As the residents of Herculaneum and Pompeii pursued their daily activities, a few wisps of smoke trickled from Vesuvius’ crater at approximately 10:00 AM.[27] It went unseen.
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Next, at about 12:00 noon a steady, unbroken plume of smoke suddenly rose 9 miles into the air from Mt. Vesuvius as tremors rattled Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Terzigno, and their surroundings. “In Campania, remarkable and frightful occurrences took place; for a great fire suddenly flared up at the very end of the summer. It happened on the wise Mt. Vesuvius,” Dio Cassius wrote in describing the eruption.[28]
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Initially upon seeing the towering noontime volcanic column, people were awed and astonished. Then, within minutes as a thick rain of hot lapilli (Latin term for “small stones”),[29] pumice and ash began to fall on Pompeii, Oplontis, and Terzigno, carried by strong northwest winds pushing it to the southeast, the towns’ people hurriedly sought immediate shelter.
Soon the hot lapilli and ash were falling at a rate of about 4.75-6 inches per hour as deafening noises emanated from the volcano and a continuous stream of strong earthquakes shook the area. Upon hearing the loud explosions, many who had not left in the morning, fled back into their houses as others continued their retreat towards Pompeii and the coast of Oplontis, and as “pumice clasts comprised of tephra” with diameters of up to 3 inches rained down at speeds of up to 62 miles per hour, roofs and structures suffered damage while people in the streets suffered injuries, a few fatal.[30]
By 1:00 PM, “the carapace of rock sealing [Vesuvius] was blown out”[31] shooting some 10 miles into the air,[32] sending up a thick, dark cloud of dust and ash that blocked the sun, casting Pompeii and its surrounding areas into total darkness. “…suddenly a portentous crash was heard, as if the mountains were tumbling in ruins; and first huge stones were hurled aloft, rising as high as the very summits, then came a great quantity of fire and endless smoke, so that the whole atmosphere was obscured and the sun was entirely hidden, as if eclipsed. Thus day was turned into night and light into darkness,” Dio Cassius wrote.[33]
When darkness enveloped the area as hot lapilli and ash rained down, many in Herculaneum realized it was time to flee. People “stopped to gather what belongings they could: money, jewelry, the family dog. Everybody rushed into the streets. Some thought the sea was their route to safety; those who didn’t try to escape on boats assembled on the beach”[34] while others fled on foot towards Naples, “which ultimately proved to be the only path to safety.”[35]
There was widespread panic and chaos as people ran for safety. As they fled, in the words of Dio Cassius, “some [ran] from the houses into the streets, others from outside into the houses, now from the sea to the land and now from the land to the sea; for in their excitement they regarded any place where they were not as safer than where they were. [Furthermore] While this was going on, an inconceivable quantity of ashes was blown out, which covered both sea and land and filled all the air. It wrought much injury of various kinds, as chance befell, to men and farms and cattle, and in particular it destroyed all fish and birds.”[36]
It was about this time that Pliny the Elder, serving in Misenum as admiral of the fleet was notified of the eruption as recounted by his son: “…between 2 and 3 in the afternoon my mother drew his attention to a cloud of unusual size and appearance. He had had a sunbath, then a cold bath, and was reclining after dinner with his books. He called 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 we couldn't tell which, but afterwards learned that it was Vesuvius. I can best describe its shape by likening it to a pine tree. It rose into the sky on a very long ‘trunk’ from which spread some ‘branches.’ I imagine it had been raised by a sudden blast, which then weakened, leaving the cloud unsupported so that its own weight caused it to spread sideways. Some of the cloud was white, in other parts there were dark patches of dirt and ash. The sight of it made the scientist in my uncle determined to see it from closer at hand.
He ordered a boat made ready. He offered me the opportunity of going along, but I preferred to study – he himself happened to have set me a writing exercise. As he was leaving the house he was brought a letter from Tascius' wife Rectina, who was terrified by the looming danger. Her villa lay at the foot of Vesuvius, and there was no way out except by boat. She begged him to get her away. He changed his plans. The expedition that started out as a quest for knowledge now called for courage. He launched the quadriremes and embarked himself, a source of aid for more people than just Rectina, for that delightful shore was a populous one. He hurried to a place from which others were fleeing, and held his course directly into danger. Was he afraid? It seems not, as he kept up a continuous observation of the various movements and shapes of that evil cloud, dictating what he saw.
Ash was falling onto the ships now, darker and denser the closer they went. Now it was bits of pumice, and rocks that were blackened and burned and shattered by the fire. Now the sea is shoal; debris from the mountain blocks the shore. He paused for a moment wondering whether to turn back as the helmsman urged him. ‘Fortune helps the brave,’ he said, ‘Head for Pomponianus (his friend).’"[37] With his decision, Pliny the Elder ordered the helmsmen to turn away from Pompeii, which was inaccessible and head for Stabiae.[38]
By 3:00 PM some of the residents of Pompeii were also fleeing as they realized the earthquakes and eruption weren’t ceasing. People “ran in different directions; some Pompeiians [sought] refuge in Moregine. Others head[ed] in the direction of… Nuceria. And still others [fled] to the seaport…”[39] Soon it became apparent that “an escape by sea [was] futile.”[40]
However, by 6:00 PM, the volcanic eruption appeared to be easing. As the eruption’s intensity eased, exhausted Pompeiian survivors emerged from buildings in search of an escape route. Individually and in small groups, “they trudged towards the southern sector of the urban area in the hope of reaching the roads at the edge of the city.”[41] By this time, Pliny the Elder had arrived at Stabiae to meet up with his friend. By this time, Pliny the Younger was completing his studies from the safety of Misenum. “…I finished up my studies, as I had planned. Then I had a bath, then dinner and a short and unsatisfactory night.”[42] At the same time, some, mistakenly believing that the worst was over, began returning to survey the damage and salvage their belongings.
