Pompeii AD 79: Earthquake added to destruction

[guy]

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My uncle [Pliny the Elder] having left us, I spent such time as was left on my studies (it was on their account indeed that I had stopped behind), till it was time for my bath. After which I went to supper and then fell into a short and uneasy sleep. There had been noticed for many days before a trembling of the earth, which did not alarm us much, as this is quite an ordinary occurrence in Campania; but it was so particularly violent that night that it not only shook but actually overturned, as it would seem, everything about us.

Every object that presented itself to our eyes (which were extremely weakened) seemed changed, being covered deep with ashes as if with snow. We returned to Misenum, where we refreshed ourselves as well as we could, and passed an anxious night between hope and fear; though, indeed, with a much larger share of the latter: for the earthquake still continued, while many frenzied persons ran up and down heightening their own and their friends' calamities by terrible predictions.

 

Pliny the Younger wrote about the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 while he stayed at a villa in Misenum with his mother and his uncle, Pliny the Elder. He chronicled the unsuccessful rescue mission of his uncle, who tragically perished. Researchers are investigating the "trembling of the earth" mentioned in Pliny the Younger's accounts. Recent studies indicate that seismic activity may have had a more significant impact on the destruction than previously believed, potentially changing the sequence of events that led to the devastation of Pompeii.

 

 

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The end result is an updated timeline of Pompeii’s epic demise: First, volcanic lapilli (small stones) rained down for 18 hours, causing many roofs to collapse and killing people who sought shelter. Then, an earthquake triggered by the eruption violently rocked the city, killing even more residents. Finally, massive flows of ash and debris streamed through the city streets, sealing Pompeii’s fate for eternity.

 

 

https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/catastrophic-eruption-of-mount-vesuvius-in-ad-79-was-not-the-only-killer-of-pompeii/cid/2034697

 

The two letters written by Pliny the Younger describing the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD (pompeii.org.uk)

 

See Letters LXV (to Tacitus) and LXVI (to Cornelius Tacitus)

Letters of Pliny, by Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (gutenberg.org)

 

Edited July 22 by guy

[guy]

 

Above is a picture of one of the fatalities at Pompeii AD 79, thought to be the victim of a crush injury possibly the result of an earthquake. 
 

Below are two articles on the earthquake theory (including the scientific article).

https://www.frontiersin.org/news/2024/07/18/pompeii-skeleton-discovery-earthquake

 

 

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2024.1386960/full

[guidoLaMoto]

No big mystery or amazing new discovery here.....Increased seismic activity is well known to accompany volcanic activity https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/stromboli-earthquakes.html. And pyroclastic flow produces winds over 80km/hr up to 300km/hr capable of throwing small boulders against walls and roofs to knock them down. https://www.usgs.gov/programs/VHP/pyroclastic-flows-move-fast-and-destroy-everything-their-path#:~:text=With rock fragments ranging in,and structures in their pat

Note in the one article you reffed with a skeleton supposedly crushed-- the amphora right next to it has only one small hole but is otherwise intact and standing upright after 2000 years.......???

The only question is how much destruction & death was due to earthquake vs pyroclastic flow vs asphyxiation in those unable to find adequate shelter or to flee?

 

[caldrail]

Most of the crush injuries were due to the weight of pumice on the roofs of buildings where people sheltered. I would also add that Pompeii had been severely hit by earthquakes ten years before the eruption, they were still rebuilding during the event.