 Read “The Story of Pompeii” Article & then answer the questions below…
Give the exact date of the eruption. Aug. 24, 79 AD
2. People of Pompeii were still recovering from an
earthquake ______17________ years ago.
3. If lava didn’t destroy Pompeii, what did? Million tons of ash
1.
and small & VERY hot stones
Archeologist found __18__ people in a cellar. Why a
cellar? They thought they would be safe under ground
5. Name the 3 ways people died at Pompeii. Rock falling on them,
4.
suffocated, or poisoned by gas
6.
How are we able to see the faces of those who died? By
using plaster & filling in the holes in the volcanic rock
Name the other famous city destroyed. Herculaneum
8. When was the last eruption? 1944
7.
 First occupied in the 8th century BC
 Those who occupied city (in order)…
 Etruscans
 Saminites (Greek)
 Romans
 Characteristics of Pompeii…
 163 acres - surrounded by a 3 kilometer wall containing 8
gates.
 population of 10,000 - 20,000 people, about 60% freemen
and 40% slaves
 two-thirds of the walled city is occupied by private
buildings including shops, offices, inns and houses
 public buildings such as bath houses, public fountains,
temples, a large theatre, a court house, and an amphitheatre
 area outside the city gates is the Necropolis or cemetery.
 Most famous volcano in the world
 Tourist are allowed to hike up the volcano on trails
 Has erupted dozen of times & has killed thousands of
people over the past two thousand years
 Most recent eruption was March 1944
 On August 24, 79 AD, Mt. Vesuvius erupted on the city of
20,000 inhabitants
 Causes of Death…
 The volcanic ash choked & suffocated every living thing
 People died instantly, literally baked alive by the hot air of
the surge
 Poisoned by the gases from the volcano
 The 20 feet of ash & earth that buried the town resulted in
a mummification for the entire city and captured a
moment in time
 Under the ash everything remained as it was
at the time of the eruption…
 Artwork & Buildings were preserved
 Petrified bread in ovens
 People & Animals
 Pompeii stayed buried for around 1,700 years
 Had a public & military career for the Roman Empire
 Known for his written works about natural history
 When Mt. Vesuvius started to explode he boarded his
ships to see the eruption up close
 He never made it back to the ship & died
 Pliny the Elder didn’t have any children of his own, but
adopted his nephew (Pliny the Younger) and raised him
 The younger was also a writer
 The nephew of Pliny the Elder
 Observed eruption of Mt. Vesuvius from Bay of Naples at
Misenum
 Received first-hand reports from those who had been
with his uncle at his death
 Wrote two letters that recount the events surrounding the
eruption of Vesuvius and the death of Pliny the Elder
 Letters survived and provides a vivid account of the events
EXCAVATION BEGINS…
 Between 1594 and 1600, Domenico Fontana dug an
underground channel through Pompeii, but no
investigations were conducted
 1748 – the first scientific exploration of the site took place
& was directed by Charles of Bourbon (King of Spain).
 1860 - Giuseppe Fiorelli (head of excavation) invented a
system of pouring liquid plaster into the spaces left in the
ash bed.
 Today clear resin is used instead of plaster because it is more
durable, and does not destroy the bones, allowing further
analysis.
 About 80% of the ruins at Pompeii have been excavated
and studied
 There are still archaeologists working in Pompeii
 discovering the historical sequence of urban development
in the city
 Efforts to conserve the monuments and present them to
millions of visitors coming each year
 Cost about 11 Euros to see the ruins (self guided)
 All money earned goes back into the ruins for preservation,
conservation, and archeology digs
Herculaneum
 Destroyed in 79AD by a ground-hugging avalanche of hot
ash & lava, pumice, rock fragments, and volcanic gas that
rushes down the side of a volcano as fast as 100 km/hour or
more.
