Virtual Fieldtrip

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Virtual Fieldtrip Pompeii, Italy
Courtesy of R.D. Elmore
University of Oklahoma (Designed by K. Marra K.
Paul, 2007)
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Introduction
Pompeii, Italy represents an important
archaeological and geological site. Once a
prosperous and vivacious town located in the
shadow of Mount Vesuvius, an active
stratovolcano, the region and its inhabitants
were ultimately decimated and buried in a sea of
volcanic ash and debris following a great,
unforeseen eruption in the year 79 A.D. (1)
Ruins of the ancient Forum in Pompeii
Mt. Vesuvius
Courtesy of R.D. Elmore
Courtesy of R.D. Elmore
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Location Pompeii, Italy
The ancient city of Pompeii, Italy is located in
southwestern Italy, near the Bay of Naples. Mt.
Vesuvius is located to the northwest of the
ancient city. The areal extent of the 79 AD
eruption is depicted on the map below by the
black to gray shading (http//en.wikipedia.org/wik
i/Pompeii)
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImageMt_Vesuvius_79_
AD_eruption_3.svg
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A Brief History
Pompeii is believed to have been settled by the
Oscans around the 9 to 8th century B.C. The city
was founded in the fertile Sarno valley, atop
ancient lava flows that enabled agriculture to
flourish. The city was ruled by the Etruscans
until approximately 484 B.C., until it became
under control by the Samnites, and then
eventually Rome in 89 B.C. It was later named
Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompei, a Roman
colony. Pompeii continued to grow and prosper due
to agricultural developments and a link to trade
and maritime activities. The wealth of Pompeiis
inhabitants is represented by the presence of
luxurious villas, adorned with art and sculpture.
The city itself was very cosmopolitan, with
abundant shops, bars (thermopolia), gambling
rooms, and brothels (lupanari) (1).
Courtesy of R.D. Elmore
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A Brief History
However, Pompeii was not spared from tragedy. In
62 A.D., a major earthquake rattled the city,
causing immense destruction. Major efforts to
rebuild ensued in the following years and were
still occurring when a second major disaster
struck. On August 24, 79 A.D., Mt. Vesuvius
erupted with great fury, burying Pompeii and
surrounding cities and land in a major cloud of
volcanic ash, debris, and lava. Many of Pompeiis
20,000 inhabitants were quickly killed through
suffocation from toxic fumes and the sheer heat
of volcanic debris (1,2).

