Pompeii and Herculaneum
On 24th August AD 79 Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Many of the inhabitants died. Their houses, possessions, food and even the impression left by their bodies were preserved beneath the ash and pumice. Archaeologists are still excavating and studying this unique time capsule of life during the later 1st century AD. You can see plaster casts of two victims of the eruption of Vesuvius in the Living Worlds gallery on the first floor of the Museum.
Pompeii and Herculaneum
The Destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii, John Martin (1789–1854), Tabley House Collection
A Plinian Eruption
G. Julius Poullet Scrope, Masson, 1864. Historical Drawing by George Julius Poulett Scrope (1797-1876)
"The Eruption of Vesuvius as seen from Naples, October 1822" published by V. Day & Son.
Volcanic eruptions come in lots of different shapes and sizes. Some volcanoes such as those on Hawaii have relatively quiet eruptions that slowly dribble lava, others are more explosive such as Mount Vesuvius. One of the most explosive kinds of eruptions is named after Pliny: called a Plinian eruption.
Plinian eruptions eject columns of ash high into the Earth's atmosphere. The erupting ash column eventually collapses forming a dense, choking and extremely hot flow down the side of the volcano, called a pyroclastic flow. Exploding gas can cause loud bangs and electrical charges often produce lightning.
English geologist George Julius Poulett Scrope showed many of these features in his pictures of the 1822 eruption of Vesuvius.
Plinian Eruptions: an Interview with David Gelsthorpe, curator of Earth Science
Plinian Eruptions: David Gelsthorpe
In 1860, Pompeii’s director of excavations Giuseppe Fiorelli developed a way to bring the bodies back to life by creating plaster casts out of the voids left by the decay of organic materials in the hardened ash and pumice. Many of the casts are in dire need of conservation, and the current archaeological superintendency is now undertaking the task of moving, conserving, and restoring 86 of the 103 casts that were made, using both traditional techniques, as well as the latest technology, to ensure that they survive long into the future as well. Above are images of our copies of some of the most compelling casts and they are hosted in the Living World Gallery. Detailed casts of Pompeii’s victims, made by pouring plaster into the small cavities in their ash-encapsulated remains, have long prevented sophisticated scanning of this nature. The 19th-century plaster is so dense that today’s standard imaging technology can’t distinguish between the thick outer cast and skeletal pieces inside. But researchers recently used a multi-layer CT scan to obtain imagery never before possible, then used software to make digital 3-D reconstructions of skeletons and dental arches.
Pliny the Elder May Have Been Found 2,000 Years Later
Pliny the Elder sailed into danger when Vesuvius erupted, and never returned, but a body found a century ago 'covered in jewelry like a cabaret ballerina' may really have been his.
Remains of a skull attributed to Pliny the Elder from the Museo di Storia dell'Arte Sanitaria in Rome
Picture Credit: Flavio Russo
Objects from Pompeii and Herculaneum
Bronze vessel with lid from Pompeii. There is lead solder on the shoulder where a handle was once attached.
The last example is a forgery made to sell to modern tourists. In Roman times, Pliny was the consumer’s friend and gave advice on how to spot fake products.
A bronze stamp or matrix with the inscription DEFLAPROB, possibly used for sealing storage containers. DEF may be an abbreviation for defrutum, grape juice boiled down to make into a syrup. LAPROB could be the manufacturer's name, perhaps L(ucius) A(ntonius) Probus. From Pompeii.
Bronze snail shell, a knife handle, a scoop or shovel for religious offerings, a hook and a length of chain from Pompeii.
1. Bronze vessel with lid from Pompeii. There is lead solder on the shoulder where a handle was once attached.
2. Oil lamps from the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The last example is a forgery made to sell to modern tourists. In Roman times, Pliny was the consumer’s friend and gave advice on how to spot fake products.
3. A bronze stamp or matrix with the inscription DEFLAPROB, possibly used for sealing storage containers. DEF may be an abbreviation for defrutum, grape juice boiled down to make into a syrup. LAPROB could be the manufacturer's name, perhaps L(ucius) A(ntonius) Probus. From Pompeii.
4. Bronze snail shell, a knife handle, a scoop or shovel for religious offerings, a hook and a length of chain from Pompeii.
5. Pieces of Roman dressed stone, mosaic pavement and painted plaster from Pompeii. Plaster on loan from Bolton Museum.
6. Burnt grain from Herculaneum.
7. Replicas of bronze and silver drinking cups found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Loan from Bolton Museum.
8. Ash and dust from the eruption of Vesuvius in 1906. Manchester Museum and loan from Bolton Museum.
9. Pumice (or scoria) from Pompeii. Roman architects often used pumice for building because it was light and strong. Manchester Museum and loan from Bolton Museum.
Stone Vase from Pompeii
In the village of Carsington in Derbyshirea there is a large stone vase that was brought back from Pompeii by Sir William Gell (1777-1836).