 1st discovered in the 18th Century & robbed of treasures
 1749 to 1765 was explored on a more scientific basis
 20th Century, archaeological excavations re-commenced
 Built eight centuries after Egyptians Great Pyramids but
constructed before the great Mayan pyramids
 3,500 years ago by Native Americans
 1600 B.C.
 Developed a complex array of earthen mounds and ridges
overlooking the Mississippi River flood plain.
 400 acres
 Named for Poverty Point Plantation
 We don’t know the original name of the site
 52 miles northeast of Monroe, LA
CONSTRUCTION of RIDGES
 6 rows of concentric ridges, at one time were 5 feet high
 5 aisles and 6 sections of ridges form a partial octagon
 Theory is that the ridges served as foundations for
dwellings
 features and midden deposits uncovered during excavations
support this theory
 Evidence shows that mounds were constructed by having
baskets of soil dumped on top of each other
 “basket loading construction”
 Mound A = Bird Mound
 70 feet tall
 Mound B = cupcake top
 20 feet tall
 Mound C = Dunbar Mound
 Post holes found here
 Mound D = Sarah’s Mound
 Cemetery (recent)
 Pottery 2,000 years younger
 Mound E = Ballcourt Mound
 300 feet sides
 Dating to 1000-2000 B.C
 Some of the artifacts were made from materials found as
far away as the Great Lakes & Appalachian Mountains
 Materials…
 Flint
 Soapstone
 Hematite
 Copper
 Local stones & soil
 Slate
 Artifacts Include…
 Arrowheads
 Stone Hoe
 Bowls
 Stone Beads
 Birds
 Owls
 Figurines
 Females with heads missing
 Also known as Poverty Point Objects – PPO’s
 used to prepare meals
 dozens of the cooking balls were heated in a bonfire and
dropped in pits along with food
 Different-shaped balls controlled cooking temperatures
and cooking time
 Still being excavated today
 Only 1% of the site has been uncovered
 Information about the Native Americans of this site are
still unknown
 farmers destroyed much of the old City, they leveled the
land to plow
 Open 9am-5pm daily, $4 per person
 Museum
 Trails
 Guided tours
 World's first successful submarine
 “torpedo fish”
 1863 – built in Mobile, AL by Horace Hunley for the
Confederate States of America during the Civil War
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42 feet long & 14 tons
Cast iron and wrought iron
8 people max
Hand-cranked propeller
 Arrive in Charleston, SC on Aug. 12, 1863 to help the
Confederacy move past the Union blockade in Charleston
Harbor
 The sub was originally under Hunley’s control, but was then
seized and turned over to the Confederate Navy
 First Crew - Aug. 28, 1863…
 8 men –3 survived (all volunteered for job)
 Sank due to accidentally diving under with hatches open
 Sub was retrieved from the bottom of the harbor
 Second Crew – Oct. 15, 1863…
 Hunley was allowed to get a volunteer crew from Mobile who
knew how to operate the sub
 Sank during a routine exercise & all 8 men including Hunley
died
 Again the sub was retrieved from the bottom of the harbor & a
new volunteer crew was est. under the command of Lt. George
E. Dixon
 Third Crew – Feb. 17, 1864…
 Lt. George E. Dixon & 7 volunteers
 Final crew
 Most documents about 3rd crew were destroyed by the
Confederacy after the war due to “confederate secrete
service” – to protect the identities of the crew
 Crew was able to plant a 135 pound torpedo into the Union
Warship Housatonic
 150-foot attached detonation rope
 Ship burned for 3 minutes and killed 5 sailors
 Hunley became the first submarine ever to sink an enemy ship.
 The Hunley signaled “victory” with a lantern & then
disappeared
 Since the end of the civil war people have been searching
for the famous sub
 There was even a $100,000 reward offered by P.T. Barnum
 resting place unknown for well over a century
 May 3, 1995- Clive Cussler found the Hunley resting on the
floor of the Atlantic Ocean buried deep within the sand
and silt just outside of Charleston Harbor
 lost at sea for 137 years
 Took 15 years to find & $130,000
 N.U.M.A. archeologists Ralph Wilbanks, Wes Hall, and
Harry Pecorelli.
