The three-hour paper, sat by 7755 students across NSW, included short-answer questions on Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as three in-depth topics chosen by each school. The Parramatta Marist group studied Sparta, the reign of Hatshepsut and New Kingdom Egypt to the death of Thutmose IV.
The four-mark question that had student Daniel Barletta, 18, smiling concerned a 2000-year-old public notice banning the dumping of human faeces near water fountains. "There's something comedic about people dumping waste in the street, how they are declaring that you must stop doing this because it's such a problem," he said. "It brings a smile to your face."
The students said a string of coincidences left them in good shape. At the end of year 11, the class visited a Pompeii exhibition in Canberra, where plaster casts preserve the voids left by victims of the 79AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Almost a year later, the exhibition appeared in the exam: one question asked whether the display of human remains from Pompeii and Herculaneum should be stopped, referencing an article written about the Canberra show.
"It was pretty neat, it goes full circle," said classmate Lachlan Doan-Vance, who said seeing the exhibition in person helped him argue that while victims of Pompeii have an inherent human dignity, there is also value in their study and preservation. Barletta noted the exhibition displayed remains with warnings on the walls and in a separate area, evidence, he said, that "ethically we have come a long way".
Ancient history teacher Grace Harley called the exam very fair and was excited about the Canberra coincidence, describing the subject as "a puzzle with less of the pieces". Unlike modern history, she said, ancient history relies heavily on interpretation and analysis of incomplete sources, which students enjoy filling in. Her students returned the compliment, crediting her with making the subject engaging.
The HSC continues until November 5.