A Street in Pompeii, Photo by Robert Decker, 1971

Literature Cited

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/P/pompeii/index.htm

http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~boris/VESUVIO.html

http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/
ancient_rome/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html

http://www.ibiscom.com/pompeii.htm

http://www.archaeology.org/found.php?page=/9809/etc/fagan.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2515vesuvius.html

http://http.cs.berkeley.edu/~jhauser/pictures//history/Rome/Pompeii/

www.archaeology.org

http://www.cib.na.cnr.it/remuna/mann/mann.html

http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/
italy_except_rome_and_sicily/pompeii/section_contents.html

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_vesuvius.html

http://pompeii.virginia.edu/

http://www.amherst.edu/~classics/class36/ancientsourc.html

Some Excellent National Geographic Articles:

On Pompeii: May 1984, p 556-613.

December 1982, p. 686-701.

On Disasters and the Shape of History: July 2000

"How Old Is It?" August 2001

Plaster Cast of Man from Pompeii
Photo courtesy of Leo C. Curran

Contemporary Roman depiction of the Volcano and its Gods. http://www.ibiscom.com/pompeii.htm

"The Eruption of Vesuvius" by Turner

The Following Readings are suggested by The Anglo-American Projest in Pompeii, see www.archaeology.org for more information

Bon, S. E., and R. Jones (eds.) 1997. Sequence and Space in Pompeii. Oxbow Monographs 77.

Ciarallo, A., and E. De Carolis (eds.) 1999. Pompeii: Life in a Roman Town. Milan: Electa.

Etienne, R. 1992. Pompeii--the Day a City Died. London: Thames & Hudson; New York: Harry Abrams.

Parslow, C. 1998. Rediscovering Antiquity. Karl Weber and the Excavation of Herculaneum, Pompeii and the Stabiae Rome. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge

Sigurdsson, H., et al. 1982. The eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, American Journal of Archaeology 86. 39 ff., 315ff

Van der Poel, H. 1987. Corpus Topographicum Pompeianum, 5 Cartography

Wallace-Hadrill, A. 1994. Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Ward-Perkins, J.B., and A. Claridge 1976. Pompeii A.D. 79. London

Zanker, P. 1998. Pompeii Public and Private Life. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Naples, a metropolis in the shadow of Vesuvius, in 1992

Mural from the Villa of the Mysteries, a site that shines new light on Roman cult practices.
Courtesy of John Hauser

Gladiatorial Barracks, Photo by Leo C. Curran.

Roman dress and make-up,
a university project based on excavations,
photo by Sally Pointer.

The Eruption of Vesuvius and the Excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum

Picture of Mount Vesuvius courtesy of http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/P/pompeii/index.htm

Introduction

Vesuvius. A composite volcano which lies on the west coast of Italy, overlooking present-day Naples. This volcano has erupted over 200 times in the past 2,00o years. It is still an active geologic form, and threatens the lives of millions of Italians every day. One day, the 24th of August in AD 79, has been remembered forever in time and the fate of those Roman citizens was decided by a force beyond their control. Vesuvius destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but preserved an ordinary summer day in the Empire which would eventually aid historians in understanding Roman civilization.

Geologic Processes

Vesuvius is lying on a fault in Italy that is caused by the subduction of the African Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate. As a result, the Meditteranean Sea is growing smaller and the Appenine Mountains are being uplifted. Vesuvius has formed on a fracture vent, possibly under the waters of the Bay of Naples. It is about 10,000 years old, a very young volcano within the scheme of geologic time. In the years proceeding the eruption in A.D. 79, Romans had recorded a series of earthquakes. Little did they realize what destruction was about to happen. Since the mountain had been dormant for centuries and covered in vegetation, its dangers lay sleepiing beneath a placid surface.

