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1 On dangerousgroundODG Reader March 06 15/1/07 8:18 pm Page 1 ODG Reader March 06 31/1/07 11:15 pm Page 2 VOLCANOES introduction4 DISASTERSTRIKES account of an eruption at Pompeii6 POMPEIITODAY tourism in Pompeii8postcards from Pompeii9A DAY I NPOMPEII advertisements for activities in and around Pompeii103 CONTENTSODG Reader March 06 31/1/07 11:15 pm Page 3 eruption ofVesuviusVO L C A N O E SNot far under the surface of the Earth, it is further down you go inside the Earth, thehotter it becomes. Deep, deep down below ourfeet, it is so hot that even the rock melts and is nine timeshotter than boiling water. In places where the Earth ssurface is weak, this liquid rock can bubble up and burstthrough.

2 These weak spots are the world s fall into three groups, depending on how activethey are. Volcanoes which are erupting are called which show no signs of eruption are known asdormantor sleeping and, if they remain dormant for tensof thousands of years, they may be described as Reader March 06 31/1/07 11:16 pm Page 4 When we hear of a volcano erupting, we think of a tallcone-shaped mountain sending out clouds of ash and liquidrock called lava. In fact, volcanoes can be of differenttypes: some are broad and flat, many are under the sea,some pour out streams of red-hot lava, some create anexplosion that can be heard thousands of miles away, whileothers are quieter and gentler.

3 There are some volcanoes that can cause massivedestruction although they produce little or no lava at most well-known of this type is Mount vesuvius inItaly. This is what happened in the famous eruption ofVesuvius, which destroyed the town of Pompeii over 1900years midday on 24th August, vesuvius erupted, sending acloud of ash, pumice andother rock 20 kilometresinto the air. This coveredPompeii in 2 metres ofrubble but it did not midnight, the cloudcollapsed. It sent a surge ofash and hot gas mainlydown the western slope ofthe mountain, at a speedof 160 kilometres per the next morninganother surge of blisteringash and rock swept downthe slopes.

4 This time itcovered the town ofPompeii and burnt andsuffocated everyone there. Mt Vesuviustown ofPompeiiash andhot gasTHEERUPTION OFVESUVIUS, AD 795 ODG Reader March 06 31/1/07 11:16 pm Page 5In the first century AD, in the period of theRoman Empire, vesuvius had beendormant for hundreds of years. Themountain was green as farmers grew fig andolive trees on the slopes of the volcano andthe local people had become used to thetremors of earthquakes from time to the summer of AD 79 there had been morerumbling than usual but in the town ofPompeii and in the whole area surroundingthe volcano, most people went about theirdaily of them, a boy called Pliny, was 17 at thetime.

5 When the volcano erupted, he watchedfrom a nearby town as the earth shook and ablack cloud descended over the area. Pliny suncle, the commander of a nearby navalport, also saw the unusual cloud formingabove Mount vesuvius . He was not contentto stand by and watch. He wanted to get acloser look and set off to investigate with ascribe to whom he could dictate - Plin-eePompeii - Pom-payTacitus - Tass-i-tusVesuvius - Ves-oo-vee-usAs he was leaving, he received a message from his friend Rectina asking ifhe would help her. So he set out with several ships to observe thevolcano and try to rescue the people. Years later, Tacitus, a historian,was collecting information about the event.

6 Pliny wrote to him givinga vivid account of what he had seen and heard. Not only was he aneye-witness to the disaster, but Pliny also heard the stories told bysurvivors, some of whom had been rescued by his following is an extract from Pliny s letter to Tacitus:6 DISASTERSTRIKESODG Reader March 06 31/1/07 11:16 pm Page 6As my uncle was leaving the house, he was handed a messagefrom Rectina, whose house was at the foot of the mountainand whose escape was impossible except by boat. She wasterrified of the danger threatening her and implored him torescue her from her fate. He changed his plans, and what hehad begun in a spirit of inquiry, he completed as a gave orders for the ships to be launched and went on boardhimself with the intention of bringing help to many morepeople besides Rectina, for this lovely stretch of coast wasthickly populated.

7 He hurried to the place which everyone elsewas hastily leaving, steering his course straight for the dangerzone. He was entirely fearless, describing each moment of theeruption to be noted down exactly as he observed it. Asheswere already falling, hotter and thicker as the ships drew near,followed by bits of pumice and blackened stones, charred andcracked by the , suddenly they were in shallow water, and the shore wasblocked by the rubble from the a moment my uncle wondered whether to turn back, butwhen the helmsman advised this, my uncle refused, telling himthat Fortune stood by the courageous ..Later in hisletter toTacitus, Plinyrecords thathis uncle diedin from Latin7 ODG Reader March 06 31/1/07 11:16 pm Page 7 LOST AND FOUNDOn that fateful day in AD 79,the town nearest thevolcano was completelysmothered under a layer of ash androck.

8 This unusual blanketprotected the remains of the townof Pompeii for hundreds of it has been uncoveredand many fascinating discoverieshave been made. By studying theseremains experts have found outabout life in the area near thevolcano and about the day thevolcano erupted. They found scenespreserved exactly as the people hadleft them: tables laid for meals withloaves of bread, baskets of eggs andnuts, all now UNDER THREATAGAIN?Today, thousands of touristsflock to see the remains ofthis unique town, trappedin time. People are fascinated bythe opportunity to see what lifewas like two thousand years also make the difficult climbup Mount vesuvius to peer into thesmouldering huge number of visitors whovisit Pompeii every year is bringinga large set of problems.

9 Parts of theruins are being worn away just bythe large numbers of people whopass through. Furthermore, not allvisitors treat the site with has been vandalism, sometreasures have been stolen andsome people just don t realise thedanger of clambering over theremains both to themselves andto the ruins. One archaeologist hasgone as far as to describe what ishappening now as the seconddeath of Pompeii .On the facing page you can read two different postcards, written by tourists who visitedPompeii on the same day. These were the messages they sent TODAYODG Reader March 06 31/1/07 11:16 pm Page 8 Dear All, Italy, May 18thNature peaceful?

10 Forget it! MountVesuvius is the most threateningthing I ve ever seen. Yesterday, itwas huffing and puffing clouds ofsmoke. So it was closed to we were in Pompeii. The ruinsare impressive and feel as thoughthe Romans have only just you, I don t think the ruins willbe here for ever. I saw an idiothacking off and stealing a piece ofmosaic. I only took , NeenaPompeii, 19th MayHad a great day at Pompeii Roman villas, paintings, pots, evenfood preserved from the day the volcanocovered the town. Climbed up one of thewalls to get a bird s-eye view bit wobbly,but worth the effort. Had a great piece ofluck found a loose piece of mosaic tileand slipped it in my pocket as a souvenir no one noticed.