Investigation of Human Remains of Pompeii

Introduction

Natural catastrophes are some of the worse ways people die and has been around for ages. Whether or not you believe that dinosaurs extinctic from volcanos or a meteor, it’s been around, and it happens. From the moment it all happens, humans from the future will discover and search for the truth. The Human remains of Pompeii continue to be a topic of discussion for archaeologists.

The city known as Pompeii, located in Italy, was struck with disaster when a volcano erupted, and it belted the neighboring city. According to National Geographic, flying debris hitting the city was the premature catastrophe, but once the eruption occurred, the fatalities increased. Learning and discovering new things everyday about the volcano, will be interesting to see as archaeologists continue to try and answer questions that still remain of the Human remains of Pompeii.

Topic analysis

The history of Pompeii remains an interesting topic of discussion. Today Pompeii Italy stands tall as it carries important ancient history. The city that remains shows the likelihood of ancient roman life, which has been discussed a lot this semester. The city still stands today as the whole city has been dug up and preserved.  Italian Pompei, preserved ancient Roman city in Campania, Italy, 14 miles southeast of Naples, at the southeastern base of Mount Vesuvius.

From being buried for almost 2000 years, Pompeii has been revived from diggers who have the city of Pompeii a ancient showcase. The volcano eruption preserved the city as well everything in it, such as bodies, the whole city and all different kind of items that are aiding archaeologists what ancient roman life was like back then.

The city has brought the idea supporting ancient life. From neighbors, roads, shops and restaurants, and as well as religion. Daily life in society provided facts that support roman life.  Just after midday on August 24, fragments of ash, pumice, and other volcanic debris began pouring down on Pompeii, quickly covering the city to a depth of more than 9 feet (3 meters) and causing the roofs of many houses to fall in.

Being the sites of one of the most roman archaeology sites, the excavation has uncovered a bunch of objects. The site is an archaeological time capsule, known for containing almost perfectly preserved frescoes, mosaics, graffiti and remains of food that unlock the everyday features of life in a Roman town (National Geographic). Objects buried beneath Pompeii were well-preserved for almost 2,000 years as the lack of air and moisture allowed little to no deterioration. However, once exposed, Pompeii has been subject to both natural and man-made forces, which have rapidly increased deterioration.

Weathering, erosion, light exposure, water damage, poor methods of excavation and reconstruction, introduced plants and animals, tourism, vandalism and theft have all damaged the site in some way. Two-thirds of the city has been excavated, but the remnants of the city are rapidly deteriorating. Furthermore, during World War II many buildings were badly damaged or destroyed by bombs dropped in several raids by the Allied forces. The concern for conservation has continually troubled archaeologists. The ancient city was included in the 1996 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund, and again in 1998 and in 2000.

In 1996 the organization claimed that Pompeii 'desperately need[ed] repair' and called for the drafting of a general plan of restoration and interpretation. The organization supported conservation at Pompeii with funding from American Express and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Today, funding is mostly directed into conservation of the site; however, due to the expanse of Pompeii and the scale of the problems, this is inadequate in halting the slow decay of the materials.

A 2012 study recommended an improved strategy for interpretation and presentation of the site as a cost-effective method of improving its conservation and preservation in the short term. In June 2013, UNESCO declared: If restoration and preservation works “fail to deliver substantial progress in the next two years,” Pompeii could be placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

By the 1st century AD, Pompeii was one of several towns near the base of the volcano, Mount Vesuvius. The area had a substantial population of roughly between 12,000 and 15,000, which had grown prosperous from the region's renowned agricultural fertility. Many of Pompeii's neighboring communities, most famously Herculaneum, also suffered damage or destruction during the 79 eruption.

A multidisciplinary volcanological and bio-anthropological study of the eruption products and victims, merged with numerical simulations and experiments, indicates that at Pompeii and surrounding towns heat was the main cause of death of people, previously believed to have died by ash suffocation. The results of the study, published in 2010, show that exposure to at least 482 °F hot surges at a distance of 6 miles from the vent was enough to cause instant death, even if people were sheltered within buildings. The people and buildings of Pompeii were covered in up to 12 different layers of tephra, in total 82 feet deep, which rained down for about six hours (Pierpaolo).

Mount Vesuvius is still one of the most dominant and active volcanoes today. Although it’s las eruption was in 1944, it is said to be under 24-hour constant surveillance because of the neighboring cities that are there today that contain 3 million people living there. The eruption in the first century had 21 miles high of cloudy ash and thermac gases in the air. According to Express news, “It released 100,000 times more thermal energy than the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”. “The African plate is being forced downwards in a process called subduction” which is why the volcano is still very active.

Pompeii Italy will go down as one of the horrific events to happen to a functioning city who took an eruption for the worse. It’s amazing to see how it just disappeared and wasn’t discovered for almost 2000 years later. Pompeii Italy is now just a tourist site.

Works Cited

1. Lorenzi, Rossella. “Pompeii Victims' Bodies Revealed in Scans: Photos.” Seeker, Seeker, 8 Oct. 2015, https://www.seeker.com/pompeii-victims-bodies-revealed-in-scans-photos-1770334701.html.
2. “Mount Vesuvius Didn't Kill Everyone in Pompeii. Where Did the Survivors Go?” LiveScience, Purch, https://www.livescience.com/64854-where-pompeii-refugees-fled.html.
3. Petrone, Pierpaolo. “Did Vesuvius Vaporize Its Victims? Get the Facts.” How Did the Vesuvius Eruption Kill People in Pompeii?, 16 Oct. 2018, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/10/news-pompeii-deaths-vesuvius-vaporized-skulls-exploded-chemistry/.
4. Jashemski, Wilhelmina Feemster. “Pompeii.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 7 Nov. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/place/Pompeii.
5. Hoare, Callum. “Mount Vesuvius: Why ACTIVE Volcano Is under 24-Hour Surveillance as Magma RISES.” Express.co.uk, Express.co.uk, 4 June 2019, https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1136125/mount-vesuvius-active-volcano-surveillance-magma-naples-italy-pompeii-spt.