Eruption Of Mount Vesuvius Research Articles

Microscopic techniques (LM, SEM) and a multi-analytical approach (EDX, FTIR, GC/MS, Py-GC/MS) to characterise the decoration technique of the wooden ceiling of the House of the Telephus Relief in Herculaneum (Italy)

The House of the Telephus Relief in Herculaneum (Naples, Italy) is a Roman domus, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The house had a wooden roof with decorated ceiling, which was discovered in 2009. The roof represents an extraordinary archaeological find and, although it was found mainly disassembled, some of its wooden decorative panels are still almost intact. Some portions of the original polychrome decoration and traces of gilding are still preserved.Within the framework of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, a diagnostic study was undertaken to characterise the materials used in the polychrome decoration and to assess the technique used by Roman painters to decorate the ceiling.Micro samples (c. 500μg) of paint were analysed with a multi-analytical approach. The micro-morphological characterisation of the pigments and the paint stratigraphy was assessed using light (LM) and scanning electron microscopes (SEM). X-ray microanalysis (EDX) coupled with SEM and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used to investigate the inorganic components. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) were used to identify the binding media and other organic materials. The nature of the sediment, where the findings had been embedded, was also investigated.The acquired data revealed that a tempera painting has been applied. Egg was used as binder, whereas lime, red and yellow ochre, and caeruleum were used as white, red, yellow and blue pigments, respectively. The paint was directly applied onto the wood surface. Some decorations involved the application of gold leaf: unfortunately, no trace of the mordant or adhesives was found. The results also highlighted some issues related to the state of preservation of the artefact, thus contributing to the planning of conservation strategies.

Rediscovering the ancient world on the Bay of Naples, 1710-1890

The ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E., drew international attention when excavations commenced in the 1730s. As a result, the nearby city of Naples became a nexus of scholarship, cultural diplomacy, and tourism. This fascinating book examines responses to the excavations by 18th- and 19th-century monarchs, statesmen, scholars, and archaeologists, as well as by artists, architects, designers, writers, and tourists. Essays by leading art historians and archaeologists chronicle the exploitation of the sites through excavation, publication, and museum display, and discuss the wider influence of the recovered objects and architectural remains on art and design in Italy, France, Germany, and Britain. Unlike other publications that focus on the archaeological artifacts and their documentation, this extensively illustrated book presents the discoveries from the standpoint of how they were understood at the time.

The last days of Pompeii: decadence, apocalypse, resurrection

It is a fascinating survey of the modern obsession with the destruction of as seen through the eyes or artists. Destroyed yet paradoxically preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in a.d. 79, and other nearby sites are usually considered places where we can most directly experience the daily lives of ancient Romans. Rather than present these sites as windows to the past The Last Days of Pompeii explores as a modern obsession, in which the Vesuvian sites function as mirrors of the present. Through cultural appropriation and projection, outstanding visual and literary artists of the last three centuries have made the ancient catastrophe their own, expressing contemporary concerns in diverse media - from paintings, prints, and sculpture, to theatrical performances, photography, and film. This lavishly illustrated volume - featuring the works of artists such as Fragonard, Kaufmann, Duchamp, Dali, and Warhol - surveys the legacy of in the modern imagination.

ConfChem Conference on Case-Based Studies in Chemical Education: Chemistry of Pompeii and Herculaneum—A Case Study Course in Chemistry at the Interface of Ancient Technology and Archeological Conservation

The ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were frozen in time during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 CE. Preserved underground for nearly two thousand years, they provide a wealth of information about the history, technology, and culture of the Roman people, as well as a unique opportunity for chemical educators to teach chemistry through real-world examples that connect chemistry to ancient art, history, and technology. This course was developed as an elective for nonscience majors, to satisfy three science or liberal arts credits. The course is organized as a guided virtual tour of the ancient cities involving stops at specific sites or buildings where chemical concepts can be introduced. These sites, which can be located on maps of the cities, involve outdoor bronze sculptures; pigment and glass factories; houses with faded or unfinished wall paintings; dyeing and laundry shops; oil, perfume, and soap businesses; and reconstructed dye gardens. In this communication we discuss briefly the course content and classroom management and present some examples of the case studies developed.

Building Technologies for the Mitigation of Volcanic Risk: Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei

This paper intends to show basic strategies and technical solutions that may reduce volcanic risk on buildings and infrastructures. It points out that reduction—mitigation—of vulnerability and expected damage to existing and new buildings are possible. Eruptive phenomena such as earthquakes, pyroclastic flows, ash fall, and landslides can indeed be considerably reduced by specific intervention on the structure and envelope of buildings. Thus, the study adopts a design-oriented approach in response to volcanic risk with specific reference to the possible eruption of Mount Vesuvius or Campi Flegrei in the Campania Region of Italy. The paper examines responses in relation to conventional construction techniques and building typologies in the area with respect to eruptive phenomena characterization. The reference scenarios that the study is based on have been developed by PLINIVS Centre at the University of Naples Federico II. PLINIVS has elaborated a hazard evaluation tool that takes into account the potential impact of eruptions of Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei, also considering the cumulative effects given by different possible volcanic phenomena. On the basis of this sophisticated and dynamic tool, the paper proposes different alternative mitigation options. Technical and economic implications are also considered: performance indicators for the effectiveness of each technical option, parametric unit cost for each solution provided, and cost-benefit evaluation related to specific impact and damage scenarios.

