1-JEC-Project-Intel-1A
The Eruption of Vesuvius
Topics of Discussion:
• Pliny the Younger
•
Mount Vesuvius
•
Pompeii
•
Herculaneum
Introduction
What makes the story of
Pompeii, Herculaneum and
Mount Vesuvius so important to modern students of Roman history?
• The historical eyewitness account from a seventeen year old man named Pliny the
Younger.
• The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
• The excavation of buildings, artwork and other artifacts of Roman life completely intact.
Who was Pliny the Younger?
Pliny the Younger
(c.61 AD - c.112 AD)
• Pliny the Younger was a Roman official.
• He was famous for his letters which are an important source regarding Roman history.
• In 79 AD, he witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius when his uncle died.
• He was seventeen at the time of the eruption
• He later described the event in a letter to his friend the historian
Tacitus.
Pliny's account translated from Latin to English
There had been tremors for many days previously, a common occurrence in Campania and no cause for panic . But that night the shaking grew much stronger; people thought it was an earthquake, not just a tremor ... Now the day begins, with a still hesitant and almost lazy dawn. All around us buildings are shaken .... In addition, it seemed as though the sea was being sucked backwards, as if it were being pushed back by the shaking of the land. Certainly the shoreline moved outwards , and many sea creatures were left on dry sand . Behind us were frightening dark clouds , rent by lightning twisted and hurled, opening to reveal huge figures of flame . These were like lightning, but bigger ... Now came the dust, though still thinly. I look back: a dense cloud looms behind us, following us like a flood poured across the land.
We had scarcely sat down when a darkness came that was not like a moonless or cloudy night, but more like the black of closed and unlighted rooms ... It grew lighter, though that seemed not a return of day, but a sign that the fire was approaching. The fire itself actually stopped some distance away, but darkness and ashes came again, a great weight of them ... At last the cloud thinned out and dwindled to no more than smoke or fog. Soon there was real daylight. The sun was even shining, though with the lurid glow it has after an eclipse. The sight that met our still terrified eyes was a changed world, buried in ash like snow .
Column of smoke ...
Mount Vesuvius, Italy
The Eruption of Vesuvius
• Vesuvius has erupted many times since 79
A.D., most recently from
1913-1944.
•
Photo by Italian Air Force from Green and Short (1971).
1944
The Excavation Begins
Pompeii
• Note: Mount Vesuvius in the back ground.
Pompeii
• Portrait on the wall of a
Pompeii house.
Pompeii
• The Forum seen from inside the basilica.
Herculaneum
Herculaneum
• Note: Mount
Vesuvius in the back ground.
Near Herculaneum's
Villa dei Papiri
• The first known example of a
Roman throne found near
Pompeii.
Roman Throne
• Decorated with ivory bas-reliefs depicting ancient deities, two legs and part of the back of the wooden throne were discovered.
• They were found 82 feet below ground near Herculaneum's
Villa dei Papiri.
Herculaneum
• Street paving stones uncovered in
Herculaneum.
Herculaneum
• Ancient Roman mosaic with
Neptune and
Amphitrite.
Herculaneum
Herculaneum
• Marble floor inlay from a Roman house.
Herculaneum
Herculaneum
Herculaneum
Herculaneum
• Note: Latin was the language in ancient
Rome.
Mount Vesuvius Today!
Conclusion
What makes the story of
Pompeii, Herculaneum and
Mount Vesuvius so important to modern students of Roman history?
Sources Cited
• http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/gkingowe510200513726
• http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/7621/dw01mountainll2.jpg
• http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/a/a4/290px-
Pompeii_the_last_day_1.jpg
• http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2007-12-04-roman-thronepompeii_N.htm
• http://www.foxnews.com/images/328835/0_61_rome_throne_1.jpg
• http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~g111/Volcanoes/Vesuvius/Italy_4_4_Fx.JPG
• http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~g111/Volcanoes/Vesuvius/Pompei_Scavi_43_Fx.JPG
• http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~g111/Volcanoes/Vesuvius/Italy_4_30_Fx.JPG
• http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_vesuvius.html
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pliny_the_younger.shtml
• http://www.fredcamper.com/A/Accretions/AC002/index.html
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_portents_01.shtml
Supplemental information
• Text of Pliny the Elder’s Letter to Tacitus
Pliny: Letters and Panegyricus (Loeb Classical
Library) (Book VI, Letter XVI) ISBN 0674990617
• Fifty Letters of Pliny (ed. A.N. Sherwin-
White)(pages 37-40) ISBN 0199120102
• Jenny’s Third Year Latin (pages 313-316) ISBN
0139188142
• Wheelock’s Latin Reader (ed. Richard A.
LaFleur)(pages 255-265) ISBN 0060935065
Related websites
• http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_vesuvius.html
• http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/volcanoes/vmtvesuvius.html
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vesuvius/index.html
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/pompeii/
• http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/pompeii/pompeii.html
• http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/P/pompeii/
• Discovery Channel: http://shopping.discovery.com/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10000
&catalogId=10000&langId=-1&productId=57436&partnumber=719252
• History Channel: http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=72482&browseCategoryId
=&location=&parentcatid=&subcatid=
• National Geographic: http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID
=452&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=vesuvius
