LEGO Pompeii is notable for being among the largest of all Lego historical models. Lego Pompeii was developed by Ryan McNaught of Melbourne, Australia, a notable Lego artist known a
"The Brickman."

Background

The LEGO Pompeii exhibition (as it is also known) is currently on display at the

Chau Chak Wing Museum The Chau Chak Wing Museum is a museum at the University of Sydney, Australia. It was formed by the amalgamation of the Nicholson Museum, the Macleay Museum, and the university art collection, with the building funded by businessman Chau Chak Wing ...

, which is located opposite the Quadrangle in the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, where it was moved after the closure of the

Nicholson Museum The Nicholson Museum was an archaeological museum at the University of Sydney home to the Nicholson Collection, the largest collection of antiquities in both Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. Founded in 1860, the collection spans the ancient ...

in February 2020. Th
exhibition
was commissioned by the Nicholson Museum and opened on 10 January 2015. The historical model is used to commemorate three historical moments in the history of Pompeii. Firstly, it commemorates the moment in 79AD when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted. Secondly, it commemorates the period when it was discovered again during the 1700s. It is also a stylised representation of what Pompeii looks like today. The display also depicts excavation sites that have occurred in Pompeii, as well as archaeologists including Fiorelli, Spinazzola and Maiuri.

Construction

The material of construction of Lego Pompeii contributes to its notability. Though tied to "classical antiquity," this stylised representation of the ruined city of Pompeii is a product of modernity. The

, the oldest university museum in Australia, boasts is reported to be "home to the largest collection of antiquities in the Southern Hemisphere." The Lego Pompeii installation, constructed from plastic, a synthetic material of the modern age, therefore stands in contradistinction to the other artefacts, all antiquities in the Museum. In the LEGO Pompeii display, developer Ryan McNaught mixes both fact and fiction. For example, he uses several popular culture references in his model. An example of this is one section of the display in which we can see the band Pink Floyd performing at the Amphitheatre. Another example is a depiction of Mozart playing the piano in the Temple of Isis.

Other LEGO Historical Models

Other historical models developed by McNaught from LEGO blocks includ
"The Colosseum"
an
"LEGO Acropolis."
The LEGO Colusseum, the largest of McNaught's historical models, consists of 200,000 LEGO blocks and the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

represented in cross-section, showing half of its present-day "ruined form." It also includes a "backstage" which depicts the holding area for condemned prisoners, ferocious animals and gladiators comprising 60,000 blocks. The University of Sydney's

sponsored the launch of the LEGO Colosseum in its Quadrangle in July 2012, and was then on exhibition at the

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill. Although often de ...

until July 30, 2012. The

also commissioned LEGO Acropolis, which took McNaught 300 hours to build. The exhibit consisted of 120,000 LEGO bricks and the University donated to the representation of the Acropolis to the

Acropolis Museum The Acropolis Museum ( el, Μουσείο Ακρόπολης, ''Mouseio Akropolis'') is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found o ...

References

{{Reflist Lego Pompeii in popular culture University of Sydney