So the archaeologists think that, after the destruction of 79 A.D., some survivors returned to Pompeii and found their homes half-buried in ash. They tried recover their belongings by digging underground, and some apparently attempted to rebuild their lives in their old homes, because they had nowhere else to go.
While their efforts ultimately proved to be futile, they did leave some historical artifacts behind (e.g. bread oven entirely made of salvaged materials), and the archaeologists recently unearthed them.
lostlogin 117 days ago [-]
It’s not hard to imagine people mining the ruins for valuables.
Drunkfoowl 117 days ago [-]
We are doing it right now :).
benwills 118 days ago [-]
For those interested, there's a new set of hour-long videos on the PBS site that has more about the recent Pompeii excavations.
IIRC the first explosion of 79 AD didn't bury the Pompeii completely. (It did bury Herculaneum, and much deeper so.) It was another explosion around the time of collapse of the Western Roman Empire that finished the job and hid the remaining structures from human view.
dboreham 117 days ago [-]
The 79 eruption buried the first floor. Upper floors (if they existed) were still visible. Over time the upper floors were demolished to scavenge the stones to build other villages in the area. So when the site was "rediscovered " in modern times it was the first floor that could be excavated.
ggm 117 days ago [-]
Volcanic ash is highly productive and at the very least you would think latifundia would be there. If opportunistically you can find an old water cistern and turn it into an oven, why not?
Modern day Indonesian and Philippines and Pac rim Island farmers don't stay away from volcanoes any longer than they have to. Mud flows different. Ash? That's plantable. And tuff forms, you can build with it.
Intralexical 117 days ago [-]
I find this surprising, because my impression was that complex biology requires pioneer species to spend some time making "fresh" geology from the earth inhabitable first if there isn't already an established ecosystem.
Why is volcanic ash so productive? Is it the result of coincidence? Adaptation? Some resource cycle?
ggm 116 days ago [-]
Bio available trace elements and loose structure. Stuff you find in fertiliser is typically rich in volcanic ash. And lack of competition because its virgin soil. The coloniser species are what happens without human intervention.
lostmsu 116 days ago [-]
On Hawaii or Iceland the lava riverbeds stay barren for decades. I think the parent is right.
aurizon 118 days ago [-]
looters would dig holes at known rich villas?
rg2004 118 days ago [-]
How would anyone be able to afford anything if all their possessions were under hardened magma
https://pompeiisites.org/e-journal-degli-scavi-di-pompei/la-...
So the archaeologists think that, after the destruction of 79 A.D., some survivors returned to Pompeii and found their homes half-buried in ash. They tried recover their belongings by digging underground, and some apparently attempted to rebuild their lives in their old homes, because they had nowhere else to go.
While their efforts ultimately proved to be futile, they did leave some historical artifacts behind (e.g. bread oven entirely made of salvaged materials), and the archaeologists recently unearthed them.
There are four so far. Not sure if there will be more: https://www.pbs.org/show/pompeii-the-new-dig/
Modern day Indonesian and Philippines and Pac rim Island farmers don't stay away from volcanoes any longer than they have to. Mud flows different. Ash? That's plantable. And tuff forms, you can build with it.
Why is volcanic ash so productive? Is it the result of coincidence? Adaptation? Some resource cycle?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii