The activity was piloted in 11th grade geography and classical civilization classes. However, it is expected to be appropriate for students between 9th grade and freshman year, in courses related to geoscience and/or social sciences (e.g. history, social studies, geology, geography, archaeology).

No previous knowledge of geoarchaeology, geoscience or archaeology is required. Students need to be familiar with basic map reading, though not with topographic or geologic maps. Skills of observation and description are beneficial, though they do not need to be exceptional as the activity provides sufficient guidance to lead students through their interpretations. Some familiarity with bar graphs (particularly histograms) is helpful.

The activity is used as a stand-alone exercise, primarily as an enrichment activity for students interested in further knowledge or continued studies in geoscience and/or archaeology. It runs for approximately 90 minutes.

Students are introduced to basic archaeological, volcanological and geoarchaeological concepts, and are expected to be able to:

1. Describe some archaeological approaches and how geoarchaeology builds on them.
2. Describe the two major types of volcanoes and some related volcanic deposits.

Several higher order thinking skills are expected to be developed through the case study portion of the activity:

1. Interpret geoarchaeological materials.
2. Compare and contrast geographical (volcanic) and archaeological settings and materials.
3. Use these interpretations to help you explain what it was like before and during the eruption at Pompeii.
4. Summarize the landscape history of Pompeii ca. 79 AD, incorporating both geographical and archaeological findings.

The activity has two holistic goals, to:

1. Introduce geoarchaeology and its foundational concepts.
2. Explore the benefits and challenges of interdisiciplinarity.

Students learn about geoarchaeology as an interdisciplinary field, by seeing how it may be applied to understand the complexity of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. First, a short lecture is given to introduce basic archaeological concepts at a range of scales, along with their potential connections to geoarchaeology. Students then work in groups to answer a series of questions regarding the archaeology of Pompeii – the experience of the eruption, society and economy, landscape features and stratigraphy (from images). Another short lecture is given on basic concepts of volcanic geography, again at a range of scales. Students move back into their groups and complete questions on the volcanology of Pompeii – by describing the deposits (hand samples, easily replicated and described in the teaching guide) and matching them to different stages of the eruption. Finally, the groups synthesize the complete landscape history of Pompeii, with each group member being responsible for different aspects and communicating their knowledge to the group via summaries on sticky notes. A short recap and summary lecture is given to close the activity.

• Teaching Guide (Acrobat (PDF) 653kB Jun23 14)
• Teaching Slides - Powerpoint (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 9.3MB Jun23 14)
• Case Study Questions (Acrobat (PDF) 829kB Jun23 14)
• Case Study Question Guide (Acrobat (PDF) 846kB Jul5 14)
• Case Study Figures (Acrobat (PDF) 945kB Jun23 14)
• List of Key Terms (Acrobat (PDF) 421kB Jun23 14)

The "teaching guide" provides a detailed description of the activity and all supplemental material. The "teaching slides" contain notes on the information contained within each slide. The "case study question guide" will help instructors with facilitation.

Students tend to struggle with the sediment description and distribution analyses (questions 4 and 5 of the case study), particular attention to facilitation is necessary here. It is also recommended that students are provided with highlighters for question 1 of the case study (literary passage), to help them tease apart its detail.

Previously, the activity has not been formally evaluated. However, the final synthesis (completed in groups, with individual components) could be evaluated individually and/or as a group.