Pompeii Live CH5 8pm Tonight!
Pompeii Live
Fire, brimstone, gushing lakes of lava and mass destruction... the world’s most famous volcano ripped two Roman cities to shreds and obliterated everything in its wake. This is your chance to witness this extraordinary natural disaster from the comfort of your armchair.
Five’s latest big history event is a live outdoor broadcast filmed at excavation sites in the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In an exclusive live special, Peter Snow and Edwina Silver join a team of archaeologists, scientists and historians to revisit the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius in AD79 and explore some of the mysteries that still lie behind the scenes at Pompeii and in the nearby site of Herculaneum. We follow the archaeologists as they excavate sites never seen before by the public which are still coated in volcanic ash from the dramatic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79. The programme will also explain the science of the eruption, recreating the last hours of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Viewers will have the chance to experience the luxury and sophistication of Roman society, intimate details of Roman life uniquely preserved beneath the lava, and hear the stories of how the citizens of these ill-fated cities met their death. We have gained exclusive access to The House of The Chaste Lovers and The House of the Painters at Work, a mysterious complex within Pompeii that is not open to the public. It is believed that the complex was being painted at the time of the eruption. We will also explore the conservation that is currently taking place at the Basilica at Herculaneum, where new treasures are being discovered. At Pompeii, Five will reveal the archaeological findings at The Garden of The Temple of Venus.
Veteran broadcaster Peter Snow says “I am extremely excited to be working with Five on this project which I am sure will be absolutely fascinating and made all the more compelling because of the live aspect of the broadcast. I have had a passion for Pompeii and Herculaneum ever since my student days. They offer a unique insight into the Roman Empire and the beauty of the painting and sculpture is mesmerising. It is a wonderful programme to be involved in and I am thoroughly looking forward to it.”
The event will be broadcast live from the ancient cities with leading experts Professor Andrew Wallace Hadrill, director of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, and Antonio Varone in Pompeii retelling the story of the disaster. Among the highlights at the Herculaneum site is the House of the Telephus Relief, which sits on the ancient shoreline where bodies of fleeing families have previously been found. The spectacular remains of the ancient town's Basillica, which is only now being unearthed almost 2000 years later, is another treat.
Pompeii and Herculaneum are crumbling. At a time when the sites are under threat as never before, Five has been following new works to rescue some of the most famous archaeology in the world for future generations. The programme will chart the progress of this archaeological work from its beginnings in May 2005 to the live event itself this summer. As well as the present-day excavation and conservation, the programme will explain the science of the eruption, using CGI and reconstruction to recreate the last hours of the great cities.
The scientists end by assessing the chances that, 2,000 years on, the catastrophe could happen all over again.
Fire, brimstone, gushing lakes of lava and mass destruction... the world’s most famous volcano ripped two Roman cities to shreds and obliterated everything in its wake. This is your chance to witness this extraordinary natural disaster from the comfort of your armchair.
Five’s latest big history event is a live outdoor broadcast filmed at excavation sites in the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In an exclusive live special, Peter Snow and Edwina Silver join a team of archaeologists, scientists and historians to revisit the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius in AD79 and explore some of the mysteries that still lie behind the scenes at Pompeii and in the nearby site of Herculaneum. We follow the archaeologists as they excavate sites never seen before by the public which are still coated in volcanic ash from the dramatic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79. The programme will also explain the science of the eruption, recreating the last hours of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Viewers will have the chance to experience the luxury and sophistication of Roman society, intimate details of Roman life uniquely preserved beneath the lava, and hear the stories of how the citizens of these ill-fated cities met their death. We have gained exclusive access to The House of The Chaste Lovers and The House of the Painters at Work, a mysterious complex within Pompeii that is not open to the public. It is believed that the complex was being painted at the time of the eruption. We will also explore the conservation that is currently taking place at the Basilica at Herculaneum, where new treasures are being discovered. At Pompeii, Five will reveal the archaeological findings at The Garden of The Temple of Venus.
Veteran broadcaster Peter Snow says “I am extremely excited to be working with Five on this project which I am sure will be absolutely fascinating and made all the more compelling because of the live aspect of the broadcast. I have had a passion for Pompeii and Herculaneum ever since my student days. They offer a unique insight into the Roman Empire and the beauty of the painting and sculpture is mesmerising. It is a wonderful programme to be involved in and I am thoroughly looking forward to it.”
The event will be broadcast live from the ancient cities with leading experts Professor Andrew Wallace Hadrill, director of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, and Antonio Varone in Pompeii retelling the story of the disaster. Among the highlights at the Herculaneum site is the House of the Telephus Relief, which sits on the ancient shoreline where bodies of fleeing families have previously been found. The spectacular remains of the ancient town's Basillica, which is only now being unearthed almost 2000 years later, is another treat.
Pompeii and Herculaneum are crumbling. At a time when the sites are under threat as never before, Five has been following new works to rescue some of the most famous archaeology in the world for future generations. The programme will chart the progress of this archaeological work from its beginnings in May 2005 to the live event itself this summer. As well as the present-day excavation and conservation, the programme will explain the science of the eruption, using CGI and reconstruction to recreate the last hours of the great cities.
The scientists end by assessing the chances that, 2,000 years on, the catastrophe could happen all over again.