23-1 (09)
release dates: June 6-12
© 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
A Buried City
Rediscovering Pompeii
Imagine yourself on a warm August
day. What might you and your friends be
doing? You could be:
ITALY
• playing outside
with pets
ROME
Mt. Vesuvius
• swimming at
the pool
• getting ready for
school to start
• helping with
chores around the
house
On a regular day like this more than
1,900 years ago, citizens of a city in Italy
were going about their business when a
mountain about six miles away rumbled
and then exploded.
The Mini Page studied more about the
city of Pompeii, what life was like there,
and Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that
buried the city and many of its
inhabitants on Aug. 24, A.D. 79*.
Misenum
Herculaneum
Pompeii
Experts believe about 20,000 people lived in Pompeii at
the time of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Many of
them were probably able to escape before being buried.
BAY OF NAPLES
Pompeii in the first century
Signs of trouble
If you had lived in Pompeii in A.D. 79,
your hometown would have been a busy,
successful place. Crops grew well because
of the rich volcanic soil around the Bay of
Naples. Shopkeepers sold baked goods,
fish cooked to order, and cloth for clothes.
Wealthy people had grand houses with
courtyards called peristyle gardens.
They had slaves to cook their food and
tend to their homes. Most buildings were
two stories high.
Temples, or large buildings where
people worshipped, in Pompeii honored
different gods and goddesses, including
Jupiter (god of sky and thunder) and
Apollo (god of light and sun), and the
Roman emperor Vespasian.
Pompeii probably didn’t smell very
good because people emptied their
garbage and sewage into the gutters.
Living so close to Mount Vesuvius,
citizens of Pompeii were used to feeling
earthquakes. In fact, in A.D. 62, a strong
earthquake caused many buildings to fall
down and streets to buckle. Builders,
plumbers and slaves repaired much of
the damage over the next 17 years.
In the days before Aug. 24, people in
Pompeii felt small tremors, or
vibrations. Hanging lamps
swung. Water stopped
flowing from the
aqueduct, a pipe for
moving water. Birds flew
away from the area.
*A.D. stands for anno Domini, which means “the
year of our Lord” in Latin. When we use it with a
year, it refers to the time after Jesus Christ was born.
B.C. stands for “before Christ.”
Some people say B.C.E. (before common era) and
C.E. (common era) instead.
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23-2 (09); release dates: June 6-12
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
The Volcano
Across the Bay of Naples from
Pompeii, a young man and his uncle
lived in a city called Misenum (mySEEN-um). The uncle, Pliny (PLIH-nee)
the Elder, was a scholar of all the
sciences, including weather, astronomy
and geology.
When Mount Vesuvius exploded, a
large, dark cloud rose up from it. Pliny
the Elder saw the cloud and wanted to
get a closer look. He ordered his
servants to prepare a boat and began
sailing across the bay.
Pliny the
Younger stayed
behind to finish
his homework. His
good study habits
probably saved his
life! His uncle died
from breathing the
poisonous vapors,
or odors, that the
volcano released.
Pliny the Younger
Pliny the Younger
wrote letters to Tacitus (TAS-ih-tus), a
historian, about what he saw so that his
uncle would never be forgotten.
Here are some of Pliny the Younger’s
observations, or comments, about the
eruption of Mount Vesuvius:
“The cloud was rising from a mountain —
at such a distance we couldn’t tell which, but
afterwards learned that it was Vesuvius. I can
best describe its shape by likening it to a pine
tree. It rose into the sky on a very long ‘trunk’
from which spread some ‘branches.’
“Ash was falling onto the ships now, darker
and denser the closer they went. Now it was
bits of pumice, and rocks that were blackened
and burned and shattered by the fire. …
(B)road sheets of flame were lighting up many
parts of Vesuvius. … (T)here was danger from
the rocks that were coming down, light and
fire-consumed as these bits of pumice were. Pliny the Younger compared the cloud
smoke to “umbrella pines” like
(People) tied pillows on of
these seen on a busy street in Rome.
top of their heads as
protection against the shower of rock. It was daylight now
elsewhere in the world, but there the darkness was darker
and thicker than any night.
“Then came a smell of sulfur, announcing the flames, and
the flames themselves. … Supported by two small slaves he
(Pliny the Elder) stood up, and immediately collapsed. As I
understand it, his breathing was obstructed by the dustladen air, and his innards … simply shut down. (H)is body
was found untouched, unharmed, in the clothing that he had
had on.”
