Pompeii, near Naples, Southern Italy, summer of 79 CE.
Life is sweet, if you are not a slave, if you are a Roman Citizen.
The Empire extends from Spain to the Black Sea, from Britannia to Egypt.
After the year of four emperors, 69 CE, Rome has been under the firm and stable rule of
Emperor Vespasian for ten years.
The Emperor has just started building the Flavian Amphitheatre, which will be known
as Colosseum.
For the moment, you are content with your own local gladiatorial shows in an Arena that
can sit half the population of your rich and beautiful town.
The earth has shaken lately, was it because of the weather?
You are not worried, as you bite into another honeyed fig.
Then, you notice a plume, a column of smoke lifting from the top of the near Mount Vesuvius.
You don’t know it yet, but the very gates of Hades are about to open and unleash on
Pompeii the flames of the end.
Welcome to Geographics.
Today we are going to explore Pompeii, the Roman town that in August of 79 CE was destroyed
by one of the most devastating volcanic eruptions of ancient times.
We are going to discover what was life like before the disaster, how did the explosion
happen and what is the legacy of a city burned by ashes, and yet frozen in time.
Before we start I should warn you that there are some graphic and gruesome details involved,
you may want to watch this alone before you share it with your kids.
The City of Pompeii The area where Pompeii was founded was particularly
attractive to settlers thanks to a favourable climate and rich soil.
Especially suitable to growing olives and grapes, which are still an important produce
of the region.
Little did the Romans know that the richness of this soil was volcanic in nature and was
due to a long-forgotten eruption of the now innocent looking mountain over-shadowing the
area, Mount Vesuvius.
This eruption occurred around 1800 BC; several archaeological sites, especially one near
Nola, reveal the destruction of Bronze Age settlements.
But its memory was lost and the Romans knew nothing, of course.
In fact, their civilization may have never witnessed directly a volcanic explosion.
However, in Greek mythology, there is at least a hint of the power of Vesuvius: according
to legend it was here that Herakles – or ‘Hercules’ for the Romans - had fought
giants in a fiery landscape.
It is not by chance if the nearby town Herculaneum, destroyed alongside Pompeii, was named after
this heroic episode.
In addition, Roman historian Servius wrote that the name Pompeii itself derived from
the word ‘pumpe’, [Poom-pe – ‘pe’ as in ‘pet’]
meaning a procession in honour of Hercules’ victory over the giants.
Following the Bronze Age settlements, the next steady settlers of the region were Greek
colonisers, present from the 8th century BCE until 474 BCE.
From then on, the Samnite people from the surrounding mountains began to infiltrate
and dominate the region.
The Samnite expansion soon attracted the attention of Rome.
Taking advantage of their infighting, the Romans defeated them in the Samnite Wars from
343 to 290 BCE, eventually taking over what is today the Campania region.
[cam-PAH-nia the stress is on the ‘PA’] The Romans took a liking to Pompeii, and what’s
not to like about a seaside town on the Gulf of Naples, ripe with olives and wine?
Sign me up for it, any time!
In the II Century BCE the town flourished with large building projects.
However, the Pompeiians took the habit of rebelling against the central power of Rome,
until Consul Sulla besieged the town in 80 BCE and re-settled 5,000 legionaries in the
town.
You know, just to keep an eye on them.
As the century ended, Pompeii enter its period of peak prosperity.
A local senate was established, and a new amphitheatre was built with capacity for 5000
spectators.
Pompeii used to cover an area of three square kilometres, that’s about 1.3 square miles,
without counting the outer suburbs, plus hundreds of villas and farms in the countryside.
The population of the town had been estimated at between 10 and 12,000, one third of them
being slaves.
Twice as many people would have lived in the surrounding farms and villas.
About these villas: they were grandiose, many of them with panoramic views of the Gulf.
This coast was a sort of playground for Roman elite, in fact even notorious Emperor Nero
is thought to enjoy some prime real estate near Pompeii.
His wife, Poppaea Sabina [Pop-pay-ah Sa-bee-na]
was a native of the town after all.
But Pompeii was not just a fancy resort, it served a very important function: its port
was one of the more important on the Gulf of Naples, from where local produce was shipped
to the farthest locations of the Empire.
Pompeiians exported olive oil, wine, wool, salt, walnuts, figs, almonds, cherries, apricots,
onions, cabbages and wheat [Subtitle: The lengths a writer goes to hit
word count …] On the other hand, they imported exotic fruit,
spices, giant clams, silk, sandalwood, [Subtitle: Again?!?]
wild animals for the arena and, very importantly, slaves.
As you have heard most of the trade involved food and we know that the Pompeiians treated
themselves just fine.
