Adult Lecture Series

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD is one of history’s most famous natural disasters. Learn about the rich cultural evidence found in the volcanic matrix and recent developments that cracked the riddle of the Herculaneum Papyri.

Roger T. Macfarlane is a professor of classical studies at Brigham Young University. He has directed the Herculaneum Papyrus Project at BYU since 2005 and is a member of the EDUCE project that recovers and interprets texts from the carbonized scrolls of Herculaneum’s Villa dei Papiri. He opened the archaeological site at Pollena Trocchia, a Roman site on Vesuvius’ northern slope.