Pompeii 79 d.C.
The end of a History the beginning of a Myth
The date of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 is estimated It is certified by a letter of Pliny the Younger to
Tacitus. In the variant universally considered the most reliable of the manuscript reads "Nonum kal.
Septembres "that is, nine days before the Kalends of September, that date was 24 August.This date had
been accepted as safe until now, but some archaeological data as they arise are not easily reconciled with
a summer date. For example, the dried fruit discovery charred, of braziers, used at the time for the
heating, of Mosto in the process of aging found still sealed in the containers (dolia) and, especially, of a
coin found on the archaeological site, which relates the fifteenth acclamation as emperor Tito, took place
after the 8th of September 79, suggest that the eruption took place in the fall, probably October 24 of that
year.
The first earthquake had already started in 62 A.D., with the collapse of several
houses that were later rebuilt in the following years. Only a few years later, in AD
79, Vesuvius began its eruptive cycle which then led to the burial of some areas
Stabia, Pompeii, Herculaneum and many cities in the south-east from the
volcano.Around one o'clock in the afternoon with a terrible roar Vesuvius erupted.
The first from Vesuvius erupted substances were basically pumice, then volcanic
rocks originated from a gas-filled magma and cooled. Mixed with pumice are parts
of other kinds of rocks that were transported from the magma. Most of the bodies at
Pompeii were trapped above the pumice, wrapped in ashes. The residues of
pyroclastic eruption have been traced over a wide area hundreds of square
kilometers. According to an estimate of Pliny the Younger, witnessed the
phenomenon, the cloud height indicated in accordance with modern units may have
reached 26 kilometers.
The most significant testimony of what happened in those days, is
given by Pliny the Younger, who was in those days at Misenum
with his family. Thirty years later he described the event friend
Tacitus
« He stood a cloud, but those who watched from a
distance he could not specify on which
mountain [Then he knew that it was Vesuvius]:no
other plant more pine they could reproduce the
form. In fact he leaped up so as to suggest the idea of
a high trunk, then widened into what you might call the
branches.
In this letter Pliny the Younger also reported the testimonies on the death of his
uncle Pliny the Elder. The uncle was directed at Herculaneum to go to help the
family's Cesium Low: he tried to reach the resort Vesuvian by sea, but had to
change course because of the sudden withdrawal of the waters, so headed Stabia
where arrived making accommodate Pomponianus (Pomponianus). However, even
this small town was hit by ash and lava of the volcano and, suffocated by toxic
fumes, Pliny the Elder there met his death.In a second letter to Tacitus he described
what happened to Miseno. He tells of an earthquake that occurred days before, and
the night of the eruption shocks "grew so much that it seemed that everything [...]
would capsize." Moreover, it seemed that "the sea is ripiegasse on itself, almost
rejected by the shaking of the earth", so that "the beach had enlarged and many
marine animals were lying on the sands remained dry."