Sources for the eruption of Vesuvius (1 Viewer)

[jg234]

Can anyone help me finding sources concerning the eruption of Vesuvius and what affect it had on pompeii itself

 

[lockedbox]

Pliny the younger is the primary source. Google him and you will find plenty of sites who host complete translations of his work. As for the effect, well, everybody dies? in all seriousness, the eruption blotted out the sun, rained thousands of tonnes of granite and pumice stone down on the city, filled the atmosphere with molten ash and poisonous vapours and buried the city beneath thousands of tonnes of volcanic stone and ash killing everyone and preserving the city almost perfectly for hundreds of years. It also made the area really fertile. The archaeology and sedimentary layers are a source in themselves.

 

[cem]

Pliny the younger is the primary source. Google him and you will find plenty of sites who host complete translations of his work. As for the effect, well, everybody dies? in all seriousness, the eruption blotted out the sun, rained thousands of tonnes of granite and pumice stone down on the city, filled the atmosphere with molten ash and poisonous vapours and buried the city beneath thousands of tonnes of volcanic stone and ash killing everyone and preserving the city almost perfectly for hundreds of years. It also made the area really fertile. The archaeology and sedimentary layers are a source in themselves.

Not everyone died - although we don't know the full death toll but there were certainly people who managed to escape.

 

[lockedbox]

Not everyone died - although we don't know the full death toll but there were certainly people who managed to escape.

I meant everyone inside the city, those that escaped didn't leave remains which could be used as archaeological sources.

 

[ArtemisOrthia]

There are many sources for the eruption itself; including:

- Pliny the Younger's two letters - eye witness account.
- A few other ancient writers made references to the eruption too - including Statius, Martial, Suetonius and Dio Cassius.
- Archaeological remains of P+H.
- Human remains of P+H.
- The work of modern vulcanologist, Haraldur Sigurdsson (he examined the deposit from the eruption and its effects and compared these with the effects of more recent volcanic eruptions - St. Helen for an example.

The archaeological and human remains of the two towns differ and provide the impact of the volcano upon Pompeii and Herculaneum. Have a read of a few P+H books and I'm sure you'll find some more information. n_n