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Mount Vesuvius - Volcano near Naples

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Italy: Mount Vesuvius - Italian Volcano

Mount Vesuvius - Italian Volcano: Herculaneum, Romans, Before the eruption (1), Before the eruption (2)

In the seaside town of Herculaneum, at the footsteps of the Mount Vesuvius - Volcano near Naples, all looks quiet.

Vesuvius - The Italian volcano near Naples
Mount Vesuvius - Volcano near Naples

On the beachfront the fishermen pulled up their boats in front of the seawall. Today the town of Herculaneum sits silently under the cone of the volcano that killed it. On the walls of its ruined villas, ghostly paintings and mosaics remind us of the thousands of people who once lived here. But what were these ancient Herculaneum really like and what happened to them on that fateful day in August, A.D. 79?

Did most of them escape? One day an astonishing new discovery showed the actual victims of the fiery rage of Vesuvius.

Breezes from the bay cooled the wealthy Romans relaxing in the gardens of their elegant summer villas. No one suspected that within hours the top of nearby Mount Vesuvius would blow off, burying the town and many of its people under an enormous avalanche of scorching mud and ash.

Anthropologist Sara Bisel writes: The telegram lying at my door was marked Urgent. As I bent down to pick it up, I hoped that it wasnt bad news. After spending a long hot day on my knees in the dusty ruins of an ancient G reek town, I was in no mood for surprises. When I ripped open the envelope I saw that it was from the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. They wanted me to telephone them immediately about a special project. Why are they in such a hurry, I asked myself. As an archaeologist and anthropologist I have been involved in many expeditions. But my jobs are almost never emergencies. If something has been lying in the ground for a few thousand years, another week or two usually doesnt make much difference.

Next: Herculaneum

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