The history of the death of Pompeii indicates that the catastrophe began in 79, in the afternoon, on August 24 and lasted for two days. The eruption, as it was then believed, of the sleeping volcano Vesuvius destroyed everything. Then, not only Pompeii were buried under lava, but also three more cities - Stabia, Oplontia and Herculaneum.
For 1500 years, Pompeii will remain buried underground, until in 1599, during the construction of an underground canal from the Sarno River, a part of the ancient city wall was discovered.
Then the city had to wait another 150 years, until in 1748 its excavations were resumed again under the leadership of the Spanish military engineer Roque Joaquin de Alcubierre. This time, not only well-preserved household items appeared on the surface (which was facilitated by the lack of air and moisture underground), but also entire buildings.
The first day is the beginning of the tragedy
The city of Pompeii was spared by the elements until the next day. City dwellers frivolously did not pay attention to the black cloud of ash and gas that rose above Mount Vesuvius and slowly moved towards the city. Anxiety began to mount after ash flakes began to cover rooftops, sidewalks, flowers and tree crowns. The ashes covered the white clothes, they had to be shaken off all the time; the colors of the city faded, merging into a gloomy gray background.
Many of the residents tried to hide from the ashes in houses, where poisonous sulfur fumes penetrated. The roofs of houses collapsed under the weight of ash, burying those in the room. Many died, not finding the determination to leave valuable things. During the excavations, people were found with sacks filled with gold and precious jewelry. The incipient earthquake was accompanied by continuous tremors. The trembling firmament overturned carts, destroyed statues, walls of houses; the inhabitants fleeing in terror were covered with tiles. Following the ash, stones began to fall from the sky.
Details of the death of Pompeii are known from the letters of the famous Roman scientist Pliny the Younger, who was visiting Miseno - the estate of his uncle, also a famous scientist, who is usually called Pliny the Elder. Young Pliny had the misfortune to be on the shores of the Gulf of Naples, just 25 km from Vesuvius. He described the eruption in a letter to Tacitus, at the request of the latter, telling about the death of a relative, and as a result provided the descendants with an important scientific document.
Promotional video:
“My uncle was in Misena and personally commanded the fleet,” writes Pliny the Younger. - He died during a catastrophe that destroyed a beautiful land along with cities and people. On the 9th day before the September calendars, around 7 o'clock, he saw a cloud, unusual in size and appearance. Those who looked from a distance could not determine which mountain it arose, and the fact that it was Vesuvius was recognized much later. Uncle had already warmed himself in the sun, doused himself with cold water, took a bite and demanded sandals in order to climb to such a place from where this amazing phenomenon could be better seen.
The cloud was shaped like a pine tree: a tall trunk rose upward, from which branches diverged in different directions. It could have been thrown out by a stream of air, but then the force weakened, and the cloud spread out in width from its own gravity. The cloud, filled with earth and ash, varied from bright white to dirty brown. The phenomenon might seem significant and worthy of close acquaintance to any scientist. My uncle ordered the ship to be prepared and invited me to go with him. I replied that I prefer to write.
He was about to leave the house when he received a letter from Rektina, the wife of Tassius, who lived in a villa under the mountain, from where it was possible to escape only by sea. The frightened woman asked to help her out of the terrible situation, and the uncle changed the plan. What the scientist began was finished by a man of great soul: he ordered the ship to be brought, and he himself climbed on the deck, intending to provide assistance not only to Rektina, but also to many others, because the coast was densely populated. He hurried to where the others had fled, keeping a straight path, striving straight into the center of danger, and was so free from fear that, having caught any change in the shape of the pillar, he ordered to note and write down all the details.
The scientist did not succumb to the persuasion of the helmsman, although he hesitated whether to turn back, but still ordered to send the boat to Stabia, to the house of a certain Pomponian. Throughout the dangerous journey, Pliny the Elder consoled the frightened passengers, hugged them by the shoulders, persuaded them, wishing to ease the fear with his calmness. On his return he ordered to be carried to the bathhouse; After washing himself, he settled himself on the couch and dined with taste, constantly pretending to be cheerful.
