Snapshot of a task for numeracy in History

Year 12 Ancient History

Topic: Ancient History, Stage 6 - Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii & Herculaneum

Thermopolium in Pompeii

The reconstruction of a thermopolium in Pompeii

Activity: Investigate the workings of a thermopolium (hot food bar) in Pompeii.

Marcus Epidii Balbus and his wife Lavinia Balbus own a thermopolium (hot food bar) in Pompeii
where their best seller is the garum (fish sauce). They have two workers; Dama and Nico who
help prepare and serve the food to customers. The garum is served with a choice of bread,
eggs, meat, fish or honey cakes. You can also order a drink which is garum mixed with water.
The menu is shown below. The currency of Pompeii is sesterces.

Garum served with

Bread
Eggs
Meat
Fish
Honey cakes
The famous garum drink!

Cost in sesterces (S)

(per serving)
8
9.50
15
14.30
7.65
4

Numeracy applied too everyday situations in historical contexts

Applying numeracy to this everyday situation in Pompeii allows
students to understand better how currency worked in
Pompeii, but also its relevance to everyday life

Use of historical terms

and context for
numeracy Utilising the
historical terms and
context for the task in
conjunction with
numerical concepts
demonstrates the
successful application
of numeracy to the
teaching area of history

a) A customer of the thermopolium has 100 sesterces and is buying food for all of his
friends. He purchases 3 servings of bread, 2 of meat, 1 of fish, and 3 honey cakes. How
much change does he receive from his payment of 100 sesterces?
(3 x 8) + (2 x 15) + (1 x 14.30) + (3 x 7.65) = 91.25
24 + 30 + 14.30 + 22.95 = 91.25
100 sesterces 91.25 sesterces = 8.75 sesterces.

b) Marcus decides that the price of bread will be lowered to 5.50 sesterces for the day as
the bread will be stale by tomorrow and it needs to be sold today. What percentage of
the original price are customers now paying?
5.50 / 8 = 0.6875
0.6875 x 100 = 68.75%

c) Customers of the thermopolium have the option of buying a lucky dip for some special
foods that are not offered on the menu. If a customer pays 10 sesterces, they will be
given, at random, either a serving a wine, figs or olives. There are 10 servings of wine, 4
servings of figs and 7 servings of olives. What is the probability that a customer who
buys a lucky dip will get the olives?
10 + 4 + 7 = 21 servings
Olives = 7/21
7/21 = 1/3
Thus, there is a 1 in 3 chance that a customer will receive olives.

d) 1 sesterce is worth $1.50 in AUD. How much would 4 honey cakes cost in AUD?
Cost of honey cakes in sesterces:
4 x 7.65 = 30.6 sesterces
Converting sesterces to AUD:
30.6 x 1.5 = $45.90