As they help us understand the past, the remains of ancient cities have long been a huge centre of interest for people all over the world. The remains of very old cities like Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in south-east Asia, the Great pyramids in Egypt and the Great Wall of China, all iconic of their respective regions, give us a unique glance of their respective ancient eras. In Europe, the remains of ancient cities built by the Romans thousands of years ago have provided great detail of what ancient Europe was like, especially the remains of the famed ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
These two ancient Roman cities share a common tragic end which has become an iconic historical disaster of the region. (Bedser, min 5) Pompeii and Herculaneum were located right off shore of the Bay of Naples, in the western region of present day Italy, quite close to a volcano, Mount Vesuvius. (Bedser, min 5) In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted massively, completely burying both cities under the volcanic debris. (Bedser, min 5) They remained buried for more than 1600 years until they were finally discovered in the early eighteenth century. (Capasso, Luigi, Lancet, 1) This allowed these cities to remain much better preserved than other ancient Roman cities over the years. From the remains of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, we come to know a lot more about ancient Roman society. We learn about their architectural styles, building techniques, arts and crafts, lifestyles and even about their literature. Excavated and preserved parts of these two old cities attract a huge number of tourists as well as research teams from all over the world. Recently, Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) aired a documentary about Pompeii and Herculaneum as an episode of the Secrets of the Dead series. The documentary narrates the tragedy of 79 AD with details provided by experts reinforced through computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other film making techniques, quite frequently utilizing various clips of volcanic explosions. Although the documentary shows hard evidence with opinions from well known experts, facts obtained from other reliable sources prove that some of the implications made in the documentary still turn out to be quite misleading at the expense of making it more interesting for the public.
Pompeii’s first settlers are believed to be a group of Italic people known as the Oscans, arriving in the region by at least the 8th century B.C, (“Pompeii”) while the near by site Herculaneum is thought to have been first populated around the end of the 6th century B.C.( Walter, Stern, Kuppens, Peyster) It wasn’t until 89 B.C when the people of Herculaneum and Pompeii were given Roman citizenship despite previous control of the region by the Roman Empire. (“Pompeii”) Both Pompeii and Herculaneum were prosperous cities thanks to their natural resources and proximity to the Bay of Naples, making foreign trade easier. (“Pompeii”) “As Rome itself became more prosperous, its wealthy citizens looked to Pompeii and the Gulf of Naples as a relaxing vacation area. The shoreline of the Gulf became host to the splendid country houses of the most powerful people in the world, including emperors, court personages, and Roman aristocracy. It appeared that Pompeii and the surrounding villas had finally found the peace they had longed for.” (Walter)
The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. was quite an unexpected one for the Roman citizens of Pompeii and Herculaneum as no legacy of any previous eruption was past down, in fact it is believed that the citizens of these two cities had no idea that Mt. Vesuvius was actually a volcano. (Bedser, 15 min)About seventeen years before the eruption, an earthquake did occur in the region which is now believed to have been a sign of the upcoming eruption of Vesuvius. (Bedser, 15 min) The eruption is estimated to have begun somewhere around 1 pm on August 24, 79 AD. Within the following minutes, a huge column of gas and ashes, calculated to have been about ten miles high, rose above Mt. Vesuvius. (Bedser, 15 min) The wind then carried the thick cloud of airborne ash and other volcanic materials towards Pompeii on the SE side and while some citizens were still unaware of what had happened, pumice stone (a light kind of solidified lava) started falling all over the city. (Bedser, 15 min) Enveloped in the dark volcanic cloud, the day soon became as dark as night in Pompeii. As panic spread throughout the city, people fled or took refuge in their houses hoping that the storm would soon pass. (Bedser, 15 min) Unfortunately however, around 5 pm, rooftops started to collapse under the weight of the pumice and ash, which eventually entombed the entire city. (Bedser, 20 min)Herculaneum, being on the other side of Vesuvius, was safe allowing most of its 4000-5000 civilians to evacuate the city. (Bedser, 25 min) However, sometime around the first hour of 25th August 79 AD the first of a series of pyroclastic flows came down from Vesuvius towards Herculaneum. (Bedser, 15 min) A pyroclastic flow occurs after the eruption column of a volcano collapses; this causes a dense ash cloud along with superheated gases and other volcanic materials to hurdle down at quite high speeds from the top of the volcano(Bedser, 15 min), like an avalanche, which overwhelmed Herculaneum in probably no more than four minutes after starting its descent.