Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

nature and the detail of the preservation of these sites, we have to extrapolate from them to understand other cities. I think the danger is turning everywhere else into a Pompeii and a Herculaneum for the bits that are missing. Were Roman cities all following a similar formula? Yes. There are certain components you find again and again. Like the central forum, the main area?

nature and the detail of the preservation of these sites, we have to extrapolate from them to understand other cities. I think the danger is turning everywhere else into a Pompeii and a Herculaneum for the bits that are missing. Were Roman cities all following a similar formula? Yes. There are certain components you find again and again. Like the central forum, the main area?

You've got to have a central forum. You've got to have the public buildings around the forum. You've got to have a basilica, which in Herculaneum's case is really important, though we haven't excavated it. You've got to have a basilica, a senate house, civic buildings, temples, markets. And then you have the entertainment baths and amphitheatres and so on. Herculaneum has the full set.

You've got to have a central forum. You've got to have the public buildings around the forum. You've got to have a basilica, which in Herculaneum's case is really important, though we haven't excavated it. You've got to have a basilica, a senate house, civic buildings, temples, markets. And then you have the entertainment baths and amphitheatres and so on. Herculaneum has the full set.

You've got to have a central forum. You've got to have the public buildings around the forum. You've got to have a basilica, which in Herculaneum's case is really important, though we haven't excavated it. You've got to have a basilica, a senate house, civic buildings, temples, markets. And then you have the entertainment baths and amphitheatres and so on. Herculaneum has the full set.

Yet, though, okay, pretty well every Roman city has a selection of these elements, not necessarily all. They don't all have amphitheaters. And Herculaneum didn't have an amphitheater. Doesn't, okay. Pompeii does. though they don't all have everything, and they aren't all necessarily in the same relationship to each other. There are patterns, but there's endless variation on the patterns.

Yet, though, okay, pretty well every Roman city has a selection of these elements, not necessarily all. They don't all have amphitheaters. And Herculaneum didn't have an amphitheater. Doesn't, okay. Pompeii does. though they don't all have everything, and they aren't all necessarily in the same relationship to each other. There are patterns, but there's endless variation on the patterns.

Yet, though, okay, pretty well every Roman city has a selection of these elements, not necessarily all. They don't all have amphitheaters. And Herculaneum didn't have an amphitheater. Doesn't, okay. Pompeii does. though they don't all have everything, and they aren't all necessarily in the same relationship to each other. There are patterns, but there's endless variation on the patterns.

And so, one of the consequences is we don't know where the forum of Herculaneum was. That is to say, I am pretty confident that I know where it was. But many people disagree with me about it. So right on the edge of the excavation, there is a beautiful archway and it leads into the edge of a space.

And so, one of the consequences is we don't know where the forum of Herculaneum was. That is to say, I am pretty confident that I know where it was. But many people disagree with me about it. So right on the edge of the excavation, there is a beautiful archway and it leads into the edge of a space.

And so, one of the consequences is we don't know where the forum of Herculaneum was. That is to say, I am pretty confident that I know where it was. But many people disagree with me about it. So right on the edge of the excavation, there is a beautiful archway and it leads into the edge of a space.

Which very awkwardly, the Bourbons thought it was a basilica. And then we decided it wasn't a basilica. So it became the so-called basilica. So it was a sort of non-space with a, this is what it isn't name.

Which very awkwardly, the Bourbons thought it was a basilica. And then we decided it wasn't a basilica. So it became the so-called basilica. So it was a sort of non-space with a, this is what it isn't name.

Which very awkwardly, the Bourbons thought it was a basilica. And then we decided it wasn't a basilica. So it became the so-called basilica. So it was a sort of non-space with a, this is what it isn't name.

And I'm confident that must be the forum because an arch typically leads, and not only is there just one arch, there's another corresponding one buried in the edge of the material on the other side. So a double arch leading into a space, for my money, is a forum. But we can't be confident of that. And colleagues disagree with me.

And I'm confident that must be the forum because an arch typically leads, and not only is there just one arch, there's another corresponding one buried in the edge of the material on the other side. So a double arch leading into a space, for my money, is a forum. But we can't be confident of that. And colleagues disagree with me.

And I'm confident that must be the forum because an arch typically leads, and not only is there just one arch, there's another corresponding one buried in the edge of the material on the other side. So a double arch leading into a space, for my money, is a forum. But we can't be confident of that. And colleagues disagree with me.

A basilica is essentially a meeting space for lots of people to meet in. We live with the myth that the Greeks and Romans lived an outdoor life, and they could do everything in the forum. No, even in antiquity, it rained. It snowed. There was bad weather. You have to have an inside space as well as an outside space. And not surprisingly, law courts need shelter.

A basilica is essentially a meeting space for lots of people to meet in. We live with the myth that the Greeks and Romans lived an outdoor life, and they could do everything in the forum. No, even in antiquity, it rained. It snowed. There was bad weather. You have to have an inside space as well as an outside space. And not surprisingly, law courts need shelter.

A basilica is essentially a meeting space for lots of people to meet in. We live with the myth that the Greeks and Romans lived an outdoor life, and they could do everything in the forum. No, even in antiquity, it rained. It snowed. There was bad weather. You have to have an inside space as well as an outside space. And not surprisingly, law courts need shelter.