ANCIENT ROME
Rome Part 1
Rome began as a small settlement of the banks of the Tiber River. From the time of Romulus, it grew into a strong kingdom and eventually, a powerful republic conquering the Italian peninsula. Later, Rome laid claim to most of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean.
Rome Part 2
From Village to Late Republic - 753BCE to 121BCE
From 121BCE onwards, the political fortunes of Rome were denominated by powerful leaders.
Marius - the military reformer; Sulla - the dictator; Cicero - the lawyer, orator and consul and Caesar, who appointed himself dictator in 453BCE.
When the Roman fleet destroyed the Egyptians at the Battle of Actium, Augustus became the first Roman Emperor.
MOUNT VESUVIUS erupted almost 2000 years ago.
The inhabitants of nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum suffered horrific deaths, before being buried under tonnes of volcanic rock and mud.
For centuries their stories were forgotten. Gradually, over the last 250 years, their secrets have been unearthed, giving us a remarkable insight into an ancient society.
Cities of Vesuvius - Pompeii & Herculaneum
MOUNT VESUVIUS erupted in 79AD and the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were completely buried.
For 1600 years, their secrets were lost in time. When a peasant in the early 1700s discovered marble blocks while deepening his well, he found Herculaneum. Thus began the removal of everything valuable from both cities. In the 1800s, significant and ground-breaking archaeology of the sites began.
