Posted on 08/18/2024 6:21:11 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
While the volcano’s eruption was deadly, research shows that many people in the ancient Roman city died in building collapses from the earthquake associated with the outburst.
Pompeii was destroyed by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., entombing residents under layers of volcanic ash. But there is more to this story of an ancient Roman city’s doom.
Research published Thursday in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science offers proof that Pompeii was simultaneously wrecked by a massive earthquake. The discovery establishes a new timeline for the city’s demise and shows that fresh approaches to research can reveal additional secrets from well-studied archaeological sites.
Researchers have always had an inkling that seismic activity contributed to the city’s destruction. The ancient writer Pliny the Younger reported from his vantage point in a nearby town that the eruption of Vesuvius had been accompanied by violent tremors. But, until now, no evidence had been discovered to support this historical account. A team of researchers led by Domenico Sparice from Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology decided to investigate this gap in the record.
Dr. Sparice said that excavations of Pompeii to date had not included experts in the field of archaeoseismology, which deals with the effects of earthquakes on ancient buildings. Contributions from specialists in this area were key to the discovery, he said.
“The effects of seismicity have been speculated by past scholars, but no factual evidence has been reported before our study,” Dr. Sparice said, adding that the finding was “very exciting.”
The team focused on the Insula of the Chaste Lovers. This area encompasses several buildings, including a bakery and a house where painters were evidently interrupted by the eruption, leaving their frescoes uncolored.
(Excerpt) Read more at archive.vn ...
This should be good.
Nothing unexpected.
Volcanics eruptions are usually preceded/accompanied by earthquakes. Pompei was destructed by an earthquake several years before the eruption. It was just rebuild before the big one hit.
Hardly a revelation. Lots of seismic activity usually occurs in the vicinity of volcanic eruptions.
Yeah he probably made it up to raise his status.
Because everybody knows that volcanos are never accompanied by earthquakes.
I got to go bang my head on the desk now.
Thanks LL.
Decades ago I read, in a book by Ernie Pyle, that it was not Vesuvius but Mount Somma that destroyed Pompeii and Herculanium.
Anyone ever read that?
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