Website design By BotEap.comAs the residents of Herculaneum and Pompeii continued their daily activities, did any wisps of smoke billow out of Vesuvius? crater at approximately 10:00 AM.[27] Went by unnoticed.

Website design By BotEap.comThen, around 12:00 noon, a steady, unbroken plume of smoke suddenly rose 9 miles into the air from Mount Vesuvius as tremors shook Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Terzigno and the surrounding area. Remarkable and dreadful events occurred in Campania; because a great fire suddenly broke out at the end of the summer. It happened on the wise mount Vesuvius, ?? Dio Cassius wrote in describing the eruption.[28]

Website design By BotEap.comInitially, upon seeing the towering volcanic column at noon, people were in awe and awe. Then in a matter of minutes like a thick shower of hot lapilli (Latin term for “small stones”),[29] Pumice stone and ash began to fall on Pompeii, Oplontis and Terzigno, carried by strong winds from the northwest pushing them towards the southeast, the cities? people rushed to seek immediate shelter.

Website design By BotEap.comSoon, hot lapilli and ash were falling at a rate of about 4.75 to 6 inches per hour as deafening noises emanated from the volcano and a continuous stream of strong earthquakes shook the area. Hearing the loud explosions, many who had not left in the morning fled home while others continued their retreat towards Pompeii and the Oplontis coast, and as “pumice clasts composed of tephra.” with diameters of up to 3 inches it rained at speeds of up to 62 miles per hour, roofs and structures were damaged while people on the streets suffered injuries, some fatal.[30]

Website design By BotEap.comAt 1:00 PM, ?? the rock sealing shell [Vesuvius] it turned off ??[31] shooting about 10 miles in the air,[32] sending out a thick, dark cloud of dust and ash that blocked the sun, throwing Pompeii and its surroundings into total darkness. ???? suddenly there was a crash of porterus, as if the mountains were collapsing into ruins; and first great stones were thrown up high, rising to the very summits, then came a great quantity of endless fire and smoke, so that the whole atmosphere was darkened and the sun was completely hidden, as if eclipsed. Thus the day was turned into night and the light into darkness. Dio Cassius wrote.[33]

Website design By BotEap.comAs darkness engulfed the area as hot lapilli and ash rained down, many in Herculaneum realized it was time to flee. People stopped to collect whatever belongings they could: money, jewelry, the family dog. Everyone ran into the streets. Some thought the sea was their route to safety; those who did not try to escape in armed boats on the beach.[34] while others fled on foot to Naples, “which ultimately turned out to be the only way to safety.”[35]

Website design By BotEap.comThere was widespread panic and chaos as people ran for safety. As they fled, in the words of Dio Cassius, some [ran] from the houses to the streets, others from outside to the houses, now from the sea to the land and now from the land to the sea; because in their excitement they considered any place where they were no safer than where they were. [Furthermore] While this was happening, an inconceivable amount of ash was expelled, which covered both the sea and the land and filled all the air. It caused a great deal of damage of various kinds, as happened by chance, to men, farms and livestock, and in particular it destroyed all fish and birds.[36]

Website design By BotEap.comIt was around this time that Pliny the Elder, serving in Miseno as admiral of the fleet, was notified of the eruption as related by his son: ???? Between 2 and 3 in the afternoon my mother called her attention to a cloud of unusual size and appearance. He had sunbathed, then a cold bath, and was reclining after dinner with his books. He asked for his shoes and climbed up to where he could get the best view of the phenomenon. The cloud was rising from a mountain, at such a distance that we did not know which one, but then we learned that it was Vesuvius. I can best describe its shape by comparing it to a pine tree. It rose to the sky on a very long log. from which some branches extend. I imagine it had been lifted up by a sudden explosion, which then weakened, leaving the cloud unsupported so that its own weight caused it to spread sideways. Part of the cloud was white, other parts were dark patches of dirt and ash. The sight made my uncle’s scientist decide to get a closer look.

Website design By BotEap.comHe ordered a ship to be prepared. He offered me the opportunity to accompany me, but I preferred to study? he gave me a writing exercise himself. As he was leaving the house, they brought him a letter from Tascius’s wife, Rectina, who was terrified of the coming danger. His villa was at the foot of Vesuvius and there was no way out except by boat. She begged him to take her away. He changed his plans. The expedition that began as a quest for knowledge now required courage. He launched the quadrirremes and embarked himself, a source of help to more people than just Rectina, because that beautiful shore was populous. He rushed to a place others were fleeing and kept heading straight for danger. Was he scared? It seems not, as he kept a continuous observation of the various movements and shapes of that evil cloud, dictating what he saw.

Website design By BotEap.comAsh was falling on the ships now, darker and denser the closer they got. Now they were chunks of pumice and rocks that were blackened, burned, and shattered by fire. Now the sea is shallow; debris from the mountain blocks the shoreline. He paused for a moment wondering whether to turn back when the helmsman urged him on. ?? Fortune helps the brave? He said, “Go to Pomponianus (his friend).”[37] With his decision, Pliny the Elder ordered the helmsmen away from Pompeii, which was inaccessible, and to Stabiae.[38]

Website design By BotEap.comAt 3:00 pm, some of the Pompeii residents were also fleeing, realizing that the earthquakes and the eruption did not stop. People were running in different directions; some pompeians [sought] refuge in Moregine. Others lead[ed] in the direction of ?? Nuceria. And still others [fled] to the seaport ????[39] It soon became clear that a sea leak [was] futile.??[40]

Website design By BotEap.comHowever, at 6:00 pm, the volcanic eruption appeared to be subsiding. As the intensity of the eruption subsided, the exhausted survivors of Pompeii emerged from the buildings in search of an escape route. Individually and in small groups, “they trudged toward the southern sector of the urban area in the hope of reaching the roads on the edge of the city.”[41] By then Pliny the Elder had arrived in Stabiae to meet his friend. By then Pliny the Younger was completing his studies from the safety of Miseno. ???? I finished my studies, as I had planned. Then I bathed, then had dinner, and a short, unsatisfying night.[42] At the same time, some, mistakenly believing that the worst was over, began to return to inspect the damage and rescue their belongings.

