HSC Ancient History past exams 2016–2025, by year and topic

The rest of the syllabus

Question-level mapping for these areas is still being verified. Every official paper covering them is in the year table above.

• Year 12 Section I — Core Study: Cities of Vesuvius – Pompeii and Herculaneum — Survey — Campania and the AD 79 eruption · Survey — excavation history and representations · The economy and local political life · Social structure and everyday life · Reconstruction, conservation, ethics and tourism
• Year 12 Section II — Ancient Societies — Survey — context and significant sites · Social structure and political organisation · The economy · Religion, death and burial · Cultural and everyday life plus source problems
• Year 12 Section III — Personalities in their Times — Survey — historical context · Background and rise to prominence · Key features and developments · Relationships with individuals and groups · Evaluation, legacy and one particular source
• Year 12 Section IV — Historical Periods — Survey — chronological and geographical context · Power and authority · Internal developments · Foreign relations, warfare and empire · Historiography and the 25-mark essay