Vesuvius from the air in 1995. Vegetation is covering the cone of this volcano. Photo copyright Editore Vincenzo Carcavallo, Napoli

"Three kilometres (1.9 miles) under Vesuvius is a magma chamber, an underground 'tank' of molten rock. It grows over time, and this growth can create ground 'uplift' in the region, earthquakes and heating of the ground water. We know that earthquakes occurred around Vesuvius in the years prior to AD 79. In addition, researchers reckon that the earthquakes during the volcano's eruption - described by Pliny the Younger as 'so violent that one might think that the world was not being merely shaken but turned topsy-turvy' - were of a magnitude of 4 or 5 on the Richter scale. The rock above the magma chamber eventually splits.

A fissure appears and a thin column of magma makes its way to the surface. If it leaks out slowly, it results in a lava flow, as it did in 1944 - Vesuvius's last eruption. But in AD 79, the column of magma couldn't squeeze out to the surface because of the dense rock plug that had formed during the volcano's dormant period - a period when the pressure continued to build up inside.

If a volcano experiences no activity for a long time, the magma accumulating in the chamber undergoes certain chemical changes that lead to a build-up of gases in the magma. As the magma moves higher up the fissure, the gases leave the liquid rock and form bubbles. The bubbles increase in size and become more numerous, and the magma turns into a foam with gas cavities filled with steam."

from Secrets of the Dead: The Riddle of Pompeii, a Channel 4 production. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/P/pompeii/index.htm

About 1 p.m., the trapped magma could not withstand the pressure and erupted. The lava was forced 10.6 miles into the air, where it solidified and the rained down as tons of pumice onto the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. But this did not kill most people, as pumice is not very dense. What did kill the Romans was the nuee ardente that followed. Scholoars of the time, such as Pliny the Younger, wrote about the event and his words haunt us to this day, such as his describes the "black and dreadful cloud" that engulfed the city.

"View of the excavations at Herculaneum, on the W base of Vesuvio that is barely discernible in the background. The view is from the former shoreline, now buried below at least 20 m of pyroclastic surge and flow deposits (not mudflows, as still reported in many sources). The nearest buildings overlooking the former coastline, below, are the boat chambers where hundreds of people were overwhelmed by surges and pyroclastic flows in the culminating stage of the AD 79 eruption. The ancient town lies below its modern (and much less scenic) successor, Ercolano, a fact that makes the extension of the excavations almost impossible. The photo was taken on 18 May 1996." Photo and Quote by Dr. Boris Behncke http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~boris/VESUVIO.html

A Contemporary Roman description of the Eruption, by Cassius Dio

"In Campania remarkable and frightful occurrences took place; for a great fire suddenly flared up at the very end of the summer. It happened on this wise. Mt. Vesuvius stands over against Neapolis near the sea and it has inexhaustible fountains of fire. Once it was equally high at all points and the fire rose from the centre of it; for here only have the fires broken out, whereas all the outer parts of the mountain remain even now untouched by fire. Consequently, as the outside is never burned, while the central part is constantly growing brittle and being reduced to ashes, the peaks surrounding the centre retain their original height to this day, but the whole section that is on fire, having been consumed, has in the course of time settled and therefore become concave; thus the entire mountain resembles a hunting theatre — if we may compare great things to small. Its outlying heights support both trees and vines in abundance, but the crater is given over to the fire and sends up smoke by day and a flame by night; in fact, it gives the impression that quantities of incense of all kinds are being burned in it. This, now, goes on all the time, sometimes to a greater, sometimes to a less extent; but often the mountain throws up ashes, whenever there is an extensive settling in the interior, and discharges stones whenever it is rent by a violent blast of air. It also rumbles and roars because its vents are not all grouped together but are narrow and concealed.