Website design By BotEap.comAt 7:30 pm, Pompeii experienced the first roof collapses. In addition, some fires, started by “fallen lanterns”, burned, illuminating the city in unnatural darkness.[43]

Website design By BotEap.comThen, after about two hours of respite, shortly after 8:00 pm, the intensity of the volcanic eruption increased. Lapilli fell and ash rained again. As it fell on Pompeii and Stabiae, did Pliny the Elder wait for favorable winds to depart? as his son recounts: “At Stabiae, across the bay formed by the gradually curving shore, Pomponianus had loaded his ships even before danger came, though he was visible and indeed extremely close, once intensified. It planned to go out as soon as the oncoming wind died down. That same wind carried my uncle straight inside, and it embraced the frightened man and gave him comfort and courage. To lessen the fear of the other by showing his own indifference, he asked to be taken to the bathrooms. He bathed and dined, carefree or at least pretending to be (which is equally impressive). Meanwhile, broad blades of flame lit many parts of Vesuvius; its light and brilliance were more vivid in the darkness of the night. To ease people’s fears, my uncle claimed that the flames were coming from the deserted houses of farmers who had left in a panic with the fires still burning. Then he rested and gave every indication that he was actually sleeping; the people who passed by his door heard his snoring, which was quite resounding since he was a large man. The floor outside his room rose so high with the mixture of ash and stone that if he had spent more time there it would have been impossible to escape. He got up and went out, recovering with Pomponiano and the others who had not been able to sleep. They discussed what to do, whether to stay under cover or try outdoors. The buildings were being shaken by a series of strong tremors, and seemed to have dislodged from their foundations and slid from side to side. Outside, however, there was danger from falling rocks, light and consumed by fire as were these chunks of pumice stone. Weighing the relative dangers they chose outdoors; in my uncle’s case it was a rational decision, others simply chose the alternative that least scared them. Were pillows tied on top of the head to protect against rockfall? the darkness was darker and thicker than any night. But they had torches and other lights. They decided to go down to shore, to see up close if something was possible by sea. But he was still just as tough and uncooperative as before. Resting in the shade of a candle, did he drink once or twice of the cold water he had asked for?[44] because escape by sea was impossible due to the strong opposing winds.

Website design By BotEap.com Continued in part 3 of 3

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Website design By BotEap.com[27]Salvatore Nappo. Pompeii: A Guide to the Ancient City. (New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc., 1998), p. 13.

Website design By BotEap.com[28]Dio Cassius. The eruption of Vesuvius that buried Pompeii, epitome of Roman history from the book LXVI (203 AD) May 2, 2006. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66]* .html

Website design By BotEap.com[29]Bonnie S. Lawrence, Project Editor. Restless land. (Washington, DC: The National Geographic Society, 1997), p. 191.

Website design By BotEap.com[30]The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. University of Michigan. 2005. April 30, 2006. http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/interior/Mt_Vesuvius_ad79.html&edu=high

Website design By BotEap.com[31]79 AD Vesuvius explodes. May 5, 2006. http://www.archaeology.co.uk/cwa/issues/cwa4/pompeii/eruption.htm

Website design By BotEap.com[32]Science and geology of volcanoes. May 8, 2006. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/P/pompeii/volcano.htm

Website design By BotEap.com[33]Dio Cassius. The eruption of Vesuvius that buried Pompeii, epitome of Roman history from the book LXVI (203 AD) May 2, 2006. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66]* .html

Website design By BotEap.com[34]Rosella Lorenzi. The long, deadly silence. May 2, 2006. http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/pompeii/history/history.html

Website design By BotEap.com[35]http://www.fieldmuseum.org/pompeii/pompeii2/pompeii_content.html

Website design By BotEap.com[36]Dio Cassius. The eruption of Vesuvius that buried Pompeii, epitome of Roman history from the book LXVI (203 AD) May 2, 2006. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66]* .html

Website design By BotEap.com[37]Letter of Pliny 6.16. April 30, 2006. http://www.amherst.edu/~classics/DamonFiles/classics36/ancsrc/01.html

Website design By BotEap.com[38]Scandone, Giacomelli and Gasparini. ?? The eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. C. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 1993. April 30, 2006. http://vulcan.fis.uniroma3.it/vesuvio/79_eruption.html

Website design By BotEap.com[39]http://www.fieldmuseum.org/pompeii/pompeii2/pompeii_content.html

Website design By BotEap.com[40]Nigel Cawthorne. 100 catastrophic disasters. (New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc., 2003) 152.

Website design By BotEap.com[41]http://www.fieldmuseum.org/pompeii/pompeii2/pompeii_content.html and Tony Allan. Secrets of the ancient dead. (London: Duncan Baird Publishers, 2004), p. 92.

Website design By BotEap.com[42]Letter of Pliny 6.20. April 30, 2006. http://www.amherst.edu/~classics/DamonFiles/classics36/ancsrc/02.html

Website design By BotEap.com[43]Salvatore Nappo. Pompeii: A Guide to the Ancient City. (New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc., 1998), p. 13.

Website design By BotEap.com[44]Letter of Pliny 6.16. April 30, 2006. http://www.amherst.edu/~classics/DamonFiles/classics36/ancsrc/01.html

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