After centuries of dormancy, Mount Vesuvius erupts in southern Italy, devastating the prosperous Roman cities of
Pompeii
and Herculaneum and killing thousands. The cities, buried under a thick
layer of volcanic material and mud, were never rebuilt and largely
forgotten in the course of history. In the 18th century, Pompeii and
Herculaneum were rediscovered and excavated, providing an unprecedented
archaeological record of the everyday life of an ancient civilization,
startlingly preserved in sudden death.
The ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum thrived near the base
of Mount Vesuvius at the Bay of Naples. In the time of the early Roman
Empire, 20,000 people lived in Pompeii, including merchants,
manufacturers, and farmers who exploited the rich soil of the region
with numerous vineyards and orchards. None suspected that the black
fertile earth was the legacy of earlier eruptions of Mount Vesuvius.
Herculaneum was a city of 5,000 and a favorite summer destination for
rich Romans. Named for the mythic hero
Hercules,
Herculaneum housed opulent villas and grand Roman baths. Gambling
artifacts found in Herculaneum and a brothel unearthed in Pompeii attest
to the decadent nature of the cities. There were smaller resort
communities in the area as well, such as the quiet little town of
Stabiae.
At noon on August 24, 79 A.D., this pleasure and prosperity came to
an end when the peak of Mount Vesuvius exploded, propelling a 10-mile
mushroom cloud of ash and pumice into the stratosphere. For the next 12
hours, volcanic ash and a hail of pumice stones up to 3 inches in
diameter showered Pompeii, forcing the city's occupants to flee in
terror. Some 2,000 people stayed in Pompeii, holed up in cellars or
stone structures, hoping to wait out the eruption.
A westerly wind protected Herculaneum from the initial stage of the
eruption, but then a giant cloud of hot ash and gas surged down the
western flank of Vesuvius, engulfing the city and burning or
asphyxiating all who remained. This lethal cloud was followed by a flood
of volcanic mud and rock, burying the city.
The people who remained in Pompeii were killed on the morning of
August 25 when a cloud of toxic gas poured into the city, suffocating
all that remained. A flow of rock and ash followed, collapsing roofs and
walls and burying the dead.
Much of what we know about the eruption comes from an account by
Pliny the Younger, who was staying west along the Bay of Naples when
Vesuvius exploded. In two letters to the historian Tacitus, he told of
how "people covered their heads with pillows, the only defense against a
shower of stones," and of how "a dark and horrible cloud charged with
combustible matter suddenly broke and set forth. Some bewailed their own
fate. Others prayed to die." Pliny, only 17 at the time, escaped the
catastrophe and later became a noted Roman writer and administrator. His
uncle, Pliny the Elder, was less lucky. Pliny the Elder, a celebrated
naturalist, at the time of the eruption was the commander of the Roman
fleet in the Bay of Naples. After Vesuvius exploded, he took his boats
across the bay to Stabiae, to investigate the eruption and reassure
terrified citizens. After going ashore, he was overcome by toxic gas and
died.
According to Pliny the Younger's account, the eruption lasted 18
hours. Pompeii was buried under 14 to 17 feet of ash and pumice, and the
nearby seacoast was drastically changed. Herculaneum was buried under
more than 60 feet of mud and volcanic material. Some residents of
Pompeii later returned to dig out their destroyed homes and salvage
their valuables, but many treasures were left and then forgotten.
In the 18th century, a well digger unearthed a marble statue on the
site of Herculaneum. The local government excavated some other valuable
art objects, but the project was abandoned. In 1748, a farmer found
traces of Pompeii beneath his vineyard. Since then, excavations have
gone on nearly without interruption until the present. In 1927, the
Italian government resumed the excavation of Herculaneum, retrieving
numerous art treasures, including bronze and marble statues and
paintings.
The remains of 2,000 men, women, and children were found at Pompeii.
After perishing from asphyxiation, their bodies were covered with ash
that hardened and preserved the outline of their bodies. Later, their
bodies decomposed to skeletal remains, leaving a kind of plaster mold
behind. Archaeologists who found these molds filled the hollows with
plaster, revealing in grim detail the death pose of the victims of
Vesuvius. The rest of the city is likewise frozen in time, and ordinary
objects that tell the story of everyday life in Pompeii are as valuable
to archaeologists as the great unearthed statues and frescoes. It was
not until 1982 that the first human remains were found at Herculaneum,
and these hundreds of skeletons bear ghastly burn marks that testifies
to horrifying deaths.
Today, Mount Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the European
mainland. Its last eruption was in 1944 and its last major eruption was
in 1631. Another eruption is expected in the near future, would could be
devastating for the 700,000 people who live in the "death zones" around
Vesuvius.
Taken from:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history [24.08.2012]
