The Vesuvius eruption was not a summer event

It is the most famous eruption in history and one of the best studied of all time.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
29 June 2022 Wednesday 09:00
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The Vesuvius eruption was not a summer event

It is the most famous eruption in history and one of the best studied of all time. Vesuvius exploded in the year 79 after Christ, destroying much of the territory and nearby cities. Pompeii and Herculaneum were frozen in time, buried under tons of ash and pyroclastic flow.

Until now it was assumed that the dramatic outbreak took place in the summer. But a charcoal inscription, showing an autumn date, had already cast some doubt on the exact date. Italian researchers re-analyzed the event and have revealed that the eruption occurred two months later than previously believed, around October 24 or 25.

"Since the eighteenth century, the date of August 24 has been the subject of debate among historians, archaeologists and geologists because it does not coincide with numerous pieces of evidence, such as the finds in Pompeii of typical autumnal fruits or the heavy robes worn by the inhabitants (in the moment of the event)”, explains Biagio Giaccio, co-author of the article published in the journal Earth-Science Review.

Almost 2000 years later, the multidisciplinary team has examined "different aspects integrating historical, stratigraphic, sedimentological, petrological, geophysical, paleoclimatic and modeling data of the magmatic and eruptive processes of one of the most famous and devastating events that have affected the volcanic zone Neapolitan”, adds the volcanologist Mauro A. Di Vito.

The article, which starts from the redefinition of the date of the event, also analyzes the sites near the volcano and even extends thousands of kilometers away, even to Greece, where traces of the eruption were found in the form of fine ash.

The definitive proof about the inaccuracy of the date emerged only a few years ago. "Translating a charcoal inscription on the wall of a building in Pompeii read: 'On the sixteenth day before the Kalends of November excessive eating was permitted,' indicating that the eruption certainly occurred after October 17." , Biagio Giaccio points out, hence the most probable date is, therefore, that of October 24-25.

But the investigation did not stop here. "The spirit of our work was to understand how an event from the past can represent a window into the future, opening new perspectives for the study of similar events that may occur tomorrow", continues Domenico Doronzo, also a volcanologist.

"We believe that our study will allow us to improve the prediction models, but it will also contribute to reducing the vulnerability of the areas and the numerous infrastructures exposed to volcanic risk, not only near the volcano, but even at a distance of hundreds of kilometers from it" , Add.

The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. it is one of the most iconic in the field of physical volcanology. "The observations from this case are the basis for many of the concepts and understanding of the mechanisms of explosive eruptions in modern volcanology," recalls Raymond Cas, professor emeritus at Monash University (Australia).