The evidence of the ancient writer Dion Cassius, a later author, who used an unknown source, but was well aware of the consequences of the eruption outside Campania, has survived:
“A strong earthquake has begun. The whole area around the volcano trembled, and the mountain top trembled. The subterranean blows were like thunder … the sea rustled … Suddenly there was a terrible crash. Huge stones flew from the mouth of Vesuvius … the flame rose high and poured thick smoke, the sun darkened. Day turned into night, clouds of ash rose into the air. He covered the land and the sea, completely covered two cities. Such a mass of dust rose that it reached Africa and Egypt. In Rome, clouds of dust rushing in the air covered the sun."
As stated by Pliny the Younger already on the first day of the disaster:
“Ashes fell on the ships, and the closer they got, the hotter and thicker the air became. Pieces of pumice fell, black burnt fragments of stones, almost burying the sandbank and blocking the shore, access to which was blocked by the avalanche. In many places from the volcano, a fire spilled out widely, flying upwards, especially bright in the night darkness. His uncle kept repeating, trying to calm the frightened people, that the villagers had in a hurry forgot to put out the fire and that a fire started in the abandoned estates.
Then he went to rest and fell asleep soundly: his breathing, a large man, burst out with heavy snoring, and people passing by his room heard this sound. The area from which they entered the outbuilding was already covered with ash and pieces of pumice to such an extent that it would have been impossible for a person who had lingered in the bedroom to leave. The uncle was woken up, offering to take part in the council, where they discussed the question of whether to stay indoors or go out into the open. The scientist gave reasonable reasons, the rest of the fears prevailed."
By the time of the negotiations, the buildings were shaken by frequent and strong shocks; the underground element moved them from their places, moved them to the side and returned them back. Light, porous pieces of pumice fell from the sky. People protected themselves from falling stones with pillows tied to their heads with towels.
The threat became clear gradually, because the disaster began with light ash, which was enough to shake off clothes and hair. Seeing pieces of pumice flying from the sky, people felt danger, but they took real measures to save themselves too late. The city of Pompeii was enveloped in poisonous vapors; they penetrated all the cracks, crawled under the capes, bandages and kerchiefs, hampered breathing, caused tears and coughs. In an attempt to take a breath of fresh air, people ran out into the street, fell under the hail of lapilli and returned in horror. In houses, ceilings collapsed, burying those who sat huddled under the stairwells, hid in the galleries, in vain begging for forgiveness from the gods.
When any volcano erupts, pieces of old and fresh lava, as well as rocks alien to the volcano, are thrown out of the vent along with the ash. Small, rounded or angular fragments of this substance - lapilli (from Latin lapillus - "pebble") - fall like hail, covering the ground with a loose layer of volcanic mass. During the eruption of Vesuvius, most of the stones barely reached the size of a walnut, although at times stones with a diameter of up to 30 cm came across. Even in a frozen form, they are easy to remove with the help of simple tools. It was such a substance that fell asleep in Pompeii, although at a much shallower depth than Herculaneum.
Contrary to the claims of ancient authors, the elements did not take the townspeople by surprise. Vesuvius woke up early in the morning, and the stone rain did not start until noon. People had enough time to leave the city, and many did it. Judging by the finds, less than a quarter of the 10,000 residents died. The population of the city of the dead was made up of those who rushed to save household belongings or simply decided to wait out the danger, leaving the house too late. The elderly, lost children and slaves, left by the owners to guard the household property, perished.
Second day of the disaster
With difficulty making their way through the piles of small stones, people fell exhausted, lost consciousness or slowly suffocated, buried alive under hot ash. It is no coincidence that many of the dead were found in its upper layer. The morning of the next day greeted those who remained with pitch darkness, the air became hot, and the city completely disappeared under a 7-meter layer of lapilli and a 2-meter layer of ash covering it.
“The day has come, gloomy, as if exhausted, blacker and denser than all nights, - Pliny the Younger continues in a letter to Tacitus, - although the darkness was dispersed a little by torches. It was already the first hour when we decided to go ashore and look around. Buildings shook. We stood in an open place, but even in the dark it was clear that everything was crumbling around. A lot of people pressed and pushed each other. A lot of strange and terrible things happened in the city. The wagons that we ordered to be sent forward were thrown from side to side in a completely new place, although we propped them up with stones. The sea was still rough and hostile. We saw how it was drawn into itself, and the earth, shaking, pushed it away. The coast moved forward, leaving the sea animals to lie on the sand.
