7:15 AM | *It was this time of year in 79 A.D. that Mount Vesuvius erupted and Pompeii, Italy was changed forever…the important role of the weather…some new discoveries*

This newly discovered fresco depicts Greek mythology: Paris kidnaps Helen which triggers the Trojan War (courtesy BBC/Tony Jolliffe)

Overview

It was shortly after noon on August 24th in the year 79 A.D. and Mount Vesuvius sent a tall cloud of steam and ash high up into the atmosphere.  The ancient Roman town of Pompeii near modern day Naples was soon covered in complete darkness and the thickness of the falling debris increased by about 6 to 8 inches per hour.  The rocks which comprised the debris were up to 3 inches in diameter and fell with a speed of up to 100 miles/hour.  This first phase of the eruption led to casualties primarily caused by roof collapses.  After 12 hours of continuous explosive activity, the second phase of the eruption began and it was characterized by substantial flow of lava down the sloping Mount Vesuvius and this caused additional deaths and destruction.  In fact, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius spewed 1.5 million tons of lava per second into Pompeii and surrounding towns.  In a short period of time, an estimated 15 to 20 percent of Pompeii’s population died (about two thousand people), the small towns of Herculaneum, Oplonti and Stabiae were destroyed, and Pompeii was changed forever.

Modern-day Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background

Life in Pompeii in Roman times

Ever since the ancient Greeks settled in the area in the 8th century B.C., the region around Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples attracted wealthy vacationers who wanted to soak up the sun and enjoy the scenery. By the turn of the first century A.D., the town of Pompeii, located about five miles from the mountain, was a flourishing resort for Rome’s most distinguished citizens. Elegant houses and elaborate villas lined the paved streets and there was sophisticated plumbing. Tourists, townspeople and slaves bustled in and out of small factories and artisans’ shops, taverns and cafes and bathhouses. People gathered in the 20,000-seat arena and lounged in the open-air squares and marketplaces. On the eve of that fateful eruption in 79 A.D., scholars estimate that there were about 20,000 people living in Pompeii and the surrounding region.

A well-preserved stone roadway at modern day Pompeii

The eruption and the important role of the weather

While there was a powerful earthquake in the same region some seventeen years beforehand, in the days preceding the massive eruption on Mount Vesuvius there were generally only minor earthquakes and this was not too unusual for the residents of Pompeii who had no idea what was about to happen. In fact, the people of Pompeii didn’t really even know that Mount Vesuvius was a volcano as it hadn’t erupted in 1800 years. Then, shortly after noon on August 24th in the year 79 A.D., a major eruption sent a plume of ashes, pumice and other rocks, and scorching-hot volcanic gases so high into the sky that people could see it for hundreds of miles around. Ironically, this eruption took place the day after the Roman holiday of Vulcanalia which is dedicated to the god of fire including fire from volcanoes. This outpouring of ash more than 20 miles high into the upper atmosphere continued unabated for the next 12 hours and choking ash rained down on the towns in the surrounding country side blocking doors and collapsing roofs. Had the eruption taken place on any other day, the people of Pompeii might have stood a better chance of escape. Usually the wind blows in a southwesterly direction during the summer season in this part of the Italian Peninsula and this would have blown the column of ash away from Pompeii.  However, on that fateful day, the wind was blowing in a northwesterly direction – straight towards Pompeii.

Pompeii and other cities affected by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The black cloud represents the general distribution of ash and cinder. Modern coast lines are shown.

