The eruption of Vesuvius in AD79 was cataclysmic for the inhabitants of the commercial hub city of Pompeii (residents of Herculaneum on another slope of the volcano faired no better). Mount Vesuvius dominates the Bay of Naples in the Campania region of Southern Italy.
One fateful afternoon in the Autumn of AD79, one of the most famous and deadly volcanic events commenced in an eruption that lasted for two days and consisted of distinct and different phases that radically distinguish the two destroyed cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The first eruption occured at 1pm (according to the account of Pliny the Younger, a witness from the other side of the bay) and lasted 18 hours. This first phase of the eruption ejected a column of pumice, ash and molten rock a staggering 33 kilometers into the air. It is estimated that 1.5 million tonnes of material were spewed into the atmosphere per second. Day turned into night and violent electrical storms raged in the vicinity of the volcano. After many hours the ferocity of the eruption tailed off such that the airborne material was now longer supported, gravity played its part and down the debris came... and a lot of it too!
A layer of pumice and ash was deposited upon the city of Pompeii to an estimated depth of 2.8 meters. Many citizens perished in this first phase. Those that survived the collapse of the ash and pumice column having found adequate shelter in sound buildings believed, mistakenly, that for them the worst was over.
On the second day of the eruption a second event occurred that was very different in nature and significantly more lethal and inescapable. Today, volcanologists understand the anatomy of volcanos and the different ways in which they behave. This was not knowledge enjoyed by the Roman population of the doomed settlements constructed on the lower slopes of Vesuvius. In the second event Pompeii was hit by two pyroclastic surges (fast moving flows of superheated gases and molten rock). This surge advanced down the slope towards Pompeii at a speed in excess of 100 mph, incinerating all upon contact. Any survivors of the first stage of the eruption died as a result of thermal shock as the surge engulfed the city.
This pyroclastic surge laid down a further layer of volcanic material that marked the end of Pompeii's long history. The city then remained buried, encased in a tephra tomb for a millennia and a half until findings were made in the 1500's. However, formal excavations on the site did not commence in earnest until the 1800's when ancient cultures and the archaeology of their cities became a popular pursuit with digs funded by the wealth of the west.
With 'modern' archaeological investigations underway, it soon became apparent that human and animal remains lay under the pumice. Those victims of the eruption, having succumbed to asphyxiation in the first phase or the thermal shock of the second phase died quickly where they lay in the positions they were in at the point of their death. We know this thanks to the pioneering technique developed by Giuseppe Fiorelli in the 1800's that was capable of preserving the remains of victims in their 'point of death' positions.
The bodies of victims killed as described above were rapidly buried by the pumice. Trapped oxygen in the volcanic material allowed the normal process of organic matter decay to occur leaving skeletal remains in position, surrounded by voids previously occupied by soft tissue. When probing of the area from the surface indicated the presence of a void, plaster was poured into holes from above, thereby filling any cavities and encasing the skeletons once more. Then, removal of the surrounding pumice revealed a cast of the body as it was at the exact moment of death.
Several such casts are on display in the Antiquarium on site and they are very poignant still, almost 2,000 years later.
The first example of a cast to greet the visitor is one guaranteed to tug at the heart strings of a predominantly British party... a nation of animal lovers... yes indeed.
The cast accurately shows a dog in its death throes. Detail is visible on the cast of the chain that secured the animal to its tethering which made escape impossible. The same fate befell many others on that day, over two thousand bodies of humans and animals. Putting our love of animals aside for a moment, the first rooms of the museum at Pompeii pull no punches with real human tragedies captured in heartbreaking detail. The futile efforts of fathers trying to protect infants and even a clearly pregnant woman in death.
The nature of the casting process is such that the last moments of these victims of the volcano are so much more relatable that those of individuals whose remains have passed down through history as disarticulated skeletons in a grave plot. The panic and pain are tangible in these casts and it is near impossible not to feel some connection despite the passage of two millennia.
Whilst the casts are a very graphic reminder of the fact that this was the site of a real human tragedy on a colossal scale, the site of Pompeii offers us so much more as well. In the title of this post, I mentioned that this was a tragedy that was at the same time a gift for the world and I really believe that to be the case. Pompeii and Herculaneum offer a unique insight into every day Roman culture from the super wealthy traders in their grand houses right down to the slaves that endured terrible working conditions to make bread for the population of the city. It really is all here in often very mundane but magnificently preserved detail. I cannot for the life of me imagine getting enthralled by the discovery of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet, but show me the Roman equivalent and I can be bowled over!
The photograph below shows just such a fast food outlet in an AD79 style. Holes in the work surfaces would have contained vessels containing soups and stews where citizens going about their daily business would have stopped for lunch, rather than returning to the family home, i.e. in exactly the same way that people work in towns and cities today.
As a write this we in the UK are five weeks away from a General Election and election fever and all of the incumbent nonsense that such an event entails is upon us. Thus it was for the Romans as well. The museum houses an early campaign wall painting promoting a candidate.
Electoral slogans by those seeking power and influence in Pompeii competed for wall space with political protest... again a distant echo of the situation that prevails in urban areas today.
At this point I cannot but be reminded of a scene of protest from Python's 'Life of Brian'!
'Romani ite domum'
In terms of domesticity and the routine of daily life the baths are something to be held too. The sophistication of the engineering that enabled the construction of the baths, social hubs of their day, such that users had access to a progression from hot room (Calidarium), to the warm room (Tepidarium) and finally the cold room for refreshment (Frigidarium) is still a marvel. The decor in these communal buildings is also phenomenal. As seen from these images from one of the city's baths for women.
One last word on Pompeii. Shortly before our visit, the BBC screened a three part documentary focused on some recent, very significant excavations at the site (Pompeii: The New Dig). As well as unearthing some tremendous finds which again shed light on the social structure of this most successful of Roman cities, the series also postulated a new (at least to me) theory about the fate of the inhabitants.
Many of the roads in Pompeii are scarred with deep furrows in the massive cobbles created by the passage of cart wheels over centuries (see below).
Cart wheel grooves can be seen across the centre of the photo.
An idea has been put forward that given this reliance on horse and cart to transport goods throughout the bustling city if the eruption of Vesuvius killed every man and beast in the city why have the remains of so few horses and carts been uncovered to date (and why have only a couple of thousand bodies been discovered in a city of an estimated 20-20 thousand when 70 percent of the site has been subject to excavation?) This leads to the theory that more inhabitants were able to flee the city to create new post-eruption lives in Naples.
I am sure that Pompeii will keep on offering gifts of understanding as to the lives of the ancient Romans for centuries to come. It's well worth seeking out on iPlayer.
One last photo... I know, trying to be arty with an iphone!
A view along one of the main thoroughfares with Vesuvius looming in the background. It just so happened that a cloud formation was above the volcano.... but it looks good!
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