(Walter) Although most of Herculaneum residents had managed to evacuate the city, hundreds were still assembled on the shore near the town. (Bedser, 50 min) Apparently, they became aware of the pyroclastic flow heading their way due to which they rushed for shelter in the boat chambers on the beach. (Capasso, 5) “It was here that they were killed instantly when the surge plunged down on the beach area over the steep hill on which the central part of the town was situated. In the town itself, walls were blown down and rubble from damaged buildings was carried to distances of 2-4 m, testifying to the destructive power of the surge. The people in the boat chambers died, if not from thermal shock, from lack of oxygen due to the inhalation of the densely ash-laden surge cloud.”(Walter)
In the PBS documentary titled “Secrets of the Dead: Herculaneum Uncovered”, which was originally aired in 2004, it states that “only now is the truth about its (Herculaneum’s) downfall finally coming to light”. By “the truth” in this phrase, as we later find out in the documentary, the writer is referring to the correction of the long held belief that everyone in Herculaneum managed to escape, thanks to the discovery of the skeletal remains of Herculaneum resident victims of the 79 AD eruption on the ancient beach. However the statement says “only now is the…” which implies that the discovery of skeletons on the ancient beach of Herculaneum was made just recently, whereas it was actually made in 1982 (Capasso,1), some 22 years before the documentary was first aired. In my research paper I would like to examine my primary source, which is the PBS documentary titled “Secrets of the Dead: Herculaneum Uncovered”, more closely for other misleading implications. This will require me to learn more about the tragic incident of 79 AD from other reliable sources and find out as much detail I can about Herculaneum’s final hours. This will allow me to find out what details have been left out in the documentary. I will then further analyze these differences to see if leaving them out dose make them more interesting or were they left out because of other reasons, for example time limitations.
To pursue my research I will first look for and read reliable online information on my topic during the following five days for which I will be utilizing online databases like Academic Search Premier (Ebsco) and CQ Researcher plus archive (CQ Press). In the next 12 days I will read through books I found in the Auraria Library tilted Herculaneum, Italy's buried treasure written by Joseph Jay Deiss and the Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire written by Matthew Bunson. This will leave me with 4 days to write up my Annotated Bibliography assignment, which is due on the 11th of July, 2007. Then, until the 25th of July I will complete my remaining Research logs. This will leave me with 8 days to write my final research paper and have it proofread before submitting it on the 3rd of August, 2007.
These two ancient Roman cities share a common tragic end which has become an iconic historical disaster of the region. (Bedser, min 5) Pompeii and Herculaneum were located right off shore of the Bay of Naples, in the western region of present day Italy, quite close to a volcano, Mount Vesuvius. (Bedser, min 5) In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted massively, completely burying both cities under the volcanic debris. (Bedser, min 5) They remained buried for more than 1600 years until they were finally discovered in the early eighteenth century. (Capasso, Luigi, Lancet, 1) This allowed these cities to remain much better preserved than other ancient Roman cities over the years. From the remains of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, we come to know a lot more about ancient Roman society. We learn about their architectural styles, building techniques, arts and crafts, lifestyles and even about their literature. Excavated and preserved parts of these two old cities attract a huge number of tourists as well as research teams from all over the world. Recently, Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) aired a documentary about Pompeii and Herculaneum as an episode of the Secrets of the Dead series. The documentary narrates the tragedy of 79 AD with details provided by experts reinforced through computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other film making techniques, quite frequently utilizing various clips of volcanic explosions. Although the documentary shows hard evidence with opinions from well known experts, facts obtained from other reliable sources prove that some of the implications made in the documentary still turn out to be quite misleading at the expense of making it more interesting for the public.
