New research into Pompeii to be revealed by OU/BBC co-production

New research findings about Pompeii will be revealed by an Open University (OU)/BBC co- production this month (April 2024).

Pompeii: The New Dig is due to be broadcast on Monday, 15 April on BBC Two at 9pm and in this three-part series, it follows an archaeological excavation in Pompeii.

The OU’s Dr Emma-Jayne Graham, Senior Lecturer and Head of Classical Studies and Phil Perkins, Professor of Archaeology, are academic consultants for the programme and are helping to explain the findings based on their previous research into Pompeii. The documentaries are also linked to parts of the new postgraduate MA degree in Classical Studies that concern current research in Pompeii, authored by Professor Perkins that launches later this year.

Earlier and current research into Pompeii by OU researchers

OU researchers have been studying Pompeii for several years.

Their main research has been into religion.

The Baron Thyssen Centre for the Study of Ancient Material Religion, was founded at the OU in 2018 to promote research into the material, visual and other sensory aspects of Greek, Etruscan and Roman religions, and to bring this research into dialogue with work on material religion in later periods. As part of this work, Dr Graham and Dr Jessica Hughes, as well as Associate Lecturer Virginia Campbell published an OpenAccess special edition of the Open Arts Journal all about religion in Pompeii.

Dr Graham also published research findings in that journal issue in a paper called: 'At home with the Lares: lived religion rematerialized at Pompeii'. These findings influenced aspects of the series, especially the third episode, which features an extended section on the newly discovered archaeological remains of a household shrine. The episode includes some bespoke 'fresco-style' animations that reconstruct how it was used. These were shaped by conversations about the lived experience of performing ancient religious rituals in Roman homes explored in that article.

In the past, Dr Graham has also conducted research on the cemeteries of Pompeii: ‘There buds the laurel’: Nature, temporality, and the making of place in the cemeteries of Roman Italy.

More recent and current research projects also include research into religion. They include a book (under contract with Oxford University Press) by Dr Jessica Hughes, which is about religion and memory at Pompeii and is supported by a Senior Research Fellowship from the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust.

Dr Joanna Paul has also conducted extensive research on contemporary cultural responses to Pompeii, including a chapter on how modern understandings of Pompeii have been influenced by different digital technologies including drones and its connections with contemporary music. Dr Paul has also published papers on various aspects of Pompeii in the modern world.

Commenting on the series and on her research into Pompeii, Dr Graham said:

“The surprise discovery of a household shrine, complete with the remains of the last offering that had been made to the gods on its altar, was so exciting to see. It also provided a unique opportunity to link my recent research on religion in the Roman home with how these new discoveries are being interpreted and to share that with a wide audience.”

The Pompeii: The New Dig series was commissioned by Broadcast and Partnerships and is supported by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.