The Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

Setting up the eruption...

Mt. Vesuvius

About the MOuntain

• Mt. Vesuvius is located near the Bay of Naples, in Italy
• Surrounding cities include Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum 
• The last eruption before 79 ad was in 1200 BC
• Elevation: 4000 feet
• Vesuvius is a complex volcano

Plate tEctonics

THe Eruption

Building up to The Erupiton

• in 62 ad, Pompeii and surrounding cities experienced large earthquakes     
• Scientists infer that the inner structures of the volcano were fractured
• Relative calm was experienced after the quakes for 17 years...
• Until the night of August 20, ad 79 when major quakes resumed

lets Get to the Gist of It

Scientists hypothesize that magma built up under the volcano in the AD 62 earthquakes as the African plate subducted under the Eurasian Plate

This activity continued smoothly until (17 years later) the pressure grew in the volcano to be too much and-

Boom!

Don't Judge!
Smokey the Bear just forgot his toga.

Mt. Vesuvius ERupted!

• Pompeii was covered in 20 feet of ash
• Herculaneum, however, was encased in hot mud
• Stabiae was also covered in ash, just not as much
• magma burst through the cone of the volcano, pressure was released
• Ash and pumice rained over the surrounding cities

Animated ERuption

The impact on Humans

life Before the ERuption

iMpact

• There were many fatalities in the surrounding cities
• Most people fled to the countryside early 
• Others however did not see the threat, thought the gods would protect them
• Those who remained were burned alive by falling ash
• Others died from suffocation (sulfer fumes) 

All who fled had to seek shelter and a new life in other cities.

Pliny the YOunger

"On 24 August, in the early afternoon, my mother drew [my uncle's] attention to a cloud of unusual size and appearance."

-its general appearance can be best expressed as being like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches,

I imagine because it was thrust upwards by the first blast and then left unsupported as the pressure subsided, or else it was borne down by its own weight so that it spread out and gradually dispersed.

Sometimes it looked white, sometimes blotched and dirty, according to the amount of soil and ashes it carried with it." -Pliny the Youngest
(Ball, geology.com)

Unlike other Disasters,

The Gore!

Warning Systems (What Has Changed?)

• The Romans could not percieve any warning for the eruption
• Today we know where plate boundaries are 
• We can examine the history of volcanoes to determine their "character" 
• We still cannot however, determine when exactly volcanoes will erupt
• People continue to live around Mt. Vesuvius in Italy

Recovery and Excavation

• Remains of Pompeii were first found in 1594
• architect Fontana was building a water channel when he found ruins
• People thought it was just the house of a Roman politicion
• Nobody excavated for years...

Remains were later found when Charles III King of Naples began excavating to search for treasure.

Herculaneum was found later, but was more difficult to uncover.

How has excavation evolved?

In Early times

• Excavators did not really respect the sites
• Valuable items were immediately taken to be sold or brought to nobles 
• Paintings and jewelry were well preserved
• Excavators were not focused on the lives of the people/history

KinG charles III

Excavation Today

• At the beginning of the 19th century, looting was stopped
• Excavation became focused on history
• Pompeii and Herculaneum were cleared by section, very carefully
• Hollow areas in solidified ash/mud are filled with resin to make casts 
• Surrounding material is cleared, a copy of the original object remains

Scientists continue to uncover more of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Thanks for watching!

Works Cited:


"Visiting Pompeii." Archaeology.co.uk. Current Archaeology, 28 Sept. 2007. Web. 18 May 2014. .

"The Destruction of Pompeii." Eyewitnesstohistory.com. EyeWitness to History, 1999. Web. 18 May 2014. .

Pope, Stephanie, Patricia E. Bell, Stan Farrow, Anne Shaw, and Randy Thompson, eds. Unit 1. North America 4th Edition ed. Vol. 1. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 216-20. 4 vols. Cambridge Latin Course. Print.

Ball, Jessica. "Mount Vesuvius - Italy." Geology.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2014. .

Images:
All graphics are in the public domain, save the first two.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469420/Pompeii

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469420/Pompeii