National Geographic: In the Shadow of Vesuvius Page #3

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So you see that there really was a cross

section of people found on that beach.

It wasn't just poor people;

there were rich people.

You remember the lady with

the gold bracelets.

So everybody was down there

that didn't escape.

And they were all there together,

and they all died together.

But the central mystery remains:

why had they fled to the beach?

By studying various levels

of volcanic debris,

Dr. Haraldur Sigurdsson

of the University of Rhode Island

pieces together Herculaneum's

final hours.

The eruption of Vesuvius occurred

in two phases.

The first phase lasted for about

and resulted in ash fall over

a wide area.

During that phase the wind was blowing

from the north however,

so that Herculaneum was spared most of

the ash and here only about...

...two inches of ash fell during

the first 18 hours of activity.

Therefore, the population of

Herculaneum was relatively unaware

of the potential dangers for the city.

And so, many Herculaneans stayed.

But their good fortune did not last.

Sigurdsson finds evidence of a violent

change of events

that did not occur until many hours

after the ash fall began.

These layers contain important lines

of evidence.

First of all, carbonized wood,

or charcoal,

indicating temperatures of two to

three hundred degrees Centigrade,

as well as bricks and

all their building materials,

which indicate high force,

perhaps of the order of one to

two hundred kilometers per hour.

These layers, therefore,

in our interpretation represent surges

Now surges are the most deadly phases

of volcanic eruptions.

One phase of the Mount St. Helens'

eruption in 1980 was a surge.

Unlike slowly advancing lava flows,

Surges explode with the force

and fury of a nuclear bomb blast.

Compared to Mount St. Helens,

the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

was ten times more powerful.

For 12 hours Vesuvius hurled into

the sky a column of pumice and ash,

at times as high as 20 miles.

When the column collapsed,

it created a surge

superheated avalanche that blasted

through Herculaneum,

killing its residents.

Immediately after the surge

a slower-moving river of debris,

called a pyroclastic flow,

entombed and preserved them.

Of the five surges that followed,

three reached Pompeii,

but by now most people

there had already fled.

Herculaneans were not as fortunate.

In the ruins of one of Herculaneum's

bath houses

the enormity of

the mountain's fury is clear.

This heavy marble bowl was sitting

here by the window before the eruption

But when the surge blasted through

the window, it picked up the bowl

and the force of the surge threw it

across the room

where it left this impression

in the volcanic deposit.

If you look closely, you'll see

the impressions which were left

by window glass thrown into the bowl

when the surge blasted

through the window.

As midnight approached,

none could comprehend that their world

would be snuffed out

in one horrifying blow.

With the surge bearing down on their

town at more than 60 miles an hour,

the Herculaneans had less than

five minutes to flee to the beach,

no doubt hoping to escape by sea.

When escape became impossible,

they ran into the chambers.

Scorched by the searing heat

of the surge,

they suffocated as the gases tore

at their lungs.

Pyroclastic flows that followed

sealed them where they lay

frozen for nearly two millennia

in the tortured postures

of their final moments on this earth.

To date excavations along the ancient

beach front have exposed ten chambers.

But Herculaneum is less

than half excavated.

It seems certain other chambers,

with other dead, remain hidden

in the volcanic debris.

Because parts of Herculaneum lie

buried below the homes

and shops of Ercolano,

they may never see the light of day,

never reveal their ancient secrets

to the modern world.

seven miles west of Naples is Pozzuoli

the largest town in a region known

as the Fiery Fields.

The entire region is a caldera

formed about 35,000 years ago

by a massive eruption.

The Fiery Fields are dotted with some

two dozen vents of smaller volcanoes.

The only one still active is on

the outskirts of Pozzouli itself.

It is called La Solfatara

sulfur earth

Unable to explain the constant steam

and bubbling mud,

the ancients thought surely this

was an entrance to the underworld.

In more recent times Solfatara was

reputedly a source

of inspiration for Dante's "Inferno".

Throughout its history Solfatara

has drawn the attention

of layman and scientist alike.

In the beginning it was pressure

and steam

and we cannot enter the area

because it is dangerous

because there is a corrosion

by the steam of the crater.

So there is the possibility

of collapse of the ground.

Today, scientists stand behind

a wire fence,

protected against ground collapse.

Seventy years ago they were able

to work in this observatory

right on the crater's floor.

Just beyond the trees at the edge

of the crater one is not prepared

for the unlikely sight of campers.

Here, for a few thousand line,

a few American dollars,

tourists from many countries

come to vacation.

This unusual piece of real estate

has been owned by the De Luca family

for more than 100 years.

Eugenio de Luca.

Not so many people used to come here

to see the volcano

because they were afraid.

Now they come again.

But we, me personally,

we have never been afraid.

I was sure, we were sure

that nothing would happen.

I mean nothing volcanic, you know.

Tourists continue to come with

fascination and awe,

and no doubt a bit of daring.

But just beyond the ridge, thousands

of people harbor only deep concern.

The uneasy of Pozzuoli live and work

with Solfatara as a permanent neighbor

Pozzuoli is a working-class

fishing town.

Two thousand years ago,

like Herculaneum and Ischia,

it was a favorite holiday resort

of Italian aristocracy.

In its heyday it was also one of the

principal trading centers

of the Roman Empire.

Now as then, hawkers pitch their wares

They go about their business,

but buyers and sellers alike are

keenly aware

of another potential danger

this one under their feet.

Throughout recorded history Pozzuoli

has been plagued

by earthquakes triggered

by the rise and fall

of magma lying beneath the town.

As the magma has risen and fallen,

so has the town.

As the ancient Roman marketplace

the columns of the Temple of Serapis

were above water level when the market

was built 2,000 years ago.

Now they are marked with the burrows

of marine mollusks,

evidence that over the centuries

Serapis has been periodically submerged

As recently as 1976

it was largely flooded.

One period of startling uplift

occurred in the early 1970s

when the ground rose five-and-half feet

in only three years.

Boats that once anchored

alongside their docks

must now be reached by ladder.

Were Pozzuoli not situated near water,

the uplift would be more difficult

to see.

In fact, it was fishermen

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