The eruption of AD 79 and its impact on Pompeii and Herculaneum

Question 1

What occurred during the morning of the Mt Vesuvius eruption?

Answer 1

• earthquakes
• white smoke exiting from the volcano
• birds flee

Question 2

What occurred during the afternoon of the Mt Vesuvius eruption?

Answer 2

• early afternoon earthquakes became stronger and pumice fell from sky knocking off tiles off roofs
• midday town was covered in as and huge grey clouds of smoke
• evening buildings are on fire and collapsing before the whole sky turns grey

Question 3

What occurred during the late morning of the day after the Mt Vesuvius eruption?

Answer 3

• The town is completely buried
• The sky begins to clear

Question 4

What occurred during the early morning of the day after the Mt Vesuvius eruption?

Answer 4

• some buildings were buried
• pyroclastic surges
• everything is covered in ash and the sky is completely grey

Question 5

What is a pyroclastic surge?

Answer 5

a low-density, turbulent cloud of hot ash and drock that billows over the terrain, barely touching the ground. Up to speeds of 300km/h and with temperatures of more than 100*

Question 6

What is pyroclastic flow?

Answer 6

a hotter, dryer and denser avalanche of ground-hugging molten rock, pumice and toxic gases that are heated to 400*, travelling at speeds of 20-50 km/h.

Question 7

What is Tephra?

Answer 7

material of all types and sizes that is ejected into and deposited from the air

Question 8

what type of explosion what Mt Vesuvius?

Answer 8

A plinian explosion

Question 9

What settlements were completely burried?

Answer 9

Pomepii. Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Oplontis

Question 10

How do we know what the eruption was like?

Answer 10

• Pliny the youngers letters
• human remains at both H and P
• compared findings of other eruptions

Question 11

who reconstructed the eruption events and how many phases are there?

Answer 11

• vocalanologist Haraldur Sigurdsson
• 2 phases: Plinian and Nuee ardente

Question 12

what happened in the Plinian Phase?

Answer 12

• Pumice and ash were expelled to form an eruption column reaching 33km above the volcano.
• occurred for about 18 hours as it was blown by wind onto nearby areas

(P for pumice)

Question 13

What happened in the Nuree ardente phase?

Answer 13

• pyroclastic surge
• pyroclastic flow (not Pompeii)

Question 14

what was the eruption at Stabaie like? and where is it from MV?

Answer 14

1
- ash and pumice covered the town, so heavy it covered doorways
- Dawn the 2nd day was as dark as night
- tremors that increased in frequency and strength

2
- 17km SE of MV

Question 15

where is Herculaneum from MV?

Answer 15

7km west of MV between two streams

Question 16

what was the eruption at Herculaneum like?

Answer 16

• did not experience ash and pumice but felt earthquakes and tremors
• pyroclastic surge 5 mins after column collapse
• buildings toppled, stoneworks moved
• waterfront boiled drastically
• people sheltering were killed by asphyxiation

Question 17

how deep was Herculaneum buried?

Answer 17

buried under 23m of material

Question 18

where is Pompeii in terms of MV?

Answer 18

9km east of MV

Question 19

what was the eruption at Pompeii like?

Answer 19

• explosion may have been visible
• 12 hours of ash and pumice rain (people started to escape)
• if they reached Herculaneum gate, many would have died from asphyxiation
• temp of 400* and toxic gases
• toppled buildings and buried

Question 20

how accurate is the timetable of the eruption?

Answer 20

• Sigurdsson matched results on stratigraphical deposits with Pliny the younger account
• times are expressed as estimates only

Question 21

What were the causes of death at Pomepii?

Answer 21

• 394 found in pumice from building collapse or asphyxiation
• 653 found dead from thermal shock

Question 21

Causes of death at Herculaneum?

Answer 21

• only 30 bodies were found in the city
• around 300 died at the boat house as a result of the intense heat or p. surges.

Question 22

why did people at Herculaneum flee to the boathouse?

Answer 22

• a form of shelter
• tremors came before the eruption
• boats as a way to escape

Question 23

what connection does Pliny the Younger have to MV?

Answer 23

• 17 years old staying with uncle nearby
• wrote a description of eruption to Tacitus 25 years after event

Question 24

Why can Pliny the youngers letters be seen as questionable?

Answer 24

• wrote 25 years afterwards
• fail to mention date or year
• exaggerate the role of Pliny the elder

Question 25

When is the traditional date of the eruption?

Answer 25

24th August AD 79