Posted on 12/15/2008 7:31:13 AM PST by SunkenCiv
At around 1:00 p.m. on Aug. 24, 79 A.D., Pompeii residents saw a pine tree-shaped column of smoke bursting from Vesuvius. Reaching nine miles into the sky, the column began spewing a thick pumice rain. Many residents rushed in the streets, trying to leave the city.
"At that moment, Polybius' house was inhabited by 12 people, including a young woman in advanced pregnancy. They decided to remain in the house, most likely because it was safer for the pregnant woman. Given the circumstances, it was the right strategy," Scarpati said...
At around 7:00 p.m., by which time the front part the house had collapsed, the inhabitants took shelter in the rear rooms, whose steeper roofs had not been damaged by the falling material.
"There were three adult males, three adult females of various ages, four boys, one girl, one child and one fetus in the last month of intrauterine life. The fetus was associated with the skeleton of a young (16 to 18-year-old) female," Scarpati said.
Analysis of mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down through the maternal line, revealed that six individuals belonged to the same family.
"The age of five out of six individuals suggests that they were siblings. Another subject, about 25 to 30 years old, might have been a cousin. The three adult women were unrelated," molecular biologist Marilena Cipollaro, of the Second University of Naples, told Discovery News...
Most likely, the group of people in Polybius' house included the parents, their children, a cousin and his young, pregnant wife, plus a pair of servants.
(Excerpt) Read more at dsc.discovery.com ...
Claudio Scarpati | Final Moment -- After the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, many Pompeiians fled into the streets in an attempt to escape the rain of pumice, gas and rock. The figure in this cast was among the hundreds of victims who never made it to safety.
mtDNA study.
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Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. |
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Ah...
...the old “shelter in place”.
I’ve seen some of those castings of victims (years ago at a local museum when they had a traveling Pompeii exhibit) and some of the stories they told were so tragic—especially this one of the lost baby and it’s young mother. :*(
I understand that Vesuvius is still dangerous even today, and the city of Naples could go at any time! Why do people choose to live under that kind of possible death and destruction? Same reason people choose to live in earthquake prone LA, or flood prone NOLA...boggles the mind.
"Life"? LIFE?! You mean a fetus in the womb is in HUMAN LIFE??
What a completely fasinating study.
ping
I had heard about and read about the Vesuvius eruption, of course, but when actually there was in shock. It was as though the tragedy had just happened. I was creeped out for weeks. I expected an interesting historic experience. What I got was a horrifying human experience. Time vanished. Humanity transcends all barriers.
“hunker down”
They’d have probably made it if equiped with duct tape and plastic sheeting.
Pompeii, The Last Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V_tDy4dMD8
Obviously, somebody slipped up! ;’)
In other words......an unborn child.
The only similar thing I’ve read about in the past had to do with the Temple of Isis — the temple treasury was hurriedly put in bags, and a group of temple employees (or whatever you wanna call ‘em) left the place and tried to run out of the city searching for safety. One by one they succumbed and were buried where they fell, covered with ash, leaving only their 3-d forms in the hardened strata, to be found centuries later by archaeologists — still clutching their parts of the treasury.
Because the Amalfi Coast south of Naples is probably one of the most beautiful places on the planet. There's also the fact that Vesuvio is not only the taker of life, but the bringer as well. You won't see dirt as fertile as in the vicinity of Vesuvio in may parts of the world. In and around Naples/Sorrento is some of the finest citrus in the world. I'm talking lemons the size of NFL footballs. The ash from Vesuvio is also what makes the Med so blue.
I intend on retiring in Sorrento despite the threat of Vesuvio and earthquakes. There really is NO place on earth truly safe from the wrath of Mother Nature. Besides, Vesuvio is quite for the time being.
I see exactly what you mean, but hey, people in California say that about those of us who live in areas which get tornados and hurricanes (although when there’s a Republican president, he takes all the blame for the carnage and destruction, particularly in NOLA). Could be anywhere. I mean, Mutton Island off the west coast of Ireland used to be a good bit larger, but in the 9th century (if memory serves) a tsunami (that’s what we’d call it now) came in, busted up the island (what’s left is in three pieces), rushed inland a ways, and killed hundreds. Record of this survived in local ecclesiastical texts.
A few months back I was reading most of the Vesuvius books I have around here, and Herculaneum (which is mostly not open to tourists, or to much of anyone else either) right on the slopes of the mountain had a gymnasium. The day of the eruption, the sports equipment was set out and ready for use in some kind of organized games which were, uh, interrupted. Also in Herculaneum were found quite a number of wooden artifacts, some carbonized from the heat, including doors which still swing fine on their hinges.
There has recently been a new method developed for the castings. Instead of plaster they are now using resins.
The one thing that strikes me most about the casts is how very small the Romans were in 49. The average height for a man was about 5'2". That's something to remember when traveling to the old places. You might feel cramped, but the folks 2000 years ago were much small than us.
If you have never visited southern Italy I highly recommend it. Pompeii is a cool place to spend some time, but Herculaneum (on the other side of Vesuvio) is a better looking and less looted archeological site.
:’) Pliny the Elder was so nonchalant about the phenomena that, instead of having everyone board ships and get out, he insisted on bathing a little and having a nap. When it was finally obvious that everyone had better run for it, he succumbed to a cloud of poisonous gas. His surviving companions found him dead “as if sleeping” the next day.
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