Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardSequence of Events

Passage

In the winter of 2018, Dr. Mateo Silva published *The Silent Courtyards*, a monograph detailing his sixteen-year excavation of the Villa of the Mosaic Peacock. The book was the culmination of a journey that began in the dusty corridors of the Vatican Library in 2002. It was there, while cross-referencing agricultural records of the Campania region, that Silva stumbled upon a marginal note in a 1345 manuscript penned by Brother Thomas. The monk wrote of a 'brilliant bird of stone' buried beneath the vineyards of Oplontis. Intrigued, Silva spent years lobbying for resources, eventually securing a crucial grant from a private foundation in 2008, shortly after his university department had withdrawn its own funding due to budget cuts. Physical excavation did not commence until 2012, when heavy machinery first cleared the topsoil. The project faced a severe setback in 2015 when a seismic tremor compromised the structural integrity of the main trench; however, this disruption unexpectedly exposed a lower subterranean chamber containing carbonized scroll fragments that redefined the villa's historical timeline.

Question

Based on the passage, arrange the following events in the chronological order in which they occurred, starting with the earliest event.

  1. 1Brother Thomas records a description of a stone bird in a manuscript.
  2. 2Dr. Silva discovers a reference to the buried villa at the Vatican Library.
  3. 3Dr. Silva's university department withdraws funding for the research project.
  4. 4Physical excavation and clearing of topsoil at the Oplontis site begin.
  5. 5A seismic tremor damages the main trench and halts work on the dig.

Answer

The correct chronological order of events is: first, Brother Thomas records a description of a stone bird in a manuscript; second, Dr. Silva discovers a reference to the buried villa at the Vatican Library; third, Dr. Silva's university department withdraws funding for the research project; fourth, physical excavation and clearing of topsoil at the Oplontis site begin; and fifth, a seismic tremor damages the main trench and halts work on the dig.
The correct order follows the chronological progression of dates and relative clues: Brother Thomas wrote the manuscript in 1345; Silva discovered it in 2002; the university department withdrew funding before the new grant was secured in 2008; physical excavation began in 2012; and the seismic tremor occurred in 2015.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the historical event mentioned in the text that predates modern research.
Brother Thomas's marginal note in the manuscript was written in 1345.
This is the earliest date mentioned in the passage, establishing the first event in the sequence.
2
Determine when Dr. Silva's modern involvement began.
Silva found the note in the Vatican Library in 2002.
This starts his modern timeline of research, sixteen years before his 2018 publication.
3
Analyze the sequence of funding issues and the start of excavation.
The university withdrew funding prior to 2008; excavation began in 2012.
The university's funding withdrawal happened shortly before he secured private foundation money in 2008, whereas excavation did not start until 2012.
4
Pinpoint the final event in the chronological chain.
The seismic tremor occurred in 2015.
This occurred after the excavation began in 2012 and before the monograph publication in 2018.

Key Concept

Chronological Sequencing in Non-Linear Texts
Rate this question

Topics

Sequence of Events

More questions from this topic