A booking Form will be sent out nearer the time.

The talks bring together archaeology, volcanology, literary evidence, and art.  They examine what happened to these two towns when destroyed on the same day in AD 79 by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. 

This study day offers three lectures:

1. Pompeii and Herculaneum: reconstructing the final day. This talk brings together archaeology, volcanology, literary evidence, and art to examine what happened to these two towns famously when destroyed on the same day in AD 79 by the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. He will look at the evidence of Pliny the Younger, who provides history’s first eyewitness account of a volcanic eruption, as well as the evidence uncovered in the cities themselves. 

2. Pompeii:  This talk will look at what can be found in Pompeii, and how a visitor can make the most of their time there if they visit. What are the main regions of the town, what are some of the most interesting buildings, and what are some of the stories and anecdotes which go alongside them? 

3. Herculaneum:  This talk will focus on what can be found in Herculaneum, the ‘little sibling’ of Pompeii, which is less visited and less known about. However, it is a gem and offers a number of insights into Roman life much less evident than at Pompeii - not least polychrome surfaces, and two-storey houses. Moreover, we can learn some fascinating insights into a few named individuals who have left behind details of their lives.   

Following a degree in Classics from Oxford University, James has taught Classics at secondary school level since 1998, most recently at the Godolphin and Latymer in London; here he ran the school’s Ancient World Breakfast Club, which has an ethos similar to that of The Arts Society.  Since 1998, he has published a number of textbooks related to the classical world, including ‘In Search of the Greeks’ and ‘In Search of the Romans’. In addition to his school teaching, he has also lectured for the V&A Academy, most recently on its Art and the City: Antiquity to Renaissance course. He has also been a Council Member for the Hellenic Society and the Roman Society. He was also a Council Member for the Hellenic Society and the Roman Society. He is a keen traveller and is lucky enough to have taken many photos of ancient sites, a number of which have been used in his books. He is  currently working on a book due out in 2027 on the history of the marathon race. ‘The Marathon: an Epic History’ which seeks to chart how stories from the battle of Marathon in 490 BC led to a new 'marathon' event at the first modern Olympics in 1896, and how this event has gone on to become a sporting craze.