Pompeii’s first settlers are believed to be a group of Italic people known as the Oscans, arriving in the region by at least the 8th century B.C, (“Pompeii”) while the near by site Herculaneum is thought to have been first populated around the end of the 6th century B.C.( Walter, Stern, Kuppens, Peyster) It wasn’t until 89 B.C when the people of Herculaneum and Pompeii were given Roman citizenship despite previous control of the region by the Roman Empire. (“Pompeii”) Both Pompeii and Herculaneum were prosperous cities thanks to their natural resources and proximity to the Bay of Naples, making foreign trade easier. (“Pompeii”) “As Rome itself became more prosperous, its wealthy citizens looked to Pompeii and the Gulf of Naples as a relaxing vacation area. The shoreline of the Gulf became host to the splendid country houses of the most powerful people in the world, including emperors, court personages, and Roman aristocracy. It appeared that Pompeii and the surrounding villas had finally found the peace they had longed for.” (Walter)
The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. was quite an unexpected one for the Roman citizens of Pompeii and Herculaneum as no legacy of any previous eruption was past down, in fact it is believed that the citizens of these two cities had no idea that Mt. Vesuvius was actually a volcano. (Bedser, 15 min)About seventeen years before the eruption, an earthquake did occur in the region which is now believed to have been a sign of the upcoming eruption of Vesuvius. (Bedser, 15 min) The eruption is estimated to have begun somewhere around 1 pm on August 24, 79 AD. Within the following minutes, a huge column of gas and ashes, calculated to have been about ten miles high, rose above Mt. Vesuvius. (Bedser, 15 min) The wind then carried the thick cloud of airborne ash and other volcanic materials towards Pompeii on the SE side and while some citizens were still unaware of what had happened, pumice stone (a light kind of solidified lava) started falling all over the city. (Bedser, 15 min) Enveloped in the dark volcanic cloud, the day soon became as dark as night in Pompeii. As panic spread throughout the city, people fled or took refuge in their houses hoping that the storm would soon pass. (Bedser, 15 min) Unfortunately however, around 5 pm, rooftops started to collapse under the weight of the pumice and ash, which eventually entombed the entire city. (Bedser, 20 min)Herculaneum, being on the other side of Vesuvius, was safe allowing most of its 4000-5000 civilians to evacuate the city. (Bedser, 25 min) However, sometime around the first hour of 25th August 79 AD the first of a series of pyroclastic flows came down from Vesuvius towards Herculaneum. (Bedser, 15 min) A pyroclastic flow occurs after the eruption column of a volcano collapses; this causes a dense ash cloud along with superheated gases and other volcanic materials to hurdle down at quite high speeds from the top of the volcano(Bedser, 15 min), like an avalanche, which overwhelmed Herculaneum in probably no more than four minutes after starting its descent.(Walter) Although most of Herculaneum residents had managed to evacuate the city, hundreds were still assembled on the shore near the town. (Bedser, 50 min) Apparently, they became aware of the pyroclastic flow heading their way due to which they rushed for shelter in the boat chambers on the beach. (Capasso, 5) “It was here that they were killed instantly when the surge plunged down on the beach area over the steep hill on which the central part of the town was situated. In the town itself, walls were blown down and rubble from damaged buildings was carried to distances of 2-4 m, testifying to the destructive power of the surge. The people in the boat chambers died, if not from thermal shock, from lack of oxygen due to the inhalation of the densely ash-laden surge cloud.”(Walter)
In the PBS documentary titled “Secrets of the Dead: Herculaneum Uncovered”, which was originally aired in 2004, it states that “only now is the truth about its (Herculaneum’s) downfall finally coming to light”. By “the truth” in this phrase, as we later find out in the documentary, the writer is referring to the correction of the long held belief that everyone in Herculaneum managed to escape, thanks to the discovery of the skeletal remains of Herculaneum resident victims of the 79 AD eruption on the ancient beach. However the statement says “only now is the…” which implies that the discovery of skeletons on the ancient beach of Herculaneum was made just recently, whereas it was actually made in 1982 (Capasso,1), some 22 years before the documentary was first aired. In my research paper I would like to examine my primary source, which is the PBS documentary titled “Secrets of the Dead: Herculaneum Uncovered”, more closely for other misleading implications. This will require me to learn more about the tragic incident of 79 AD from other reliable sources and find out as much detail I can about Herculaneum’s final hours. This will allow me to find out what details have been left out in the documentary. I will then further analyze these differences to see if leaving them out dose make them more interesting or were they left out because of other reasons, for example time limitations.
To pursue my research I will first look for and read reliable online information on my topic during the following five days for which I will be utilizing online databases like Academic Search Premier (Ebsco) and CQ Researcher plus archive (CQ Press). In the next 12 days I will read through books I found in the Auraria Library tilted Herculaneum, Italy's buried treasure written by Joseph Jay Deiss and the Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire written by Matthew Bunson. This will leave me with 4 days to write up my Annotated Bibliography assignment, which is due on the 11th of July, 2007. Then, until the 25th of July I will complete my remaining Research logs. This will leave me with 8 days to write my final research paper and have it proofread before submitting it on the 3rd of August, 2007.
**********************************************************
Secrets of the Dead: Herculaneum Uncovered. Dir. Richard Bedser, PBS,
Denver, 2 May 2004
“Pompeii”, Minnesota State University, 18 June 2007,
< http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/europe/pompeii.html>
Finny Walter, James Peyster, Adam Stem, Nick Kuppens and “The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius”, 19th June, 2007,< http://abacus.bates.edu/~mimber/Rciv/Herculaneum/Vesuvius.html>
Capasso, Luigi, Lancet, “HERCULANEUM VICTIMS OF THE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS OF VESUVIUS IN 79 AD”, Academic Search Premier, 2 June 2007, < http://0-web.ebscohost.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=112&sid=b3deb7b8-107a-457a-9a8d-af8b11a50bd4%40sessionmgr104>
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