BBC - Life and Death in Herculaneum ( Prof. Wallace-Hadrill ) | June 20, 2013 | Cardo Maximus
Posted on 12/05/2021 7:00:24 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Archaeologists excavating the Roman coastal retreat of Herculaneum have unearthed the remains of a victim from the Vesuvius eruption in AD 79... During the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the town was buried under thick layers of ash and pumice, followed by pyroclastic material that carbonised organic remains...
Previous excavations in the 1980’s of the towns shoreline discovered skeletons on the beach and in the first six so-called boat sheds. Archaeologists at the time suggested that these victims were waiting for rescue, when they were killed instantly from the heat generated by a pyroclastic flow att temperatures of around 500 °C.
For the first time since the 1980’s excavations, archaeologists have started to explore the periphery of the town, focusing again on the beachfront where they discovered the remains of a man aged between 40-45 years of age.
Studies suggest that the victim’s body was either already on the shoreline, or was dragged by the force of the eruption and deposited with material from the town that was transported by the pyroclastic flow.
The body shows indications of numerous fractures, whilst the high temperatures caused the immediate evaporation of the tissues and internal organs, leaving only the skeleton imprisoned in a mass of ash, gas and entrained debris. Alongside the skeleton was a cloth shoulder bag, where an analysis has identified various materials: a wooden box containing objects in metal, pieces of cloth and probable traces of gold finish.
(Excerpt) Read more at heritagedaily.com ...
The skeletal remains in Pompeii wound up encased in plaster of Paris, so, they’re still around. But I agree, without having been there, that H would be more interesting, the second storeys survived for one thing.
Hot time, old town...
I was stationed at the NATO base in Naples, Italy for four years in the early 1980’s. I would frequently go watch the achaeologists in Herculaneum as they were unearthing remains from volcano. Was able to watch from a fairly close distance and with binoculars could see quite well. Very interesting. I also went to Pompei many many times.
The world needs to get its act together because some day, some time beyond our knowing a giant will re-erupt.
There are about a dozen or so super volcanoes so the odds of 1 erupting in our life is not high at all. Yellowstone erupted 630,000 yrs ago and about the same time before that. Another one erupted only 25,000 years ago but several erupted millions of years ago. So it could and WILL happen again.
Far more likely are the less explosive but more common “VEI” indexes of 5 (every 75 yrs like Pinatubo) or 6 sized like Krakatoa, or even a Tambora (every 750 years, Tambora was only about 200 years ago). The massive 7s (500-1000 yrs) and 8s (50,000+ yrs) are long shots.
Still with today’s high population a weak Tambora/Stronger Krakatoa type could disrupt food supply and cause famine, especially if it erupted in Summer and the ash went high enough to circle the globe. Very likely by say the next 2-3 generations.
I clearly remember in 1991 walking out shocked to see my Ford Aerostar spotted with ash when I had washed it the day before—In Indiana!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_Explosivity_Index#/media/File:VEIfigure_en.svg
The newly found man was not wearing a mask.
Bingo!
My question exactly.
What a way to go.
I’ll bet his last words were, “Oh Shit.” In Latin of course.
5.56mm
O, stercore, sez here...
He probably tried calling IXII and got nowhere.
Probably never even knew what hit him.
The Greeks on the beach (you know they were there), exclaimed, O, skata!
5.56mm
The people of 79 AD didn’t realize Vesuvius was a volcano (and they had familiarity with volcanoes), y’know, until it went up. It was a little late at that point.
Thanks so much. I have seen this piece, and learn something new every time I see it. I regret that I have not visited either city. My trips to Italy were during the skiing season, and since Naples does not have notable slopes, I haven’t been there.
My pleasure.
ISWYDT..................
Should have dialed XCII.................
Y’know, someone sent this link the other day, and I can’t find it in mny old mail. Anyway, posting it in a couple of old topics that are related.
The impact of pyroclastic density currents duration on humans: the case of the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84456-7
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