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
Mini Spy . . .
photo by Adrian Pingstone
Pliny the Younger’s words to Tacitus
An eyewitness account
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
TM
Mini Spy and Alpha Betty are hiking in a volcanic park. See if
you can find: • man in the moon • question mark • dolphin
• arrow • bird
• pencil
• mushroom
• number 6
• letter A
• lady’s face
• bat • bell
• number 3
• lima bean
• snail • fish
• exclamation
point
• ruler
Brown
Basset ws
TRY ’N
The Ned’s
n
FIND
Hou
Words that remind us of Pompeii are hidden in the block below. Some
words are hidden backward, and some letters are used twice. See if you
can find: ITALY, AUGUST, VESUVIUS, POMPEII, PERISTYLE, CAST,
EARTHQUAKE, AQUEDUCT, VOLCANO, MISENUM, PLINY, VAPOR,
TACITUS, BEACH, EXCAVATE, POISONOUS, ARCHAEOLOGIST,
FIORELLI, ASH.
P L I N Y E K A U Q H T R A E
POMPEII IS A
E B V O L C A N O G X K C M X
WINDOW INTO THE
R H W Q A F I O R E L L I I C
PAST!
I C A S T S U G U A V J B S A
S T A C I T U S U I V U S E V
T C U D E U Q A H C A E B N A
Y I I E P M O P R O P A V U T
L P O I S O N O U S L S J M E
E W T S I G O L O E A H C R A
TM
Pompeii
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23-3 (09); release dates: June 6-12
TM
Go dot to dot and color.
Rookie Cookie’s Recipe
Easy Summer Salad
You’ll need:
• 1 package prewashed romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat feta cheese
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons honey-roasted sliced almonds
• salad dressing of choice
What to do:
1. Place torn romaine lettuce in a large salad bowl.
2. Add other ingredients in the order listed, with almonds on top.
3. Pour on desired amount of salad dressing; gently toss and
serve.
You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
photo by Bob D’Amico, courtesy Disney Channel
Meet Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato stars as Princess Rosalinda in
the Disney Channel movie “Princess Protection
Program” on June 26. She also sings in this
movie.
Demi also stars as Allison in the TV series
“Sonny With a Chance.” She has acted in
several TV series, including “As the Bell Rings”
and “Just Jordan.”
She appeared in the TV movie “Camp Rock”
and sang on its soundtrack. She also made a
solo album. She and her friends, the Jonas Brothers, wrote many of
the songs for that album.
Demi, 16, was born in Dallas, Texas. She has two sisters and now
lives with her family in Los Angeles. She has studied the guitar,
piano, songwriting and hip-hop dance.
She began acting as Angela in “Barney and Friends” when she was
9. She has appeared in several TV commercials.
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
!
W
E
N
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
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Book of States
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TM
All the following jokes have something in common.
Can you guess the common theme or category?
Vic: What did the honeymooning couple say to each
other as they were standing near an active
volcano?
Veronica: “I lava you!”
Vene: What is the opposite of a
volcano?
Vern: A volca-yes!
Volana: What would be a good name for a
new volcano?
Vera: Ashley!
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23-4 (09); release dates: June 6-12
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
Uncovering Pompeii
Forgotten cities
This plaster cast of a
man and a vase he
was probably
carrying was made
in the 1800s. The
casts were detailed
enough to show
facial expressions
and clothing details.
In Pompeii and nearby cities, ash and
rocks rained down from Mount
Vesuvius. Pompeii was buried in about
20 feet of the debris, or rubble. The city
of Herculaneum, between Pompeii and
Naples, was completely buried. In fact,
years later people had forgotten that
Herculaneum had ever existed.
A bigger beach
Some homes in A.D. 79 were built
right on the beach. The soil and ash
from Vesuvius pushed the coastline out
by many feet.
Digging for valuables
Experts think about 20,000 people
lived in Pompeii at the time of the
eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Only about
2,000 bodies were found when scientists
began excavating (EX-ca-vay-ting), or
digging, in the area.
Survivors of the volcano probably
returned fairly soon to Pompeii. Upper
stories of buildings could be seen above
the ash.
People tried to dig for valuables
buried in their homes or businesses.
When they dug deep, they may have
released poisonous odors like those
that killed Pliny the Elder. These
vapors probably killed some of the
survivors.
photo courtesy Department of Image
Collections, National Gallery of Art
Library, Washington, D.C.
