This story has its origins in the pitch document Russell T Davies prepared for the BBC back in 2003. The eleventh episode of the revived series was to have featured a visit to Pompeii at the time of its destruction by the erupting Mount Vesuvius. In the end, this slot eventually went to a cheaper space-filler instalment - Boom Town (a title that could equally apply here).
It was revived as a possible contender for third episode of the third series. RTD persevered with the story as he wanted one which addressed when the Doctor could, or could not, interfere with History.
The Caecilius family got their names from a common school textbook - the Cambridge Latin Course (1970). This featured a family comprising Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, a banker, his wife Metella and son Quintus.
RTD also claimed to have been inspired by the Asterix the Gaul books.
There are a number of recreated Roman towns around Europe, aimed at tourists, but the production team opted for the Cinecitta Studios on the outskirts of Rome itself. These had been created by Mussolini in the 1930's. The 2004 BBC / HBO series Rome had seen the construction of a huge recreation of ancient Roman streets and squares at the studios, and these were still standing.
This was the first time that the series had seen principal filming overseas since the 1996 TV Movie (set in San Francisco but filmed in Canada). The original series had featured stories filmed in Paris, Amsterdam, Lanzarote and Seville, whilst the Series 3 Dalek story had seen some scene-setting plate shots filmed in New York.
The eruption of Vesuvius which led to the destruction of Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum was fortunately (for us) documented by eye-witnesses - especially Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Younger. He was staying on the Bay of Naples with his uncle, who shared his name and was commander of the Roman fleet in the region. When the eruption struck the elder Pliny decided to mount a rescue mission, an action which cost him his own life - suffocated on a beach by toxic fumes.
The younger Pliny wrote an account of his observations, and his name has since been used to describe a particular volcanic event. A Plinian eruption is an especially explosive one (e.g. that of Mount St Helens in May 1980). Vesuvius had been an explosive event. Plinian eruptions occur where a volcano has been dormant for a very long time, developing a thick rock plug in its crater. Pressure from the magma beneath builds up over time and eventually blasts through in one go, like a cork from a champagne bottle.
Vesuvius had been so quiet, for so long, that the Romans didn't even realise it was a volcano.
"Volcano Day" was in October 79AD. (For many years it was believed to have occurred in August but archaeological evidence now points to October). Pompeii had previously been rocked by a strong earthquake in 62AD, and rebuilding works were still going on when the volcano destroyed the town.
Caecilius acts as if he has never heard of a volcano before, but Romans would have been very familiar with both Etna and Stromboli on their own doorstep - both of which are in almost constant eruption (even if the name was unfamiliar). It was the explosive eruption of a mountain, with scalding pyroclastic flow, he would have been unfamiliar with.
The monsters of the piece are the Pyroviles - 'pyro-' deriving from the Greek for "fire".
They are designed to look like they are wearing the helmets associated with Roman soldiers.
The human villain is Petrus Dextrus - who just happens to have a stone right arm (petrus = rock, and dextrus = on the right side).
He is the city's Chief Augur. This was a religious position. The augurs monitored natural signs and interpreted them to foretell future events. They would determine good or bad omens and be used to predict the outcome of, say, a military campaign. Methods used might be the pattern of bird flights, or the study of the entrails of sacrificed animals. Unlike Petrus Dextrus, they were not expected to have inherent powers such as clairvoyance or second sight.
Those who did possess such powers were the Sybils. They were ancient Greek oracles. They were defined by their location (10 of them) and only given names later by Roman writers. The Sybilline Books were bought by the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus. Originally nine books, three were burned by a mysterious old woman to force the king to purchase the remainder. When he refused, another three were burned, and Tarquinius relented and bought the final three. The books were kept in the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill, but destroyed in a fire in 83BC. Copies were obtained in 76BC, which survived until the end of the Western Empire around 405AD when they were also burned - this time deliberately by Stilicho, when he thought they were being used to criticise his campaign against the Goths.
The Sybilline Oracles, mentioned in this story, are completely different - being Judeo-Christian texts originating from much later.
The household gods are mentioned - the Doctor and Donna taking over their role for Caecilius' family in the story's epilogue. The gods of the home were the Lares. Lar was originally a god associated with crops and cultivation, worshipped especially where fields met their boundaries. Over time the Lares became a group of gods, personal to the household. Families thought that they helped determine their fortunes. They would be prayed to each evening. Alongside the Lares was Vesta, specifically the goddess of the hearth. She and the Lares were generally worshipped together.
The Doctor refers to the events of The Romans when he and Donna think that they have landed in Rome - stating that the Great Fire wasn't his fault, then equivocating on the matter.
He tells Donna about some of the sights he has seen - suggesting another unseen visit, as he mentions the Colosseum which wasn't built until after the Great Fire.
As far as the series' story arc goes, we have another missing planet (after the Adipose breeding world in the previous episode), but Petrus Dextrus adds the cryptic message that Donna has something on her back, and tells the Doctor that "she is returning" - referring to Rose Tyler.
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