THE ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS IN A.D. 79AND THE DEATH OF GAlUS PLINIUS SECUNDUS

On 24 August A.D. 79 Vesuvius erupted, burying neighbouring Pompeii in ashes, stones and pumice, Herculaneum in volcanic mud, and Stabiae in ashes. Thousands of people lost their lives in this disaster. This was the second recorded eruption, the first being on 5 February A.D. 63.1 In the centuries thereafter Vesuvius has erupted nearly 50 times, most recently during the Allied invasion in 1944. Due to its inactivity the past 53 years, this volcano is at present the primary geological worry of Europe because of its potential explosivity: c. 1,5 million people live in the vicinity of the mountain.