- 6/6/2025
Archeologists study of the doom of the Roman city of Pompeii tells a story that hangs over the residents of Naples Italy even today.
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00:01During the following program, look for NOVA's webmarkers which lead you to more information at our website.
00:08Tonight on NOVA, a notorious killer.
00:13For millions in its path, the clock is ticking.
00:18No volcano has left more chilling evidence of its lethal power than Vesuvius.
00:24Are there signs its long silence may be coming to an end?
00:28We are quite confident that the eruption is going to be an explosive eruption.
00:32Can scientists predict the next disaster in the deadly shadow of Vesuvius?
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01:38And by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.
01:43Naples, Italy.
01:57This ripe and teeming city is one of the most densely populated places in the world.
02:03A million people work here,
02:12play here,
02:17and love here.
02:23But they live in the shadow of a notorious killer,
02:28the volcano Vesuvius.
02:34One of the world's most lethal volcanoes,
02:38Vesuvius always lurks in the background,
02:41silent,
02:44menacing,
02:46waiting.
02:53For the people of the region,
02:56the clock is ticking.
03:19Pronto, saloperativa.
03:20If Vesuvius erupts,
03:24hundreds of thousands of people directly in its path
03:27will have to flee its fury.
03:42In Rome,
03:43the government prepares for a disaster of cataclysmic proportions.
03:47The probability that Vesuvius will erupt again in the future is very high.
03:55We don't know when it will erupt again,
03:58but certainly it will one day erupt again.
04:06With its unbroken history of deadly eruptions,
04:09there is little doubt that Vesuvius will kill again.
04:14Dozens of times in the last 2,000 years,
04:22Vesuvius has rent the Earth
04:23and spewed burning rivers of lava.
04:28In rarer, even more lethal eruptions,
04:35it has shot jets of superheated gas,
04:39ash and rock into the stratosphere.
04:43Falling back to Earth,
04:44these clouds cascade down the mountain in blistering avalanches,
04:49destroying everything in their path.
04:51For 50 years,
04:56Vesuvius has been quiet.
04:58But there are signs
04:59that its long silence
05:01may be coming to an end.
05:03We don't want to create any panic.
05:11We are making the maximum effort
05:13in order to monitor the volcano
05:15and to be able to understand in advance
05:20that the volcano is ready to erupt.
05:22When will this now-sleeping giant next erupt?
05:32This is the critical question
05:33for the people of this region.
05:36And no one wants to know the answer more
05:39than the scientists
05:40charged with monitoring the volcano.
05:44Lucia Civeta is director
05:46of the Vesuvius Observatory.
05:48I feel in some way terrified.
05:54I can imagine
05:56when the next eruption will occur
05:58because it will occur.
06:00It will happen.
06:10Every few months,
06:11Civeta and her team
06:13descend deep into the crater of the volcano.
06:18It is a difficult climb,
06:25but Civeta must get
06:27some critical measurements.
06:28Stop, stop.
06:30Okay.
06:30It will take the team
06:47two hours
06:48to reach the bottom of the crater.
06:54Frequent small rock slides
06:56make their long journey
06:58into the mouth of the volcano
06:59more treacherous.
07:07The team arrives
07:08at the floor of the crater.
07:12The steaming fumaroles
07:14or gas vents
07:15they find
07:16are evidence
07:17of a huge chamber
07:18of magma,
07:20a bubbling reservoir
07:21of molten volcanic material
07:23hidden miles underground.
07:24Before an eruption,
07:29the magma
07:29will begin
07:30to advance upwards
07:31causing an increase
07:32in temperature.
07:36A reading of
07:3688.3 centigrade,
07:38about 190 degrees Fahrenheit,
07:41shows no significant change.
07:43next they sampled
07:55the gases
07:55that seep
07:56from magma
07:56deep beneath the crater.
07:58The most prevalent
07:59are carbon dioxide
08:01and hydrogen sulfide.
08:03In large quantities,
08:10these gases
08:10can be poisonous.
08:12Here,
08:13in small amounts,
08:14they provide a window
08:15into the deep
08:16inner workings
08:17of Vesuvius.
08:21These samples
08:22will be sent off
08:23to a lab
08:24for analysis.
08:25For Civetta,
08:32an inexperienced climber,
08:35the 1,000 foot
08:36ascent
08:36is arduous.
08:46At the crater's rim,
08:49she is cheered on
08:51by Giovanni Orsi,
08:53fellow volcanologist,
08:54and her husband.
08:57These two
08:58spend a lot of time
09:00on volcanoes.
09:02We have some
09:03common problems,
09:05but sometimes
09:05it's tough.
09:07The risk you run
09:08is you only talk
09:09about volcanology.
09:14Civetta and Orsi
09:15share a huge
09:16responsibility
09:17to protect
09:19the people
09:19of this intensely
09:20volcanic area
09:21of southern Italy.
09:23While Civetta
09:24takes the lead
09:25on Vesuvius,
09:28Giovanni Orsi
09:28monitors another
09:29less well-known
09:31volcanic region.
09:38Ten miles
09:39to the west
09:40of Vesuvius
09:41are the
09:41flagrion fields.
09:4234,000 years ago,
09:48a massive volcanic
09:49eruption formed
09:50this eight-mile-wide
09:52depression,
09:53or caldera.
09:54And then,
09:55in the foreground
09:55down there
09:56is the Vesuvius,
09:57and between Vesuvius
09:58and the caldera
09:59is the town
10:00of Naples.
10:02At the rim
10:02of this caldera,
10:03only dimly visible,
10:05is the edge
10:05of Naples,
10:07well within the reach
10:08of some of the
10:0940 small volcanoes
10:10that border
10:10the flagrion fields.
10:13The most active
10:13of these
10:14is La Sulfa Terra,
10:17Sulfur Earth.
10:19This is the gateway
10:20to the underworld,
10:23at least according
10:24to the ancient Romans.
10:26It is claimed
10:27as the inspiration
10:28for Dante's Inferno.
10:29In 1314,
10:33Dante wrote,
10:34The foul-stretched marsh
10:36surrounds the dolorous city
10:38to its furthest bounds,
10:40without the dense murk,
10:42the bubbling mire,
10:44within the white-hot pulse
10:47of eating fire.
10:50This crater
10:51has been bubbling
10:52and steaming
10:53for thousands of years.
10:56Giovanni Orsi's team
10:57comes to La Sulfa Terra
10:59every week
11:00to assess the temperature
11:01and the composition
11:02of the volcanic gases.
11:07The temperature reading
11:09quickly rises
11:09to double that
11:10at Vesuvius,
11:13165 degrees centigrade,
11:15or 329 Fahrenheit.
11:20Orsi monitors
11:20the volcanic gases
11:21that escape from the Earth
11:23here at a higher rate
11:24as well.
11:26A tube runs
11:27from the fumarole
11:28to a glass chamber
11:30where sulfur dioxide
11:31and hydrogen sulfide gases
11:33are collected.
11:36The team pours ether
11:38over the chamber
11:39to cool the gas
11:40and keep it from expanding.
11:45They work quickly
11:46because these fumes
11:48can be noxious.
11:49recent readings
11:53of gas levels
11:54at La Sulfa Terra
11:55are three times higher
11:56than at Vesuvius
11:57and demand frequent inspections.
12:00These samples
12:01will be analyzed
12:02and compared
12:03to levels
12:04from previous weeks.
12:05We are inside
12:07the crater
12:08of the Sulfa Terra volcano.
12:11At the moment
12:12is the most active volcano.
12:15As you can see
12:15all the steam
12:16and also hot gas
12:18coming out
12:19of the ground.
12:21The steam
12:22and gases
12:23strongly suggest
12:24that the volcanic material
12:25hidden below this crater
12:27is volatile.
12:29And there is
12:29another warning sign.
12:31Frequent
12:32small earthquakes.
12:33We have had
12:34a lot of earthquakes
12:36and we have
12:38a variation
12:39of the temperature
12:40and composition
12:41of the fumaroles.
12:43All these signs
12:45can be interpreted
12:46as precursors
12:47for the eruption.
12:49If you look behind me
12:50you will see
12:52a lot of houses
12:53just on the rim
12:54of the volcano
12:55and this gives you
12:57a feeling
12:57of the risk
12:59of the volcanic risk
13:00in this area.
13:02In both areas
13:03here
13:03in the Campy
13:04Ferreira Caldera
13:04and the Vesuvius
13:05the volcanic risk
13:06is very high
13:07because of
13:08the very high
13:09number of people
13:10living in the area.
13:13We are almost
13:15two millions
13:16of people
13:17in this area.
