uncover an ancient Roman city that was preserved in volcanic material and debris centuries ago. From the distinctive architecture to the artworks, the remains of this city continue to influence us even today, whereas other ancient Roman cities would have left only fragments of evidence for us to explore, as remains would have perished over time. In my investigation I found primary sources proved more reliable as I was able to analyze raw, uncorrupted remains from Pompeii and interpret them in my own way without having my ideas influenced by others’. In this way I was able to create my own unique conclusions about what these artefacts convey about life in Pompeii before the eruption. However, a limitation of primary sources that I encountered in this investigation was that I was not able to place the artefacts in context myself without the common error. And so I needed to refer to my secondary sources for exactly this, as they give me a basic understanding of the objects before I can move on to formulating my own conclusions. Secondary sources are also useful in the way that they provide information through various types of media such as videos, images, and illustrative reconstructions. In this way I was able to effectively picture life in Pompeii before the eruption. The secondary sources I used for this particular investigation proved to be reliable as experts or authors would have written them with a more complex understanding about the event and its relevance to our knowledge about ancient Roman civilizations today. However issues might arise from using secondary sources if they were in any way biased such as excluding factual information as well as if inaccurate research was used.
The significance of the Vesuvius eruption is that it provides a window into the world of Pompeii in that period of time. It is thanks to the eruption that we are able to uncover an ancient Roman city that was preserved in volcanic material and debris centuries ago. From the distinctive architecture to the artworks, the remains of this city continue to influence us even today, whereas other ancient Roman cities would have left only fragments of evidence for us to explore, as remains would have perished over time. In my investigation I found primary sources proved more reliable as I was able to analyze raw, uncorrupted remains from Pompeii and interpret them in my own way without having my ideas influenced by others’. In this way I was able to create my own unique conclusions about what these artefacts convey about life in Pompeii before the eruption. However, a limitation of primary sources that I encountered in this investigation was that I was not able to place the artefacts in context myself without the common error. And so I needed to refer to my secondary sources for exactly this, as they give me a basic understanding of the objects before I can move on to formulating my own conclusions. Secondary sources are also useful in the way that they provide information through various types of media such as videos, images, and illustrative reconstructions. In this way I was able to effectively picture life in Pompeii before the eruption. The secondary sources I used for this particular investigation proved to be reliable as experts or authors would have written them with a more complex understanding about the event and its relevance to our knowledge about ancient Roman civilizations today. However issues might arise from using secondary sources if they were in any way biased such as excluding factual information as well as if inaccurate research was used.
Photograph sources:
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_21527818/pompeii-before-and-after-vesuvius-eruption
Ashen Sky: An Eyewitness Account of the Destruction of Pompeii, The Getty Museum, 2007.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pompeii.htm
http://www.vesuvioinrete.it/e_storia.htm
http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/past_exhibitions/2013/pompeii_and_herculaneum/pompeii_live/eruption_timeline.aspx
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/pompeii/
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2011/04/garden-of-fugitives-fossilized-victims.html
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-ancient-brothels-of-pompeii
Book Sources:
Meyer, Frederick, The Natural History of Pompeii, Cambridge, 2002
Emidio de Albentiis, Secrets of Pompeii: Everyday Life in Ancient Rome, Los Angeles, California 2009
Watkin, David, The Roman Forum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2009
Websites:
http://decodedpast.com/human-remains-pompeii-body-casts/7532
http://wikireedia.net/wikireedia/index.php?title=Pompeii_-_Eroticism_and_Prostitution
http://www.spiegel.de/international/pompeii-s-whorehouse-erotic-murals-re-exposed-a-445134.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20407286
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_portents_01.shtml
http://www.livescience.com/26164-pompeii-wall-graffiti-social-networks.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469420/Pompeii/5861/Description-of-the-remains
http://www.livescience.com/27871-mount-vesuvius-pompeii.html
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/pompeii
http://www.ancient.eu/article/467/
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_21527818/pompeii-before-and-after-vesuvius-eruption
Ashen Sky: An Eyewitness Account of the Destruction of Pompeii, The Getty Museum, 2007.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pompeii.htm
http://www.vesuvioinrete.it/e_storia.htm
http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/past_exhibitions/2013/pompeii_and_herculaneum/pompeii_live/eruption_timeline.aspx
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/pompeii/
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2011/04/garden-of-fugitives-fossilized-victims.html
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-ancient-brothels-of-pompeii
Book Sources:
Meyer, Frederick, The Natural History of Pompeii, Cambridge, 2002
Emidio de Albentiis, Secrets of Pompeii: Everyday Life in Ancient Rome, Los Angeles, California 2009
Watkin, David, The Roman Forum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2009
Websites:
http://decodedpast.com/human-remains-pompeii-body-casts/7532
http://wikireedia.net/wikireedia/index.php?title=Pompeii_-_Eroticism_and_Prostitution
http://www.spiegel.de/international/pompeii-s-whorehouse-erotic-murals-re-exposed-a-445134.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20407286
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_portents_01.shtml
http://www.livescience.com/26164-pompeii-wall-graffiti-social-networks.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469420/Pompeii/5861/Description-of-the-remains
http://www.livescience.com/27871-mount-vesuvius-pompeii.html
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/pompeii
http://www.ancient.eu/article/467/