They were particularly fond of beef, pork, oysters, shellfish, artichokes,
[Subtitle: … Yeah, yeah, milk, eggs, lightbulbs, remember to pick up the dry-clean …]
But most of all, the typical Roman delicacies: honey-roasted mice, grey mullet livers, deep
fried pig’s ears and garum – a sort of sauce made from rotten fish with which the
Romans smeared every edible surface.
How did these guys conquer the world on such a diet is beyond me.
Beyond the port, the town itself was bustling with activity, as we can deduct from the variety
of buildings which included shops of all kinds, gyms, baths, a market hall and a disproportionate
amount of brothels.
But the most striking of all these buildings were the patrician houses.
Many of them had been decorated with magnificent floor mosaics and wall paintings which depict
all manner of scenes from myths to daily life such as religion, industry and very often,
the sexual habits of the residents.
Many of the larger villas also had a permanent triclinium
[tree-clee-nee-oom] or eating area, in the garden.
Ten of them even had systems of small canals running between the diners so that as dishes
floated past they could take their pick of the delicacies on offer.
That’s right, like an ancient sushi bar.
Only with roast mice dipped in rotting fish sauce, instead of a California roll.
In complete contrast to the richer residences, archaeologists have also dug out the slave
quarters: cramped, unsanitary and prison-like dwellings, often not far from curtained cubicles
where lower-class prostitutes worked their trade.
Signs of doom By the summer of 79 AD the Pompeiians had
little reason to think that a catastrophe was looming.
And why they would they?
The economy of the gulf was booming and the holiday villas of the rich brought constant
investment.
And yet, the preceding years were rife with signs that could have warned them of impending
disaster.
The Romans were constantly worried with predicting the future by observing 'portents' in the
shape of strange sights and sounds, or unusual births.
But only a few years earlier, there had been far less mysterious signs, only they did not
know how to interpret them.
Philosopher Seneca, advisor to the emperor Nero, was writing a treatise on the causes
of earthquakes in 63 CE, when a catastrophic seism hit the Campania region, causing extensive
damage to both Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Seneca’s theory was that earthquakes in different parts of the world were all interconnected,
and that they could possibly be caused by stormy weather.
But of course, he did not have the scientific means to link them with volcanic activity.
He downplayed this danger, going as far as chastising the landowners who were deserting
Campania for fear of further earthquakes.
The damage of the earthquake in 63 CE was so bad that entire houses were demolished
and reduced to agricultural land.
Other houses were still standing in 79 CE, but their doors to the top floors had been
boarded up, indicating a fear that higher floors may still collapse.
But, probably to the approval of Seneca, most of the population did not abandon Pompeii.
Damaged houses were still being repaired and redecorated in 79 CE, and there was an extensive
programme to restore public buildings in the Forum of Pompeii.
The earth did not shake only in 63 CE, though.
Archaeologists have pierced together clues which indicate that further earthquakes took
place in the weeks or possibly just days before the eruption.
For example, an open trench was found by a water tower, indicating that a shock may have
damaged the water supply and repair works were ongoing.
Moreover, many of the houses excavated show signs of repair and redecoration work: heaps
of plaster, pots and building tools.
A simple, prosaic image.
Which suddenly, in this context turns into the tragic frozen picture of a population
undeterred by disaster, dedicated to repairing their damage, unaware of what was to come.
The fiery wave of death Mount Vesuvius erupted on the 24th of August,
79 CE, or possibly on the 24th of October according to recent findings.
The eruption lasted for more than 24 hours.
At first, it manifested itself as a giant column of thick smoke, which was actually
combined with tons of ash, a volcanic rock known as pumice and lithic debris.
All these materials subsequently rained over Pompeii and nearby Hercolaneum.
According to some accounts, this rain was not necessarily lethal, while according to
other studies their accumulated weight resulted in the collapse of several houses, crushing
its inhabitants to death.
Some of the Pompeiians fled at once, and they did the right thing.
Think about their perspective: this was the first time in living memory that somebody
had experienced such a sight.
For all they knew, this was the work of the wrath of the Gods.
Many others, thought that their best chance was to seek a robust shelter and wait for
the mysterious clouds to clear.
Among them, two who would make and write history.
They were Pliny the elder, and his nephew, Pliny the younger.
The Elder, he was a celebrated author, a successful administrator, a scientist and a naval commander.
At that time he was serving as the commander of the Misenum fleet stationed in Campania.
His decision to stay was not motivated only by ill-judged self-preservation.
He had an intense scientific curiosity which may have led him initially to stay in Pompeii,
to observe this unseen phenomenon.