Detailed eyewitness account

A young writer known as “Pliny the Younger” witnessed the eruption from across the Bay of Naples in a small town about 15 miles from Mount Vesuvius.  In the only known eyewitness account, this writer provided a very detailed account of the eruption in a series of letters discovered in the 16th century.  He compared the ash cloud to a (Mediterranean) pine tree and wrote that the cloud had an “unusual size and appearance” and “rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches”.  As it cooled, the tower of debris drifted to earth: first the fine-grained ash, then the lightweight chunks of pumice and other rocks. It was terrifying–“I believed I was perishing with the world,” Pliny wrote, “and the world with me”.  “You could hear the shrieks of woman, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men,” he wrote years later to the Roman historian Tacitus. “Some were calling their parents, others their children or their wives, trying to recognize them by their voices.” As Vesuvius buried Herculaneum and Pompeii and Stabiae, across the Gulf of Naples, Pliny the Younger remembered the spreading volcanic darkness. “Not the dark of a moonless or cloudy night, but as if a lamp had been put out in a closed room,” he wrote.  “At last the darkness thinned and dispersed into smoke or cloud,” he told Tacitus. “Then there was genuine daylight, and the sun actually shone out, but yellowish as it is during an eclipse. We were terrified to see everything changed, buried deep in ashes like snowdrifts.”

This young writer’s uncle known as “Pliny the Elder”, an admiral of the Roman fleet and a distinguished author and naturalist, was actually one of the victims while trying to rescue stranded citizens. He sailed to the scene from Misenum to rescue people, but collapsed on the shore and died, apparently from the fumes, his nephew wrote.

The rediscovering of Pompeii

As a result of the Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 A.D. and other seismic activity over the centuries, Pompeii now stands two kilometers inland, but it was much closer to the sea in ancient Roman times. The site of Pompeii was lost for about 1500 years until its initial discovery in 1599 and then broader discovery almost 150 years later by a group of explorers led by a Spanish engineer in 1748.  When this group rediscovered the site in 1748, they were surprised to find that – underneath a thick layer of dust and debris of between 14 and 17 feet – Pompeii was mostly intact thanks to a lack of air and moisture. The buildings, artifacts and skeletons left behind in the buried city have taught us a great deal about everyday life in the ancient world.  They found that the ashes had acted as a marvelous preservative.  Underneath all that dust, Pompeii was almost exactly as it had been 2,000 years before. Its buildings were intact and everyday objects and household goods littered the streets. Later, archaeologists even uncovered jars of preserved fruit and loaves of bread.  The amphitheater of Pompeii is the oldest stone building of its kind known to mankind, dating back to 80 B.C.  Skeletons were frozen right where they had fallen and plaster was used to fill the voids that once held human bodies.  In fact, this enabled us to see the exact position that a person was when he or she perished in the ash.

As excavators uncovered human remains, they noticed that the skeletons were surrounded by voids in the compacted ash. By carefully pouring plaster of Paris into the spaces, the final poses, clothing, and faces of the last residents of Pompeii came to life and the bones and teeth were locked into place. Photo courtesy: Carlo Hermann/AFP/Getty Images

About three-quarters of Pompeii’s 165 acres have been excavated making it the world’s largest excavation and archaeologist site.  The remains of more than 1000 people have been uncovered at the Pompeii site out of about 2,000 thought to have died in the city when it was destroyed.  The vast majority of the city of 20,000 fled at the first signs of the volcanic activity. The first human remains at Pompeii were discovered in April 1748. Incredibly, there have been dozens of new discoveries in recent years including the remains of people and animals killed by the Mount Vesuvius eruption.  Most of these latest findings have been at Regio V, a vast area of the archaeological park yet to fully open to the public.

Discoveries in just the past five years

In 2020, two bodies were discovered during on-going excavation work.  One of the victims is thought to be a wealthy man of 30-40 years and the second a younger enslaved man.  It is believed that these two survived the immediate impact only to die in the second volcanic blast the following day.  Based on traces of the older man’s clothing, which included a woolen cloak, researchers believe he was probably a person of high status.  The body of the younger man, aged 18 to 25, had several compressed vertebrae, suggesting he was a manual laborer. The remains were found in an underground corridor of the ruined structure beneath more than six feet of ash. (Credit: Smithsonian Magazine).  

