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Blake, E. (2015). More history on the block: Lego Pompeii comes to Nicholson Museum', Sydney Morning Herald, 8 January 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2014 from http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/more-history-on-the-block-lego-pompeii-comes-to-nicholson-museum-20150110-12kfqc.html

Griffiths, S & Woollaston, V. (2015). ‘Ancient Pompeii revealed...in LEGO: 190,000-brick model shows what the town looked like before being destroyed in 79AD’, Daily Mail Australia, 26 January 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2926524/Ancient-Pompeii-revealed-LEGO-190-000-brick-model-shows-town-looked-like-destroyed-79AD.html

Pompeii was a large Roman town in the Italian region of Campania that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption from nearby Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. Mount Vesuvius, a volcano near the Bay of Naples in Italy, is hundreds of thousands of years old and has erupted more than 50 times. Its most famous eruption took place in the year 79 A.D., when the volcano buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii under a thick carpet of volcanic ash. The dust “poured across the land” like a flood, one witness wrote, and shrouded the city in “a darkness…like the black of closed and unlighted rooms.” Reports said 2,000 people died, and the location was abandoned until it was rediscovered in 1748. Many of the buildings, artefacts and skeletons were found intact under a layer of dust of debris. It is now classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site and more than 2.5 million tourists visit each year. In November, French and Italian archaeologists excavating areas of the ancient town found raw clay vases that appear to have been dropped by Roman potters fleeing the disaster. Because the preserved condition of entire town is really good, it has been used as research materials and there have been numerous trials to reenact in many areas. Lego Pompeii is one of those trials to show this tragic and unprecedented historical event in a new way.

The Lego Pompeii exhibition is currently on display at the Nicholson Museum, which is located at the Quad in the University of Sydney. The exhibition was commissioned by the Nicholson Museum and runs from the 10th of January 2015 until the 31st December 2015 (The University of Sydney, 2015). The exhibition is used to commemorate three historical moments in the history of Pompeii (Barker, 2015). Firstly, it commemorates the moment in 79AD when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted (Barker, 2015). Secondly, it commemorates the period when it was discovered again during the 1700s. It also represents what Pompeii looks like today (Barker, 2015). The display also depicts excavation sites that have occurred in Pompeii, as well as archaeologists including Fiorelli, Spinazzola and Maiuri (Barker, 2015).

The statue was developed by Ryan McNaught, a notable Lego artist known as "The Brickman" (Barker, 2015). It took over 190 000 lego bricks to develop the display (Barker, 2015).

In the display, McNaught makes use of popular culture references. An example of this is one section of the display in which we can see the band Pink Floyd performing at the Ampitheatre. Another example is a depiction of Mozart playing the piano in the Temple of Isis.

References

Barker, C. (2015). Lego Pompeii creates less pomp and more yay in the museum. Retrieved 1st April from http://theconversation.com/lego-pompeii-creates-less-pomp-and-more-yay-in-the-museum-36059

The University of Sydney (2015). Lego Pompeii - Sydney University Museums - The University of Sydney. Retrieved 1st April from http://sydney.edu.au/museums/exhibitions-events/lego-pompeii.shtml