But soon he realised the dangers for the population and he put his ships at their service, conducting
relief efforts for the evacuation of the Pompeiians.
His nephew the Younger, barely 18 on that day would also become an author and a public
official.
In his lifetime, he wrote a collection of private letters that illustrate in detail
the public and private life in the Roman Empire.
Amongst the few survivors of Pompeii, Pliny the Younger wrote the only surviving eyewitness
account of the eruption in a letter to his friend Tacitus, an orator and historian.
In his writings he tells of the valiant efforts led by his uncle to save the citizens from
destruction, and how this caused his death by asphyxiation.
The rain of ashes may have caused structural collapse, but for sure it had thickened the
air around Pompeii, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Particles of ash clung to the airways, clogging nostrils, throats, lungs.
While standing on the deck of his ships and giving orders to help, Pliny the Elder slowly
collapsed.
He simply lay down on the deck of his boat and died.
But the worst was yet to come.
Around midnight, the column of smoke and ash above Vesuvius, also known as an eruptive
column, collapsed.
This caused the first pyroclastic surge.
In lay terms, a pyroclastic surge is an avalanche of volcanic material, a massive wave of hot
ash, rock fragments and gas rushing down the slopes of a volcano.
And now the surge is travelling faster than 100 km – or 60 miles – per hour towards
the people of Pompeii and Hercolanum, burning the face of the earth once rich and prosperous,
a tidal wave of unknown fears, finally unleashed.
Hundreds of refugees were seeking shelter in the vaulted arcades by the seaside.
Clutching their possessions.
Murmuring prayers to the Gods.
Mothers whispering to their children, dragged from their beds and still asleep.
The arcades were carved in stone, facing away from Vesuvius, giving them a sense of safety.
When the surge reached them, they were exposed to an intense heat of 500 degrees Celsius,
or 900 degrees Fahrenheit.
The passing of the surge lasted 2 minutes and a half, 150 seconds.
They had been dead for 149 of them.
In its destructive path, nature knows how to be swift and merciful, and it did not wake
up the children.
Forensic experts analysed the skulls of the victims and consistently noticed holes by
their temples.
They deduced that the intense heat of the surge had caused the brains to immediately
melt, and then to boil, eventually bursting out of the skulls due to extreme pressure.
The flesh of the citizens had been also suddenly vaporised, bursting into a red mist which
then deposited on their bones.
It was as if the Pompeiians had been caught in a storm of fire and blood raining from
a lacerated sky.
And this was only the first wave.
A hail of pumice had covered the streets in a layer at times as thick as 3 metres (10ft)
when subsequent surges strafed the few survivors who were fleeing in the dark or hiding beneath
roofs.
Many of the bodies were burned to their bones or completely consumed by fire.
Most of the deceased were covered in layers of ash and lithics, like frozen images of
their immediate demise.
Some of these corpses were found with their arms raised, close to the mouth, like boxers.
This had led archaeologists to believe that they were defending themselves against attackers
or covering their airways – which led to believe that asphyxiation was the leading
cause of death.
Instead, this pose was found to be another consequence of extreme temperatures: sudden
heat can in fact cause the muscles of the arms to contract, the fists are clenched and
raised close to the head.
But how many people died on that day?
It is impossible to tell.
But surely the death toll was in the tens of thousands.
The Romans were accustomed to huge losses of life in battle, and even they regarded
this catastrophe as exceptional.
The corpses found in Pompeii or Herculaneum were only a fraction of all the victims: the
destruction spread to the entire area south of Vesuvius and onto the Sorrentine peninsula.
Many more died in the countryside, and even at sea, in a last attempt to sail to safety.
Life after the eruption The effects of the eruption were traumatic.
The same resilient people who had rebuilt their cities after the previous earthquakes,
failed to reoccupy the sites involved in the destruction.
Pompeii remained a ghost town, inhabited only by looters.
The tunnels they excavated are still visible today.
Room after room of the city's buildings had holes hacked through the walls by tunnellers,
and extensively sacked.
The cities on the north of the Gulf of Naples swiftly recovered, especially the port of
Puteoli continued to be a significant commercial centre.
The coast continued to attract rich holidaymakers, but never again regained the popularity it
had before the disaster, when it was Rome’s playground.
It took 18 centuries for the area to flourish again, when Naples became an attractive capital
under the Bourbon kings.
The rich courtiers and ambassadors of that time built their villas on the Gulf, bringing
new life to the region.
The aristocrats of Europe established the tradition of the Grand Tour, and the hidden
treasures of the Gulf of Naples attracted international fascination.
The rediscovery Pompeii was finally re-discovered in 1755
CE when work on the construction of the Sarno Canal began.
Under just a few metres of volcanic debris, diggers were surprised to find an entire town.