Revisiting ancient mtDNA equid sequences from Pompeii

In an mtDNA study on equids recovered from the ancient Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum (covered in ash by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79), Di Bernardo et al. 2004a,b presented six equid mtDNA sequences, which they labeled as CAV1-5 and CAVH, respectively. The Pompeii equid skeletons had been excavated from the stables (Fig. 1) at the house of the Casti Amanti (chaste lovers), so called because of frescoes depicting a romantic scene. The owner of this house was probably Caius Iulius Polybius, a wealthy politician and baker in ancient Pompeii, as shown by the fact that the house contains an open oven and four wheat grindstones [Genovese and Cocca, 2000]. Excavated stable at the house of the Casti Amanti in ancient Pompeii, Italy. (Photograph courtesy of Giovanni Lattanzi, Guilianova) The authors convincingly identified mtDNA types retrieved from skeletons CAV1 to CAV4 and CAVH as being of horse origin, while CAV5 presented a puzzle. They stated that “Our findings provide evidence that the remains analyzed are those of horse and mules and do not include either donkeys or hinnies” [Di Bernardo et al., 2004a] and that “The peculiar sequence polymorphisms shown by CAV5 could suggest to belong to a haplotype, which has either not yet been documented in (…) GenBank or has since disappeared” [Di Bernardo et al., 2004b]. I would like to suggest that, in this Pompeii equid, the authors have inadvertently hybridized a horse mtDNA sequence with an ass mtDNA sequence: the first 177 nucleotides match closely with asses in Genbank, while the second section of 193 nucleotides of their sequence matches closely with horses in Genbank. These two sections correspond exactly to the two different PCR primer pairs that the authors used. This hybrid sequencing artifact can be explained by the fact that the two primer pairs overlap only slightly and can recognize both horse and ass mtDNA. Interestingly, the horse section of the Pompeii hybrid sequence is a G type [Vilà et al., 2001; Gurney et al., 2010], which Di Bernardo et al. also found in their Herculaneum horse CAVH. In fact, the Herculaneum horse sequence is identical to the horse section of the Pompeii hybrid sequence, except for a single nucleotide difference. This single nucleotide difference is however close to the internal primer. The ass section of the Pompeii hybrid sequence is also interesting in that its closest matches are with domestic donkeys that are related via their mtDNA lineage with the Somali wild ass [Kimura et al., 2010]. The Somali lineage seems to be the typical mtDNA type found in Italian asses today, whereas other European countries have significant proportions of asses with the Nubian motif [Beja-Pereira et al., 2004]. The ancient Pompeii ass sequence, if confirmed, may represent valuable early evidence of the Somali ass lineage in ancient Italy.

New borehole strain system detects uplift at Campi Flegrei

Campi Flegrei and Mount Vesuvius are active Italian volcanoes though presently in aquiescent stage. The last eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred during the spring of 1944. Campi Flegrei last erupted in 1538 but experienced a subsidence trend from the early 1900s to 1970, which was followed by episodes of ground uplift accompanied by seismic swarms [see, e.g., Aster et al., 1992].Over the past 37 years at Campi Flegrei, about 4 meters of maximum ground uplift has occurred followed by about 1 meter of subsidence, as measured near the center of the caldera in two episodes during 1970–1972 and 1982–1984. This deformation has occurred close to the harbor of the town of Pozzuoli, putting about 400,000 people at heightened risk. From 1985 to 2004, Campi Flegrei's caldera showed gradual subsidencethat was interrupted by five mini‐uplift episodesin 1976, 1989, 1995, 2000, and, most recently, 2004–2006, each amounting to a few centimeters of uplift [Pingue et al., 2006]. The caldera is generally aseismic during gradual subsidence, but small swarms of microearthquakes are produced during periods of elevated strain rates associated with the mini‐uplift episodes [Saccorotti et al., 2001 ].

