This week we are exploring archeology with the University of Cambridge professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, head of the Herculaneum Conservation Project and author of the elegant and informative book, Herculaneum: Past and Future .
In today’s ReThink clip Andrew discusses the residences of the poor in Herculaneum.
In ancient Rome it was normal for the rich to live side-by-side with the poor, a straightforward sign of their daily interaction and mutual dependence. This is markedly different to our modern age, where the rich are typically sealed off, geographically and culturally, from the poor.
Once again, studying the ruins of Herculaneum brings us face to face, not only with the values of the Ancient Roman world, but also our own world - warts and all.