Experts believe this chariot discovered only recently near Pompeii may have been used in ceremonies such as weddings. (Credit: BBC News)

In early 2021, archaeologists unveiled a ceremonial chariot that was actually discovered near Pompeii back in 2018.  The four-wheeled carriage was found near a stable where three horses were uncovered in 2018 and it is described as having “iron components, beautiful bronze and tin decorations” as well as ropes and floral decoration “almost intact”. Experts believe it was likely used in festivities and parades, with the find described as “exceptional” and “in an excellent state of preservation” (Source: BBC News).

The tomb features a facade decorated with green plants on a blue background and a room for burial. Photograph: Cesare Abbate/EPA Credit: The Guardian

Also in 2021, the partially mummified remains of a former slave were found which included the hair and bones. The remains of Marcus Secundio – a slave who rose through the social ranks – were found in a tomb at one of the main entrance gates into the ancient city.  The tomb is believed to date back to the decades before Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption in AD79. What have been described as the best-preserved human remains ever discovered in Pompeii include Secundio’s white hair and a partially visible ear.  Initial tests show he died at about the age of 60. Archaeologists said the discovery was unusual because deceased adults during Roman times were usually cremated.

In 2022, archaeologists have discovered four new rooms in a house in Pompeii filled with plates, amphoras and other everyday objects, giving a snapshot of middle class life at the moment Mount Vesuvius's eruption buried the Roman city in AD 79. The remains of bowls, a hastily emptied trunk, a bed and a crib-shaped terra-cotta perfume burner were found on two floors of a previously-excavated building, the Pompeii archaeological park authority said in early August. Some were more valuable than others - vessels made of bronze or glass next to everyday tools (source reuters.com).

Archaeological remains of glass plates, ceramic bowls and vases discovered during 2022 in a dig near the ancient city of Pompeii (Credit: reuters.com)

In early 2023, it was announced that archaeologists had discovered two new skeletons beneath a collapsed wall. The pair are believed to be two males at least 55 years old.  They were found at the “Chaste Lover” block of buildings at the site where frescoes and mule skeletons had been unearthed in the past. The two men are believed to have been killed as an earthquake knocked down a wall. One of the skeletons had an arm raised. The Pompeii archaeological park said that the man's "raised arm perhaps refers to the tragic image of a vain attempt to protect himself from falling masonry."

During the early part of 2023, archaeologists discovered two new skeletons beneath a collapsed wall. Image courtesy @Pompeii Sites (Twitter)

In 2024, the discoveries at Pompeii just keep on coming and the very latest finding from July includes the skeletons of a man and a woman in what was likely a temporary bedroom used during the renovation of the home. The woman was discovered on a bed with gold, silver and bronze coins and multiple pieces of jewelry (according to usatoday.com). Apparently, the couple spent their last moments hiding from the falling pumice in this bedroom before perishing due to the volcanic eruption.

Ancient Roman coins and an earring are seen at the archaeological site of Pompeii on July 5th, 2024. Image courtesy Parco Acheologico Di Pompei, usatoday.com

In addition, stunning artwork has been discovered in the spring of 2024 including a fresco that features mythical Greek figures such as Helen of Troy. Archaeologists say the frescos are among the finest yet found among the ancient ruins. The room in which this artwork was found has high black walls and was likely a large banqueting hall and has a near-complete mosaic floor incorporating more than a million individual tiles (according to bbc.com). It was likely the walls dark color was chosen to hide the smoke deposits from lamps used during entertaining after sunset.

Final Thoughts

Vesuvius is one of the most studied volcanoes in the world because of its long time interval with historic eruptions (about 2000 years) and the fact that it is the first well-documented historic eruption. Mount Vesuvius last erupted in 1944 and is the only volcano on mainland Europe to have erupted in the last one hundred years. It is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world; primarily, due to the fact that over 3 million people live in the immediate area.  Today, Pompeii has become a major tourist attraction and it attracts about 2.5 million visitors every year.  

Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield
arcfieldweather.com

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