Such is Vesuvius, and these phenomena usually occur there every year. But all the other occurrences that had taken place there in the course of time, however notable, because unusual, they may have seemed to those who on each occasion observed them, nevertheless would be regarded as trivial in comparison with what now happened, even if all had been combined into one. This was what befell. Numbers of huge men quite surpassing any human stature — such creatures, in fact, as the Giants are pictured to have been — appeared, now on the mountain, now in the surrounding country, and again in the cities, wandering over the earth day and night and also flitting through the air. After this fearful droughts and sudden and violent earthquakes occurred, so that the whole plain round about seethed and the summits leaped into the air. There were frequent rumblings, some of them subterranean, that resembled thunder, and some on the surface, that sounded like bellowings; the sea also joined in the roar and the sky re-echoed it. Then suddenly a portentous crash was heard, as if the mountains were tumbling in ruins; and first huge stones were hurled aloft, rising as high as the very summits, then came a great quantity of fire and endless smoke, so that the whole atmosphere was obscured and the sun was entirely hidden, as if eclipsed. Thus day was turned into night and light into darkness. Some thought that the Giants were rising again in revolt (for at this time also many of their forms could be discerned in the smoke and, moreover, a sound as of trumpets was heard), while others believed that the whole universe was being resolved into chaos or fire. Therefore they fled, some from the houses into the streets, others from outside into the houses, now from the sea to the land and now from the land to the sea; for in their excitement they regarded any place where they were not as safer than where they were. While this was going on, an inconceivable quantity of ashes was blown out, which covered both sea and land and filled all the air. It wrought much injury of various kinds, as chance befell, to men and farms and cattle, and in particular it destroyed all fish and birds. Furthermore, it buried two entire cities, Herculaneum and Pompeii, the latter place while its populace was seated in the theatre. Indeed, the amount of dust, taken all together, was so great that some of it reached Africa and Syria and Egypt, and it also reached Rome, filling the air overhead and darkening the sun. There, too, no little fear was occasioned, that lasted for several days, since the people did not know and could not imagine what had happened, but, like those close at hand, believed that the whole world was being turned upside down, that the sun was disappearing into the earth and that the earth was being lifted to the sky. These ashes, ns, did the Romans no great harm at the time, though later they brought a terrible pestilence upon them."

Translated by Bill Thayer http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html

Impacts

http://www.ibiscom.com/pompeii.htm

When the Roman cities were covered in layers of ash, an entire age was preserved. The destruction of a town by a volcano is a horrific event but a gift to history. The spirit of a civilization and its people has been rediscovered by the archaelogical digs at Pompeii, which began in the late 18th century. Murals such as the ones above were perfectly preserved under the ash, and we have come to know all about on August day in the Roman Empire. Geology is an important key to the past in these excavations, and recent developments like those of Sigurdsson have reshaped the way volcanic eruptions are used to interpret historic events. For more information on the changes in geology, see Archaeology Magazine's article http://www.archaeology.org/found.php?page=/9809/etc/fagan.html from 1998. From Pompeii, we have gathered important information about the everyday lives of the Romans including pets, clothes, food, and games and also seen the destructive power of a volcano. Archaeology magazine also recently featured an article concerning the use of drilling core samples of rock in order to date other Roman ruins. http://www.archaeology.org/magazine.php?page=0203/newsbriefs/bronzeage

What May Happen

Vesuvius is still active, and erupted recently in 1944.

A NOVA program on PBS intereviewed volcanologists who hope to convince people of the dangers of living so close to a waiting danger. Scientists have been monitoring the amount of magma in the chamber, and have discovered a rock plug at the top of the crater that could cause an explosion like the one in A.D. 79. For a complete transcript of this show, see http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2515vesuvius.html

Further Reading and Fascinating Sites

For TimeTeam, an archaeological BBC television program
http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/

Salamanders fossils preserved by a Volcano
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1251000/1251318.stm

Recommended Books, courtesy of Cynthia Damon of the Classics Department at Amherst College

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill. Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Princeton University Press, 1994.

Paul Zanker. Pompeii: Public and Private Life. Tr. D. L. Schneider. Harvard University Press, 1998.

Petronius, Satyricon (trans. J. P. Sullivan) Penguin Books, 1986.

Mural from Pompeii, courtesy of John Hauser, http://http.cs.berkeley.edu/~jhauser/pictures//history/Rome/Pompeii/

Author: Jocelyn Karlan Creation/revision date: 26 March 2002

[Links to all class members sites will be inserted here.]

Copyright ©-2001 Earlham College. Revised 25 February 2002. Send corrections or comments to karlajo@earlham.edu