VESUVIUS ERUPTS:

August 24, 79 A.D.

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.