Herculaneum and Pompeii

Mysteries Beneath the Rubble

By: Steven Singer, Steven DiCarlo, Kyle Finnican, and Reynolds Chin

Herculaneum and Pompeii

I. Plinian Eruptions Overview II. Mount Vesuvius       - Our Recreation       - Herculaneum       - Pompeii

Plinian Eruptions- Plinian eruptions are also known as Vesuvian eruptions- Marked by eruption of gas and volcanic ash going high into the stratosphere- Other well known Plinian Eruptions are Mt. Saint Helens in 1980, and the most recent in the eruption of Sarychev Peak located in Russia in June, 2009- The gas and ash must enter the stratosphere at over 11km in order to be considered a Plinian

• Virtual Volcano : Discovery Channel 

Mt. Vesuvius• Dormant for 800 years before the eruption on August 27, 79 AD

 • Ash and volcanic stone spewed into the stratosphere

 • Winds blew southeast causing volcanic materials to fall on Pompeii,

collapsing roofs, compared to only a few centimeters of ash in Herculaneum

 • 12 hours later, pyroclastic flow raced down Vesuvius at 100 mph

toward Herculaneum • Between the 3 million inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, it is

estimated that 15 to 25 thousand people died 

Perspective of How Big Eruption Was

The eruption went into the air at 7 miles in the air, compared to the 5.5 miles that Mount Everest is.

Mt. Vesuvius Eruption: 7.5 miles high

Mount Everest: 5.5 Miles

Empire State Building: .375 miles high

Vesuvius Eruption: Our Recreation

We began the recreation process by building the volcano and the towns to show Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Vesuvius Eruption: The Pyroclastic Flow

We then proceeded to explode the volcano and you can see the emmense lava flow that happened 2000 years ago.

Vesuvius: Post Eruption

As you can see for both towns that they did not stand a chance against this ginormous volcano... just like in 79AD.

Herculaneum: Background Information    

• Small and wealthy town in ancient Rome14°20′51″E

• Samnite tribe founded city • Greeks took control and named the

town Herculaneum in the late 6th century (named after Hercules)

• Used the town as a trading post because of the location to the Gulf of Naples

• In 4th century BC, Samnites reclaimed town until 89 BC when it came under Roman control

 

The Destruction of Herculaneum- Eruption started at 1 pm at August 24, 79 AD - Both Herculaneum and Pompeii recieved an initial couple centimeters of ash - the pyroclastic flow that hit Herculaneum was 750 degrees farenheit and made up of ash, gas, and rock -saved of rocks of ash because of wind 

Herculaneum: The Excavations

- First excavation of Herculaneum was in 1738 by Joaquin de Alcubierre, engineer and captian in Spanish Army - Alcubierre gave up on Herculaneum to go to another site in Italy; Pompeii - Pompeii was significantly easier to excavate, it only had 4 meters of ash, Herculaneum had 20 meters of pyroclastic material - In 1981, Dr. Giuseppe Maggin came upon Herculaneum when digging to make a drainage pipe 

Herculaneum: The Excavations (cont.)

- Dr. Maggin hired Sara Bisel, an anthropolgist, to excavate the area- She found 55 bodies, 30 men, 13 women, and 12 children- Because of the lack of bodies, she presumed the majority of the population fled before the flow of pyroclastic material arrived- She then found 250 bodies huddled together near 12 boathouses- The people were about to be rescued when they were hit by the flow

Pompeii Background info

• Pompeii is located in western Italy, 7 miles from Mt. Vesuvius, in a region called Campania

• People in city were clueless about how much destruction Mt. Vesuvius could do

• Earthquake in 62 AD (7.5 on Richter scale) was only recent natural disaster in Pompeii before eruption

• Minor tremors led up to erpution

• Eruption occured on August 24, AD 79

 • Lava flowed down Vesuvius,

destroying everything in its path

 • Mephitic fumes caused

deliriousness, then suffocation

 • Wind was blowing in

Pompeii's direction, increasing the damag

 

The Destruction of Pompeii

• Some people chose to run away with their valuables, others chose to wait until streets were less crowded, and others locked themselves in their houses

 • Everybody who did not run

away was killed 

The Destruction of Pompeii (cont.) 

The Excavation of Pompeii

· Exploration started in 1748 · Ash was actually very light and not compact · Excavation started to get pieces of art for Bourbon King Charles III  

Pompeii: Excavations (cont.)

· As many as 1500 excavators at a time, leading to many buildings being uncovered · By 1860 most of western sector was excavated · When French controlled Naples, excavation was more organized, going form west to east  

Extra info on pompeii

• Pompeii became a Roman town in 80 BC

 • It had many very

prosperous ports • First rediscovered in 1748

 • Off the Gulf of Naples

Sources• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herculaneum•  http://www.romanherculaneum.com (go to new site)•  http://www.roman-empire.net/articles/article-011.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plinian_eruption• http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/images/pglossary/PlinianEruption.php• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii• http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/europe/pompeii.html• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_rediscovery_01.shtml