Courtesy of R.D. Elmore
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A Brief History
Pompeii subsequently remained buried for
centuries, until it was rediscovered in 1748 by
local workers. Subsequent work to excavate the
city commenced sporadically over the next
decades. In 1860, Giuseppe Fiorelli began
systematic excavation work and discovered the
remains of ancient citizens of Pompeii by
filling void spaces left in the volcanic ash with
plaster to recreate their likenesses (2).
Courtesy of R.D. Elmore
Courtesy of R.D. Elmore
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A Tour of the City
Pompeii was built in a typical Roman fashion,
with major roads intersecting in a grid pattern.
The major east-west (decumanus) road is the Via
di Nola and the major north-south road (cardo) is
the Via di Stabia. Other major roads, the Via
dellAbbondanza and the Via del Foro, were built
upon expansion in the city. The entire city was
surrounded with walls. Major entrances to the
city were through various gates, whose names
indicate relative position to inner and outer
geographic entities, such as Porta Marina,
Vesuvio, Nocera, Sarno, Capua, and
Ercolano. Major features of the city included
the Theatre, the Amphitheatre, the Forum, the
Gymnasium, the Triangular Forum, as well as
public baths, shops, and important homes (1).
http//www.utexas.edu/courses/italianarch/jpgs/000
2090003.gif
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A Tour of the City
The following links provide additional virtual
tours through pictures of Pompeii, Italy.
Explore to learn more about the structure and
life in Pompeii.
http//www.utexas.edu/courses/italianarch/pompeii.
html
http//www.volcanolive.com/pompeii.html
http//touritaly.org/pompeii/pompeii-main.htm
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Records from Pompeii
The eruption of Pompeii was chronicled by Pliny
the Younger. Follow the link below to watch a
video of Pliny the Youngers account of the
eruption.
http//dsc.discovery.com/convergence/pompeii/pliny
/pliny.html
The following two links provide more detailed
information about events occurring in Pompeii and
the neighboring city of Herculaneum during the
time of the eruption in addition to recent
excavation work. (From the Discovery Channels
Pompeii The Last Day)
http//dsc.discovery.com/convergence/pompeii/histo
ry/history.html
http//dsc.discovery.com/convergence/pompeii/histo
ry/excavations.html
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Mt. Vesuvius
Mt. Vesuvius is a major, active stratovolcano
or composite volcano. This type of volcano is
made up of alternating layers of lava and
volcanoclastic debris. The magma of composite
volcanoes is rhyolite and dacite in composition
(3). This magma composition is high in silica
and is, therefore, very viscous thus, composite
volcanoes are HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE (4). Mount St.
Helens in Washington state is a composite volcano
that erupted in 1980 (4). An interesting place
to find more information about composite/stratovol
canoes is at the United States Geological
Surveys (USGS) website http//vulcan.wr.usgs.gov
/Glossary/StratoVolcano/description_composite_volc
ano.html
An illustration of the layering found in a
composite volcano. From http//volcano.und.edu/v
wdocs/vwlessons/volcano_types/str_x.htm
Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980. The ash plume
erupted for 9 hours, eventually reaching 12 to
15 miles above sea level. USGS Photograph taken
on May 18, 1980, by Donald A. Swanson From
http//vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/descriptio
n_msh.html
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Mt. Vesuvius
The people of Pompeii were seemingly unprepared
for the fate that befell them. Follow the link to
an article outlining the warnings the citizens of
Pompeii missed prior to the deadly eruption.
http//www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompei
i_portents_01.shtml
Clearly, predicting eruptions can be very
important. A suite of techniques are used to
monitor a volcano and determine when it might
erupt. Many expensive pieces of equipment,
trained observers, and educated volcanologists
are required to monitor the worlds riskiest
volcanoes.
The illustration on the left is from the USGS
Volcano Hazards Program Website. This groups
motto is Strategy for Reducing Volcanic Risk.
Their website is a good place to find more
information on the procedures and equipment that
scientists use to monitor volcanoes and predict
eruptions. http//volcanoes.usgs.gov/
Volcanic monitoring techniques. Illustration by
B. Myers. From http//volcanoes.usgs.gov/About/W
hat/Monitor/monitor.html
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Mt. Vesuvius
Click on the following link to learn more about
Mt. Vesuvius and its eruptions. Be sure to click
on the two video/animation icons to view short
videos which provide areal views of the volcano
as well as eruption footage from 1944.
http//www.britannica.com/eb/article-9075197/Vesuv
ius
Go to the following Discovery Channel website to
learn more about volcanoes around the world and
even make your own virtual volcano. Try setting
the viscosity and gas settings to high to
simulate the 79 AD eruption of Mt. Vesuvius,
termed a Plinian eruption.
http//veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/1555/aster_vesuvius.
jpg
http//dsc.discovery.com/convergence/pompeii/inter
active/interactive.html
Since Mt. Vesuvius is still active, it continues
to be a major threat to the nearly 2 million
inhabitants who live in its shadow. Read the
following article to learn more about the danger
this stratovolcano poses.
http//www.livescience.com/environment/060306_anci
ent_vesuvius.html
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More on Pompeii
Explore the following links to learn more about
the ancient city of Pompeii.

• The Pompeii Forum Project

http//pompeii.virginia.edu/page-1.html

• Photo Archive

http//pompeii.virginia.edu/pompeii/images/b-w/lev
in/small/levin.html

• Pompeii Unraveling Ancient Mysteries

http//www.harcourtschool.com/activity/pompeii/
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More on Volcanoes
Explore the following links to learn more about
Volcanoes

• NOVA Online Deadly Shadow of Vesuvius

http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vesuvius/textindex.ht
ml

• Interview with a Volcanologist Professor
  Macedinio Giovanni of the Vesuvius Observatory

http//library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01096/intervie
wvolcanolgist.html

• Volcano World A collaborative Higher Education,
  K-12, and Public Outreach projectof the North
  Dakota and Oregon Space Grant Consortia
  administered by the Department of Geosciences at
  Oregon State University

http//volcano.und.edu/
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Works Cited 1) Pompeii The city that was
buried in 79 A.D Distributed by
www.dorianoeditore.it 2)Visiting Ancient
Pompeii http//goeurope.about.com/cs/italy/a/pomp
eii.htm 3) Best, M.G. (2003) Igneous and
Metamorphic Petrology, 2nd ed. Blackwell Malden.
729 p. 4) USGS Volcano Hazards Program, website
on composite/stratovolcanoes http//vulcan.wr.usg
s.gov/Glossary/StratoVolcano/description_composite
_volcano.html