- Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano located near Naples in Italy.
- It famously erupted in 79 CE and buried Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Spartacus (73-71 BCE)
- During the Third Servile War, Spartacus and his army occupied Mount Vesuvius and made it their base.
Eruption of 79 CE
- In 79 CE it erupted and buried the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and Oplontis.
- Pliny the Elder, who was Admiral of the Roman Navy based at Misenum, brought the fleet across the Bay of Naples to help evacuate the towns. But the molten rocks thrown out by the volcano, prevented them getting in close. Pliny the Elder spent the night nearby, but was asphyxiated by the fumes himself.
Eruptions since 79 CE
- Intermittent eruptions occured in 203, 472, 512, 787, 968, 991, 999, 1007 and 1036 CE.
- Vesuvius was inactive between 1300-1631 CE.
- Then in 1631 CE an Eruption killed 3,000 people.
- Frequent Eruptions then continued in 1660, 1682, 1694, 1698, 1707, 1737, 1760, 1767, 1779, 1794, 1822, 1834, 1839, 1850, 1855, 1861, 1868, and 1872
- In the last century there were Eruptions in 1906, 1926, 1929 and 1944 CE.
- Vesuvius last erupted in 1944 CE during WW II.
Sources
- Pliny the Younger (61-112 CE) wrote the story of his uncle’s attempt to rescue the Pompeians in two letters addressed to Tacitus (c.56-117 CE)
Active Volcanoes
- Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy.
- Mount Teide in Tenerife, Spain.
- Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands, Italy.
- Vulcano, Aeolian Islands, Italy.
- Krakatoa, Indonesia.
Mt. Vesuvius, Naples