HSC Ancient History case studies
HSC Ancient History · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Ancient History Stage 6 Syllabus (2017) is the NSW Education Standards Authority syllabus governing the HSC Ancient History course, a Board Developed Course offered as 2 units in Year 11 (course number 11020) and Year 12 (course number 15020). There are no prerequisites, corequisites or eligibility requirements, and the syllabus states the course may be studied via self-tuition. The HSC Ancient History case studies are 5 cases and about 3,509 words.
1Assessing the Value of a Newly Excavated Insula at Pompeii
A regional museum in Campania has commissioned a display on a newly excavated insula at Pompeii (Insula 14, Regio V). Your team is given the following evidence.
697 words, about 3 min2Interpreting the Herculaneum Boat Sheds and the Escape Narrative
A documentary team is editing a sequence on the Herculaneum waterfront. They have three claims to test.
725 words, about 4 min3Using Literary and Material Evidence for a Personality: A Source-Critical Problem
A student is writing on a personality from the ancient world and has assembled four sources. Source 1: a biographical passage written centuries after the subject's death by a moralising author who cites earlier writers now lost.
699 words, about 3 min4Period Study: Causation and Contingency in a Turning Point
An essay question asks: 'Assess the significance of a single decisive battle in a historical period you have studied.' A student has chosen a battle and written: 'The battle was the turning point because after it everything changed. The sources agree it was decisive.
640 words, about 3 min5Evaluating Site Conservation and Presentation Decisions at a Vesuvian Site
A heritage authority must decide how to manage a heavily visited domus at a Vesuvian site. Options under consideration: (A) close the domus entirely and present it via a virtual reconstruction; (B) keep it open with a timed-entry cap of 40 visitors per hour and protective flooring; (C) open it fully with no cap, using revenue for urgent roof repairs.
748 words, about 4 min