From then on, Pompeii became an essential destination for Grand Tour-ers, attracting
such famous visitors as Goethe, Mozart and Stendhal.
Besides architectural remains, scholars of Pompeii were presented with a treasure trove
of rare historical artefacts providing a unique window into the past.
Archaeologists found an ingenious process to take plaster casts of the impressions left
by the dead in the volcanic material.
These eerie casts can still be seen today in Pompeii.
Some of them, as we mentioned earlier, look like boxers who have just been knocked down.
Some are crouching, maybe seeking shelter.
Others, looked as though they had been surprised in their sleep.
The analysis of the casts and of the skeletons has provided evidence of the health and lifestyle
of ancient Pompeiians.
For example, bad teeth were a common problem!
Tooth decay was rife due to an over sweet diet, and enamel was worn away by stone chips
in bread.
Tuberculosis and malaria were also prevalent.
But the saddest find are the skeletal remains of slaves.
Often, they were found still chained, unable to escape the disaster.
Their bones also show very clearly the signs of malnutrition, chronic arthritis and deformity
caused by overwork.
It has also been possible to reconstruct the daily life of the town thanks to the scores
of written records preserved at the site.
These take the form of thousands of electoral notices and hundreds of wax tablets, mainly
dealing with financial transactions.
Other sources include signs, graffiti and tomb inscriptions, which give an insight into
sections of society which Romans considered to be of lower standing: slaves, women, gladiators.
All of them are usually ignored in surviving books and legal records.
The graffiti in particular offer a joyous view of ordinary lives of ordinary people,
which offer a refreshing contrast to the tragedy of the eruption, and remind us that this archaeological
site was once inhabited by people, rather than skeletons or plaster casts.
One romantic graffiti, in a private house tells us that
“Secundus says hello to his Prima, wherever she is.
I ask, my mistress, that you love me” Not all inscriptions are so heartfelt.
This one, outside another house, issues a warning to a very rude citizen:
“To the one defecating here.
Beware of the curse.
If you look down on this curse, may you have an angry Jupiter for an enemy!”
Scrounging patrons at the tavern of Salvius are told:
“Whoever wants to serve themselves can go on and drink from the sea”
At the Inn of the Mule-drivers: “We have wet the bed, host.
I confess we have done wrong.
If you want to know why, there was no chamber pot”
In the barracks of the gladiators we learn that:
“Floronius, privileged soldier of the 7th legion, was here.
The women did not know of his presence.
Only six women came to know, too few for such a stallion.”
And a very bored gladiator wrote: “On April 19th I made bread”
Good for you, Maximus, did Tigris bake baguettes?
To top it all up, a patron at the tavern of Athictus simply informs us that:
‘I scr**ed the barmaid’ [Note to Shell and Simon – let me know if
this section is too rude for Geographics.
I picked the funniest graffitis, but I can change them, luckily there is a big selection!]
Seriously, I could go on all day, but this is getting a bit out of hand wait can I do
one more?
This is not in Pompeii but in a tavern of Herculaneum a series of inscriptions tells
the story of the two BFFs, Apelles and Dexter.
The first night they write: “Two friends were here.
While they were, they had bad service in every way from a guy named Epaphroditus.
They threw him out and spent 105 and half sestertii most agreeably on whores”
They then return looking for a better service “Apelles the chamberlain with Dexter, a
slave of Caesar, ate here most agreeably and had a scr*w at the same time”
These guys are becoming regulars, as we read that:
“Apelles Mus and his brother Dexter each pleasurably had sex with two girls, twice”
So at school we learned that Romans had invented concrete and hydraulics, but I had no idea
they had come up with Trip Advisor, too.
The meaning of a tragedy Pompeii and Herculaneum are one of the biggest
and best tourist attractions in Italy, and if you are lucky enough to travel south of
Rome, I strongly recommend that you pay a visit.
Pompeii in a way was a microcosm representing the whole of the Roman civilisation, with
its amphitheatre, the Legionnaires, the gladiators, the villas for the rich and the slums for
the slaves.
If we were to look for some kind of sense in the blind wrath of the natural disaster
that destroyed it, well, this could be a symbol that even when nearing its peak, the Empire
was not guaranteed to be eternal.
Or, we could say that the Gods had decided to punish the hubris of these mortals, whose
expanding power was based on the tainted foundations of slavery and moral corruption.
But, sometimes, even when the harshest tragedies occur, there simply is no reason, they just
happen.
It is up to us to provide meaning, by remembering and celebrating what could have been lost
forever.
Pompeii, like a giant time capsule preserved in ash for centuries, gives us a perfect opportunity
to do so.