 August 8, 2000 – Hunley was finally lifted from ocean
 The "quick burial" of the sub protected the rusty hull
from the salt-bearing currents that normally erode
sunken ships
 Archaeologists believe that the sediment within the ship
may have helped preserve the bodies of Lt. Dixon and his
crew.
 Within the sub the archeologist found…
 Bones
 Skulls
 Brain Matter
 Fabric
 Personal Belongings
 Once raised the sub was immediately transported to the
Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, SC
 It was placed in a large steel tank filled with 55,000
gallons of chilled fresh water
 minimize bacteria and corrosion activity
 begin the process of desalination
 Excavation of the interior of the hull began January 21,
2001
 good luck charm from his love
 $20 dollar gold piece, minted 1860
 One side - image of Lady Liberty
 other side -federal shield & eagle
 inscribed by hand –
 Shiloh
April 6, 1862
My life Preserver
G. E. D.
 During Battle of Shiloh, George was shot point blank in his
leg
 Bullet hit center of the coin
 Story of coin was a legend of the war until found in sub
 April 27, 2001 - the name and class of Ezra Chamberlain,
Private, 7th Connecticut Infantry, Union Forces.
 found on the back lower portion of the skull of a crewman
 Why was a UNION ID Tag found on a Confederate Sub?
 Forensic Experts found out that the crewman was in his
30’s, but according to records…
 Ezra would have been only 24 when the sub sank
 he died in action in 1863
 ID Tag was a battlefield souvenir
 April 17th, 2004
 Ceremony began at 9.15 am with a memorial service
 4.5 mile horse drawn procession through the city of
Charleston
 People followed procession in 19th century period clothing
 Eight-man crew was then laid to rest next to others who
lost their life on Hunley test missions.
 Saturday from 10 AM - 5 PM and Sunday Noon – 5 PM
 Not available on weekdays so scientists can continue
their work preserving the Hunley for future generations
 Tickets ordered in advance are $12.00
 Walk-up tickets are also available on a first come, first
serve basis
 Clay soldiers were buried with China's first emperor
 Qin Shi Huang Di
 Purpose was to accompany Shi Huang Di during his
eternal rest
 Elaborate Mausoleum with trenches and underground
corridors
 Construction started shortly after he took the throne
 More than 700,000 people worked on it for 38 years
 209 B.C. worked stopped after his death due to people
fighting
 Born Ying Zheng and took the throne in 246 B.C. at the
age of 13
 In 221 B.C. took the name Qin Shi Huang Di
 Translation - “The First Emperor of Qin”
 During his rule he…
 standardized coins, weights, and measures
 interlinked the states with canals and roads
 built the first version of the Great Wall
 1974- Workers digging a well outside the city of Xi'an,
China found a life-size clay soldier poised for battle
 After the government was notified, government
archeologists were sent to the site for further exploration
 They found…
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Thousands of clay soldiers
Each had a unique facial expression
They were positioned according to their rank
Patches of paint = they were once painted
Bronze Weapons = swords, arrows, etc.