By 7:30 PM, Pompeii experienced the first roof collapses. In addition, a few fires, caused by “fallen lanterns,” burned, illuminating the town in the “unnatural darkness.”[43]
Then after about two hours of respite, shortly after 8:00 PM, the intensity of the volcanic eruption picked up. Falling lapilli and ash again rained down. As it fell on Pompeii and Stabiae, Pliny the Elder was awaiting favorable winds to depart” as recounted by his son: “At Stabiae, on the other side of the bay formed by the gradually curving shore, Pomponianus had loaded up his ships even before the danger arrived, though it was visible and indeed extremely close, once it intensified. He planned to put out as soon as the contrary wind let up. That very wind carried my uncle right in, and he embraced the frightened man and gave him comfort and courage. In order to lessen the other's fear by showing his own unconcern he asked to be taken to the baths. He bathed and dined, carefree or at least appearing so (which is equally impressive). Meanwhile, broad sheets of flame were lighting up many parts of Vesuvius; their light and brightness were the more vivid for the darkness of the night. To alleviate people's fears my uncle claimed that the flames came from the deserted homes of farmers who had left in a panic with the hearth fires still alight. Then he rested, and gave every indication of actually sleeping; people who passed by his door heard his snores, which were rather resonant since he was a heavy man. The ground outside his room rose so high with the mixture of ash and stones that if he had spent any more time there escape would have been impossible. He got up and came out, restoring himself to Pomponianus and the others who had been unable to sleep. They discussed what to do, whether to remain under cover or to try the open air. The buildings were being rocked by a series of strong tremors, and appeared to have come loose from their foundations and to be sliding this way and that. Outside, however, there was danger from the rocks that were coming down, light and fire-consumed as these bits of pumice were. Weighing the relative dangers they chose the outdoors; in my uncle's case it was a rational decision, others just chose the alternative that frightened them the least. They tied pillows on top of their heads as protection against the shower of rock… the darkness was darker and thicker than any night. But they had torches and other lights. They decided to go down to the shore, to see from close up if anything was possible by sea. But it remained as rough and uncooperative as before. Resting in the shade of a sail he drank once or twice from the cold water he had asked for”[44] for escape by sea was impossible due to strong opposing winds.
Continued in Part 3 of 3
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[27]Salvatore Nappo. Pompeii: A Guide to the Ancient City. (New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc., 1998), p. 13.
[28]Dio Cassius. The Eruption of Vesuvius that buried Pompei, “Roman History Epitome of Book LXVI” (A.D. 203) 2 May, 2006. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66]*.html
[29]Bonnie S. Lawrence, Project Editor. Restless Earth. (Washington, D.C.: The National Geographic Society, 1997), p. 191.
[30]The ad79 Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. University of Michigan. 2005. 30 April, 2006. http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/interior/Mt_Vesuvius_ad79.html&edu=high
[31]AD 79 – Vesuvius explodes. 5 of May, 2006. http://www.archaeology.co.uk/cwa/issues/cwa4/pompeii/eruption.htm
[32]Science and geology of volcanos. 8 May, 2006. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/P/pompeii/volcano.htm
[33]Dio Cassius. The Eruption of Vesuvius that buried Pompei, “Roman History Epitome of Book LXVI” (A.D. 203) 2 May, 2006. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66]*.html
[34]Rosella Lorenzi. The Long, Deathly Silence. 2 May, 2006. http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/pompeii/history/history.html
[35]http://www.fieldmuseum.org/pompeii/pompeii2/pompeii_content.html
[36]Dio Cassius. The Eruption of Vesuvius that buried Pompei, “Roman History Epitome of Book LXVI” (A.D. 203) 2 May, 2006. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66]*.html
[37]Pliny Letter 6.16. 30 April 2006. http://www.amherst.edu/~classics/DamonFiles/classics36/ancsrc/01.html
[38]Scandone, Giacomelli, and Gasparini. “The 79 AD Eruption of Vesuvius. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 1993. 30 April, 2006. http://vulcan.fis.uniroma3.it/vesuvio/79_eruption.html
[39]http://www.fieldmuseum.org/pompeii/pompeii2/pompeii_content.html
[40]Nigel Cawthorne. 100 Catastrophic Disasters. (New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc., 2003) 152.
[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.
[42]Pliny Letter 6.20. 30 April 2006. http://www.amherst.edu/~classics/DamonFiles/classics36/ancsrc/02.html
[43]Salvatore Nappo. Pompeii: A Guide to the Ancient City. (New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc., 1998), p. 13.
[44]Pliny Letter 6.16. 30 April 2006. http://www.amherst.edu/~classics/DamonFiles/classics36/ancsrc/01.html
The End of Pompeii and Herculaneum (August 24-25, A.D. 79) Part 2 of 3
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