Like many others, my uncle lay down on a spread sail and asked for cold water. The fire and the smell of sulfur, announcing the approach of fire, put others to flight, and he was raised to his feet. He stood up, leaning on two slaves, and immediately fell, because the thick fumes caught his breath and closed his windpipe: it was naturally weak, narrow and often sore.
In a huge black thundercloud, fiery zigzags flashed and ran across, it split into long strips of flame that looked like lightning, but only of unprecedented magnitude. A few hours later, a cloud began to descend to the ground, covered the sea, encircled and hid the island of Capri, carried away from the Mizensky cape. Ash fell, but at first rare. Looking back, I saw that a thick darkness was approaching us, like a stream pouring over the ground."
The frightened young man invited the companions to turn off before they were crushed by the crowd. Then everyone found themselves in darkness, similar to the one that happens in a room when the light goes out abruptly. Helpless people heard women's cries, men's voices, children's crying: some called their parents, others - children, wives were looking for husbands, and those in the general dump could not find wives.
Perhaps at that time people realized that death was inevitable. According to Pliny, “they mourned their own death, grieved over the death of their loved ones, some screamed in fear to die soon, many raised their hands to the gods, but most argued that they were not there and the last eternal night had come in the world. When it got a little lighter, we saw that it was not dawn, but an approaching fire. He stopped in the distance, and darkness fell again.
The ashes fell in frequent, heavy rain. We constantly got up and shook him off, otherwise we would have been covered and crushed by his weight. The gloom eventually began to dissipate, turning into smoke and mist. Soon the real day came, and even the sun flashed, but yellowish and dim, like an eclipse. To the eyes of people numb from horror, the world around him appeared completely different. Everything was covered with deep ash like snow. " Pliny's letter ended with the words: "… I conveyed everything that I was present myself and what I heard from those who remember well how everything happened."
Third day - buried cities
Weak daylight returned on the third day after the volcanic eruption began. The body of Pliny the Elder was found on the shore: the scientist lay fully clothed, without any injuries and looked more like a sleeping person than a dead person. Two days later, the sun shone over Campania and the sky turned blue, but Pompeii and Herculaneum had already ceased to exist. The fields of the happy land were covered with lava and ash, buildings turned into ruins. The deathly silence was not disturbed by human voices, dogs barking, or birds singing. Only Vesuvius survived, over the top of which, as at the beginning of the death of Pompeii, a thin column of smoke was smoking.
After the death of Pompeii
Soon after the volcano died down, the surviving residents returned to the site of the disaster. People dug up houses in an attempt to find the remains of deceased relatives, the most valuable things, tools needed to settle in a new place. A deeper penetration was carried out in the forum where the core values were located. By order of the city authorities, works of art, fragments of architectural decor, statues of gods, emperors, and famous citizens were removed from the main square.
On the part of the Roman government, no real measures were taken to assist the victims of the death of Pompeii. Emperor Titus appointed a Senatorial Commission, which dared to disregard the decree that allowed "to use the property of the dead for the revival of the Campaign if they had no heirs." Streets and houses remained under the ashes, and the surviving residents found shelter in other cities in Italy. Years passed; the wounded earth was covered with a layer of soil, the meadows were green again in the desert valley and the gardens bloomed. After several centuries, no one remembered the dead cities. An echo of the former prosperity of the region was the name of the area - La citta, but the word "city" in the designation of a deserted tract was perceived as a mockery.
The city of Pompeii in our time
Covering a total area of more than 65 hectares, the city of Pompeii today is the world's largest archaeological park and architectural monument, as well as one of the most popular tourist destinations for 250 years. The city buried alive was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. 2.5 million tourists visit it every year.
Vesuvius, estimated to be 17,000 years old, remains the only active volcano on the European mainland. According to scientists, the volcano has erupted about 100 times in total, but only a few eruptions in scale exceeded the eruption of 79 years. The thermal energy released by the Vesuvius volcano during the eruption was 100,000 times the energy from the bomb dropped on Hiroshima!
E. Gritsak