Lava identification by paleomagnetism: a case study and some problems surrounding the 1631 eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Italy

Abstract Detailed rock magnetic, paleomagnetic and absolute paleointensity studies of lava flows from the disputed 1631 Mount Vesuvius eruption are reported. The magnetic carrier consists of pseudo-single domain state Ti-poor titanomagnetites. Characteristic magnetization directions determined from detailed stepwise alternating field and thermal demagnetizations provide four new well-defined flow unit mean directions, with α95 ranging from 0.7° to 2.6°. Paleodirections for 11 lava flows from 24-four flows studied previously appear to be related to the 1631 eruption, as indicated by their correlation to the early 17th century segment of the Italian paleosecular variation reference curve. This provides new evidence supporting the conclusion that the 1631 episode was an explosive-effusive eruption. The paleointensity results obtained from this study are the first to be published for Mount Vesuvius, with virtual dipole moments of 9.24±1.8 × 1022 and 13.5±0.4 × 1022 Am2 higher than the present-day geomagnetic field strength.

The legacy of Pompeii and its volcano.

On August 24, AD 79, a terrible eruption of Mount Vesuvius deranged life in beautiful Pompeii and killed thousands of men, women, and children. They were restored to us by the fact that Mount Vesuvius, with its rain of ashes, proved to be a skilled sculptor, preserving the shape and even the wrinkles in the clothes the Pompeians wore while trying to escape during the day of the tragedy. The detailed description of Plinius the Younger and modern static studies of the eruptive residues have made it possible to reconstruct with great accuracy the various phases of the eruption that took place 2000 years ago, including the hours and days during which the phenomena first became obvious. Today, almost 2000 years later, Pompeii has reawakened and risen from its sepulcher of ashes thanks to the excavations initiated under King Charles III of Bourbon in 1748. Excavations proceeded slowly under the Bourbons, with the aim of enriching the Bourbon Museum of Naples rather than of classifying the ruins and placing them into a historical context. Under Joachim Murat, interest in the town planning and architecture of the uncovered cities reemerged, especially with respect to Pompeii. In 1860, however, with the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy, the excavations, now under the direction of archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli, were provided new impetus and, finally, a scientific basis. Today, the excavations are giving us back extraordinary evidence concerning the culture, the everyday life, the habits, the architecture, and the wonderful frescoes of the Roman cities of southern Italy, making possible the statement that Pompeii is "the most alive of the dead cities."

The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Its Significance to the Scientific Community

Research Article| July 01, 2004 The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Its Significance to the Scientific Community Carol S. Prentice; Carol S. Prentice Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Lind Gee Lind Gee Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Carol S. Prentice Lind Gee Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1938-2057 Print ISSN: 0895-0695 © 2004 by the Seismological Society of America Seismological Research Letters (2004) 75 (4): 521–522. https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.75.4.521 Article history First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Carol S. Prentice, Lind Gee; The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Its Significance to the Scientific Community. Seismological Research Letters 2004;; 75 (4): 521–522. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.75.4.521 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySeismological Research Letters Search Advanced Search The 18 April 906 San Francisco earthquake is the first seismic event in the nation's history to truly capture the attention and imagination of the broad citizenry of the United States. From the Complete Story of San Francisco's Terrible Calamity of Earthquake and Fire (Livingstone, 1906) to San Francisco's Horror of Earthquake and Fire (Wilson, 1906), numerous and varied popular works depicted the event through prose, photographs, verse, and even song. Several books took the opportunity to place the 1906 earthquake in the context of other world disasters, such as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The... You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Holocene Coastal Environments near Pompeii before the A.D. 79 Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Italy

Studies of some 70 bore holes around ancient Pompeii, on the southwestern slope of the Somma-Vesuvius volcano, allow the reconstruction of Holocene environments earlier than the A.D. 79 eruption. This eruption produced about 10 km3 of pyroclastic material that buried the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae and promoted a shoreline progradation of 1 km. The Sarno coastal plain, in a post-Miocene sedimentary basin, has been affected by Somma-Vesuvius volcanic activity since the late Pleistocene. At the Holocene transgressive maximum, the sea reached an area east of ancient Pompeii and formed a beach ridge (Messigno, 5600 and 4500 14C yr B.P.) more than 2 km inland from the present shore. Progradation of the plain due to high volcanic supply during the following highstand resulted in a new beach ridge (Bottaro-Pioppaino, 3600 14C yr B.P.) 0.5 km seaward of the Messigno ridge. Ancient Pompeii was built as the shoreline continued to prograde toward its present position. Deposits of the A.D. 79 eruption blanketed the natural levees of the Sarno River, marshes near the city and on the Sarno's floodplain, the morphological highs of Messigno and Bottaro-Pioppaino beach ridges, and the seashore. That shore was probably 1 km landward of the present one.

