Arts Society – Pompeii & Herculaneum: Reconstructing the Final Day

Do come for a richly illustrated talk on this wonderful, historic collection.

If you are not a member (we are recruiting new members now) do come as a visitor to the hall. Just pay £10 at the door.

Betchworth Village Memorial Hall will open at 1.45 pm when tea and coffee will be served until 2.15 pm. Lectures begin promptly at 2.30pm. Those attending are asked to be seated by 2.25pm

Monday 20th July 2026 at 2.30

This illustrated presentation reconstructs the dramatic final day of Pompeii and Herculaneum, both destroyed in AD 79 by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Drawing together archaeology, volcanology, literary sources and art, the lecture offers a compelling, evidence-based account of events as they unfolded.

Central to the discussion is the testimony of Pliny the Younger, whose letters provide the earliest known eyewitness account of a volcanic eruption.

Our lecturer James Renshaw will guide us through Pliny’s observations alongside material evidence uncovered at both sites, revealing how modern scholarship continues to refine our understanding of this defining moment in ancient history.

James Renshaw holds a degree in Classics from Oxford University and has taught secondary school Classics since 1998. A keen traveller and photographer, he continues to document ancient sites around the world.

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