Diagram of a Plinian Eruption

Topics on the Page

Event Summary

Multimedia Resources

• Eat Like a First-Century Roman

Primary Sources

Volcanic Eruptions in History

Current Eruptions in the World Today

Event Summary

Pompeii: Portents of Disaster from BBC News. The volcano erupted in 79 CE destroying the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Archeologists Discover Colorful Frescoes in Pompeii Excavation (March 2024)

Map of approximate fallout from the eruption. It helps to explain differences in the destruction (and preservation) of Pompeii, where many died of suffocation, and Herculaneum, where most were killed instantly.

 

(https://symonsez.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/vesuviusimpact79ad.jpg)

Mary Beard on Life in Pompeii and Herculaneum, March 2013

Reconstruction of the death of Pliny the Elder in 79 AD

Multimedia Resources

A Day in Pompeii: Full-Length Animation from YouTube.

Pompeii:The Last Day from The Romans on BBC

 Eat Like a First-Century Roman: Reconstructing the Menu of a Pub in Ancient Pompeii

Ruins of Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius in background

Primary Sources

Ancient History And Archeology.com gives evidence of women in Pompeii and Herculaneum managing businesses despite traditional values preventing them from doing so.

Click here for tweets based on accounts by Pliny the Elder

Dispatches from a Dying Pompeii reviews first-hand accounts by Pliny the Younger.

Reading the Writing on Pompeii's Walls from the Smithsonian Magazine.

See also Graffiti from the Walls of Pompeii


Build Your Own Volcano. Students can build their own virtual volcano and watch it erupt by setting the conditions and seeing what kind of explosion results

Volcanic Eruptions in History

11 Biggest Volcanic Eruptions in History

1980 Mount St. Helens eruption was the most destructive in U. S. History

Link to footage of the eruption from Smithsonian Channel

Current Eruptions in the World Today

Current Eruptions from Smithsonian