Brucellosis at Herculaneum (79AD)

The author describes vertebral lesions observed in the skeletons of 16 adults who fled to the ancient beach at Herculaneum during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, where they were buried alive. In all cases the lesions present as the osteolysis of the superior vertebral angle. Though it is true that this region is generally affected by osteolytic activity in all the haematogenous vertebral osteomyelitises, because of the particular arterial circulation patterns of the vertebrae, several distinctive features of these lesions indicate they were caused by brucellosis. Of particular significance are the strong, frequent sclerotic reactions below the osteolytic areas and the non-involvement of the small posterior intervertebral articulations. The sclerotic reactions are primarily due to endosteal activation, with thickening of the trabecular network produced by both an increase in the volume of the trabeculae and an increase in their number, which results in a consequent reduction of the marrow spaces. There is also periosteal activation due to the involvement of the periosteum; the anterior faces of the vertebrae struck by chronic phlogosis. Finally, there are ossifications at the centres of the anterior faces of the affected vertebral bodies that form as a result of the osseous metaplasia of the anterior longitudinal vertebral ligament, which is also involved in the progression of the disease. The bone neoformations attributable to these varying pathogenetic origins (endosteal, periosteal and metaplastic) combine to produce a sclerotic hemi-ring, known as the brucellar sclerotic vertebral hemi-ring, which can be quite dense, and surrounds the area of the osteolysis of the antero-superior somatic angle from below and behind. The vertebral lesions are also restricted to characteristic sections of the spinal column (the dorso-lumbar traict), the vertebrae (the antero-superior angle) and the upper plate (the region below the impression of the anulus fibrosus). In 68.7% of the cases the vertebral lesions are associated with rib alterations that are likely attributable to the micronodular brucellar pleurisy that commonly strikes brucellosis victims. Vertebral lesions that correlate with melitococcic spondylitis were found in 16 subjects (about 17.4% of the adults) and are more common in men than in women (M/F ratio=3:1). The high frequency of the disease is supported by historic evidence; indeed, written sources mention that the Romans made considerable use of milk from sheep and goats. It was consumed directly, without cooking or other forms of treatment, and also as milk derivatives, including ovine-milk yogurt and an impressive variety of fresh cheeses. The important role of ovine milk in the Roman diet could be behind the great frequency of brucellosis at the time. The data from the Herculaneum population provide the first concrete evidence in favour of a milk-related source for the disease. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Time correlation by palaeomagnetism of the 1631 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Volcanological and volcanic hazard implications

The 1631 eruption of Mount Vesuvius was the most destructive episode in the recent volcanic history of Vesuvius and the last in which large pyroclastic flows were emitted. The controversy about whether lava flows were also generated in this eruption, as sustained in the mapping by Le Hon (1866) and by the interpretation by some authors (Burri et al., 1975; Rolandi et al., 1991) of eyewitness accounts, is important not only for a better understanding of the eruption but also for the implications in the prediction of volcanic hazards of this volcano, set in an overpopulated area with more than 3 million people potentially at risk. Short-period palaeomagnetic techniques (secular variation curve) have been applied to correlate lava flows interpreted as produced in the event of 1631 with the pyroclastic flow of this same eruption and other lava flows unquestionably emitted prior to this eruptive event. The model that best fits the results obtained suggests that the presumed 1631 lava flows were not the result of a single eruptive event but were, in fact, produced by several different eruptions. These lava flows also have a better palaeomagnetic correlation with the medieval lava flows than with the pyroclastic flow of 1631, whose juvenile pumice clasts have a well-defined single component magnetization that fits in the expected corresponding position of the secular variation curve for that age. The palaeomagnetic characteristics of the 1631 pyroclastic flow are compatible with a “hot” depositional temperature (apparently above the Curie point of magnetite, 585 °C) for the juvenile pumice fragments (magmatic fraction) and a “cold” deposition for the non-magmatic fraction. This suggests the lack of thermal equilibration during transport of the larger clasts, probably due to the short distance travelled by the pyroclastic flows. The main volcanological and volcanic hazard issues of this work are that the 1631 event was entirely explosive and that pyroclastic flow activity played a major role in the eruption. Before 1631 Vesuvius remained for about five centuries in a state of quiescence. If the present period of repose continues for decades or centuries it is increasingly likely that the next eruption will be a highly dangerous explosive event similar to that of 1631.

Oak galls preserved by the eruption of mount vesuvius in A.D. 79, and their probable use

Eight oak galls caused by cynipid wasps and preserved by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius at Herculaneum, Italy, provide tangible clues to the significance of galls in early human culture. The external and internal appearances of the galls are described. Remnants of insects were found in two of the specimens. It is suggested that all but one of the galls were caused by the cynipidAdleria kollari. Probable uses of the galls are discussed; it is concluded that the galls were likely sold for use in medicines.

AD 79: Eyewitness Account of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

AD 79: Eyewitness Account of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Prediction of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Prediction of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Prediction of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Prediction of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

4. Observations and Experiments on the Cerebral Hemispheres and Corpora Striata of Birds

Surgeon-Major Black exhibited twenty-five large photographic views of the late eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which had been executed by his brother, John Melton Black, Esq.

An account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius of April 1872

An account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius of April 1872

The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius