Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius

cinis

cinis

ash

lapilli

small rocks

flamma

flame

flash-heat

how the majority of Pompeiians died

fresco

painting on wet plaster

plume

the cloud of smoke and ash emerging from a volcano

mons

mountain

plinian eruption

the style of eruption catalogued by Pliny the Younger

pumice

light rock made from lava foam

x-ray phase tomography

method used to read charred papyri

Misenum

town where Pliny the Younger lived at the time of the eruption

Campania

the region of Italy where Mt. Vesuvius is located

Oplontis

a villa owned by a wife of Emperor Nero

Herculaneum

seaside town destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius

Pompeii

town buried in ash and stone by Mt. Vesuvius

Amedeo Maiuri

archaeologist who is known for excavating Herculaneum

Domenico Fantana

discovered the city of Pompeii

Giuseppe Fiorelli

created the plaster casts of the victims

Sara Bisel

analyzed skeletons for nutritional information

Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo

geologist who studies Mt. Vesuvius

Pliny the Younger

author who recorded the eruption

Pliny the Elder

naturalist who died during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

Naples

city currently at risk of another eruption from Mt. Vesuvius

earthquake

event that typically precedes an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

79 AD

year Mt. Vesuvius erupted and destroyed Pompeii and other towns