The downfall of Pompeii in Italy will be discussed at a free University of Queensland public lecture next week.

Professor Frank Sear from the University of Melbourne will discuss Two days in the life of Pompeii on Friday, May 9 at 8pm in the Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, Campbell Road, St Lucia campus.

On August 24, 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted and engulfed the city of Pompeii in southern Italy.

The lecture will discuss archaeological findings from the buildings, people and even food that were sealed by volcanic ash.

Professor Sear is a Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Melbourne. He completed his PhD at Cambridge University and also studied at the British School in Rome, Italy.

He was Co-director of the Australian Pompeii Project from 1978–1988 and since 1990 has worked on the history of Roman theatre.

He has published extensively on Roman archaeology, art and architecture. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in London and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities.

The lecture is supported by the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics and The Friends of Antiquity.

It will be chaired by UQ Head of Classics and Ancient History Associate Professor Dorothy Watts.

Media: For further information, contact the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics (telephone 07 3365 2620) or Joanne van Zeeland at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2619).