Buried treasure
A city preserved
Much later, during the 1600s and
1700s, people digging wells for water in
the area discovered parts of sculptures,
slabs of marble and other items buried
in the soil. When others found out about
the buried treasures, they began
digging and taking whatever they could
find. But no one kept records of what
was found or where the ruins were.
The ash that fell from Mount
Vesuvius hardened, something like
cement, after many years. As the bodies
of people and animals decayed, the
hardened ash around them kept its
shape. It was lightweight enough that it
didn’t crush the remains.
Fiorelli discovered he could pour
plaster into the cavity, or opening,
where the person’s skin and clothing
used to be. This way he could create a
detailed model of how the person looked
when he or she died.
A scientist steps in
In 1860, the king of Italy turned over
the excavation of Pompeii to an
archaeologist named Giuseppe
Fiorelli. (Archaeologists study the
habits and ways of ancient people
through the things they leave behind.)
Fiorelli insisted on carefully removing
items and cataloging, or listing, each
one and where it was found.
At the library:
• “Vacation Under the Volcano,” a Magic
Treehouse book, by Mary Pope Osborne, and
“Ancient Rome and Pompeii,” a nonfiction
companion book to “Vacation Under the
Volcano”
• “Pompeii: The Day a City Was Buried” by
Melanie and Christopher Rice
• “Pompeii” by Richard Platt
Pompeii today
Excavations of Pompeii continue
today. Scientists are trying to find out
about life in Pompeii even before the
famous eruption of A.D. 79. They can
learn a lot about how cities grow by
continuing this work.
The Mini Page thanks Carol Mattusch, guest
curator of the exhibition “Pompeii and the
Roman Villa: Art and Culture Around the Bay of
Naples” (at the Los Angeles County Museum of
Art through Oct. 4) and professor of art history
at George Mason University, for help with
this issue.
Next week, The Mini Page is about famous
fathers.
The Mini Page Staff
Betty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large
Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor
Lucy Lien - Associate Editor
Wendy Daley - Artist
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Read all about
Pompeii
photo courtesy Department of Image Collections,
National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, D.C.
in
®
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
by Betty Debnam
Appearing in your
newspaper on ____________.
from The Mini Page
© 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
(Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-31/2-inch ad
promoting Issue 23.)
release dates: June 6-12
23-5 (09)
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
®
Standards Spotlight:
Rediscovering Pompeii
Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week
we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page’s content and offer activities that will
help your students reach them.
This week’s standards:
• Students understand changes in the Earth and sky. (Science: Earth Sciences)
• Students understand the physical and human characteristics of places. (Geography: Places
and Regions)
Activities:
1. Draw a dramatic picture of a volcano erupting. Show people running away from it.
2. Create an album of our civilization. Cut out newspaper photos of everyday items that show
what people use in their homes, at work and for fun and paste them in three different
sections of a notebook.
3. Suppose you had to help rebuild your town after it was destroyed. Look through the
newspaper for tools and equipment that would help you rebuild. Make a list of the items on
a piece of paper.
4. How were each of these important to Pompeii: (a) aqueduct, (b) volcanic soil, (c) archaeologists,
and (d) temples?
5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about a volcano in this country. Use these
questions to guide your research: Where is the volcano? How large is it? When has it
erupted? What is the land like around the volcano? Write a paragraph discussing what you
have found in your research.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
(Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 23.)
TM
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
Supersport: Matthew Stafford
Height: 6-3
Birthdate: 2-7-88
Weight: 228
Grew Up: Dallas, Texas
The Detroit Lions desperately need somebody to lead a football
resurgence in the Motor City. They believe Matthew Stafford can be
that man. In the 2009 NFL draft in April, the Lions — who went
winless in 16 games last fall — had the first overall pick and chose
the former University of Georgia All-America quarterback.
Stafford had another year of eligibility at Georgia, but chose to forgo his
senior season to get an early start in the NFL. But the 21-year-old speech
communications major left a lasting mark on the Bulldogs’ powerhouse program.
As a junior last season, he completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 3,459 yards
and set a single-season school record with 25 touchdown tosses. In three years
he threw for 7,731 yards, with a 57.2 career completion rate, and 51 scores.
Stafford also was voted Most Valuable Player in the 2009 Capital One Bowl
game, leading Georgia to a 24-12 victory over the Michigan State Spartans and
helping the Dawgs cap a 10-3 season.
Attacking NFL defenses is a bigger challenge. But Detroit coaches believe
Stafford has the talent, touch and toughness to help make the Lions roar again.
(Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 23, to be used in
place of ad if desired.)
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