Clay horses with wooden & bronze chariots
 Four pits have been partially excavated
 Three are filled with artifacts
 Fourth is empty
 Due to stoppage of work
 Archaeologists estimate the pits may contain as many as
8,000 figures
 Over the past 35 years, archaeologists have located 600
pits
 Qin's tomb remains unexcavated
 Writings suggest that the tomb contains…
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models of palaces
pavilions and offices
fine vessels
precious stones – pearls to represent the sun, moon, & stars
replicas of the area's rivers and streams made with mercury
flowing to the sea through hills and mountains of bronze
 Test reveal that there are unusually high amounts of
mercury in the tomb mound
 It is said that the treasures are protected by deadly
booby-traps
 Chinese archaeologists are using remote-sensing
technology to probe the tomb & found evidence of…
 underground chamber with four stair-like walls
 chamber may have been built for the soul of the emperor
 Experimental pits dug around the tomb have revealed…
 Dancers
 Musicians
 Acrobats
 All look full of life and caught in mid-performance
 Digs are on hold due to the complex conditions inside the
mound
 1979 – Opened to the public
 Consists of Pit 1, 2 and 3, which house the Terra-cotta
Warriors and Terra-cotta Horses
 4 acres
 Exhibition hall containing the bronze chariots and horses
 Cost about $11 and 3 hours to visit the pits, museum, &
the burial mound
 AKA – Forbidden Gardens
 25 miles east of Houston, TX
 Built in 1997 by Ira P. H. Poon - wanted people of Asian
descent to learn about their culture & past
 $20 million to build
 40 acres
 covers 2,000 years of China’s history
 Army is one-third scale reproductions of the real army
 6,000 clay statues
 Permanently closed as of February 2011 due to an interstate
 350 BC, Plato wrote 2 books describing the beautiful
island of Atlantis that in one day just disappeared…
 in the Atlantic Ocean near the Pillars of Hercules
 great engineers and architects
 palaces, harbors, temples and docks
 hot and cold fountains
 shared dining halls
 stone walls covered with precious metals
 Capital city was built on a hill & surrounded by rings of
water
 The rings were joined by tunnels large enough for a ship
to sail through
 A huge canal connected the outer rings of water to the
Atlantic Ocean
 Outskirt of capital was great fields where food was
produced
 Past the farms, were great mountains where wealthy lived
1.
Made of land and water in a circular formation with
canals
2.
Evidence of worship & sacrifice of bulls
3.
Red, Black, & White Stone
4.
Evidence of elephants
5.
Existed around 9,000 B.C.
* Some beleive that Plato meant 900 BC not 9000 BC
6.
Destroyed by a natural disaster
 Late 1800’s Ignatius Donnelly (American) became
obsessed with the lost city and was convinced that Plato
witnessed a great natural disaster
 Late 1960’s Angelos Galanopoulos (Greek) stated that
their must have been a MAJOR volcanic eruption that
ripped apart Greek Islands, destroyed civilizations, &
sunk Atlantis
 Problem – Greek Island nowhere near the location Plato
described in his books
 Several Archeologist and other scientist believe that the
Lost City of Atlantis is ….
 The Malta Ruins
 Off the coast of Florida near Bimini Island
 Off the coast of Cuba in the Gulf of Mexico
 The Greek Island of Santorini
 Just A Myth Made By Plato
 Humans have lived on Malta since at least 5200 BC
 Created magnificent megalithic temples some have been dated
about 9,000 years ago
 Once had elephants
 Evidence of an advanced society for that time period
 Was destroyed by a natural event
 Doesn’t meet all requirements and is too small to be Atlantis
 Discovered in 1968 in the Bahamas
 Huge stone road under water; 1,200 feet long
 Known as Bimini Road
 rectangular limestone blocks
 Some scientist believe these blocks are natural
formations and not man made
 2,000 feet below sea level – too deep for humans
 Use of sound waves & underwater cameras
 Similar to the Myan Ruins…
 Pyramids
 Staircases
 Fallen pillars
 8 square miles and some rocks are 150 feet high
 Too deep to be Atlantis; Rocks are formed by mother
nature; more studies are needed
 Found in 1967 buried under volcanic pumice
 Inhabited by the Minoans & evidence of a very advanced
civilization - Disappeared 3,400 years ago
 Island has circular shape
 Bulls were worshiped there (paintings)
 Has black, white, & red stones
 Area is prone to volcanic activity & this destroyed city
 Plato would have mistaken 900 BC for 9,000 BC for this to be
Atlantis & there is no evidence of elephants
 Many scholars think Plato invented the story of Atlantis
as a way to present his philosophical and political
theories
 Plato said the founders of Atlantis were ½ God and ½
human
 Plato also said Atlantis existed 9,000 years before his
own time & the story was passed down to him
 he is the only one who wrote of its existence