13:23La Sulfa Terra
13:25is on the outskirts
13:26of Pozzuoli
13:27a city
13:28literally on the move.
13:29Here there is
13:31another warning sign
13:32of a possible eruption.
13:34As the magma chamber
13:35underground
13:36slowly rises
13:37it pushes the land
13:39upwards.
13:41The sea
13:42appears to fall
13:43but it is the town
13:45that is rising.
13:49Orsi surveys
13:50the harbor front.
13:52In the last 30 years
13:53the ground here
13:54has risen
13:55more than 11 feet.
13:59In the center
14:00of the town
14:01the ruins
14:02of Serapis
14:02an ancient marketplace
14:03reveal dramatic
14:05visual evidence
14:06of this kind
14:07of ground uplift.
14:09What is important
14:09from a volcanological
14:11point of view
14:12in this building
14:13is the three columns.
14:15The base
14:16of these columns
14:16are marked
14:17with burrows
14:18made by sea mollusks.
14:20Proof that
14:21since the columns
14:22were constructed
14:232,000 years ago
14:24they have been
14:25periodically
14:26submerged.
14:28It is a good record
14:29of the vertical
14:30movements
14:31of the area.
14:33The last eruption
14:34in this region
14:35was in 1538.
14:38Someday
14:39there will be
14:40another eruption
14:40only its timing
14:43is uncertain.
14:44The flagrion fields
14:49bordered by
14:50simmering
14:51La Sulfaterra
14:52and dozens
14:53of other craters
14:54is an active
14:55volcanic region.
14:57The ill-fated
14:58city of Naples
14:59sits smack
15:00between two
15:01volcanic threats
15:02the flagrion fields
15:04to the west
15:05and to the east
15:06the giant
15:08Vesuvius.
15:10In both regions
15:11the clock
15:12is ticking
15:13to an eruption.
15:16But when
15:17will it happen
15:18and how big
15:19will it be?
15:23Back on Vesuvius
15:25some people
15:26implore a patron saint
15:28to guard
15:28against the volcano's
15:29coming fury.
15:30But the team
15:39from the observatory
15:40prefers to rely
15:41on more
15:42scientific methods.
15:48They are searching
15:50for signs of
15:51ground uplift
15:52around Vesuvius.
15:56Today they visit
15:57one of 20 sites
15:58on the mountain
15:59to measure variations
16:00in gravity.
16:04If there is even
16:05the smallest
16:06ground uplift
16:07sensitive gravity
16:09readings will reveal
16:10it as a slight change
16:11in the density
16:12below the mountain
16:13surface.
16:22Today readings
16:23indicate no evidence
16:24of ground uplift.
16:29but there is one
16:33suspicious
16:34warning sign.
16:37Several hundred
16:38micro earthquakes
16:39occurred on
16:40Vesuvius
16:41in recent years
16:42making this
16:44the most active
16:44period in more
16:45than half a century.
16:47This probably
16:48represents
16:49normal background
16:50fluctuations.
16:52But could it be
16:54a precursor
16:55to an eruption?
16:55If the past
17:02foretells the future
17:03increased seismic
17:05activity
17:06might mean
17:07the worst.
17:0815 miles
17:22from modern
17:23Naples
17:23are the ruins
17:25of another
17:25Roman city
17:26Pompeii
17:28destroyed by
17:29Vesuvius
17:302,000 years ago.
17:34Here
17:35there is testimony
17:36to the power
17:37of the volcano
17:38walls crumbled
17:40an entire
17:42city
17:43vanquished
17:44hidden
17:48amidst
17:49the ruins
17:49is evidence
17:51of the warning
17:51signs
17:52that led up
17:53to that
17:53deadly
17:54eruption
17:54The historical
17:57record
17:58describes
17:59a massive
17:59earthquake
18:00in 62
18:01AD
18:01There are also
18:05signs that
18:06in the years
18:07and months
18:07that followed
18:08many other
18:09small tremors
18:10shook Pompeii
18:11There is evidence
18:16of repairs
18:17made to walls
18:17and frescoes
18:18including
18:192,000 year old
18:21piles of lime
18:22But the ancient
18:30Romans
18:31did not know
18:32that these
18:33earthquakes
18:34foreshadowed
18:35one of the worst
18:36volcanic disasters
18:37in all of history
18:39It happened
18:48on August 24th
18:5079 AD
18:52The day
18:55dawned clear
18:56and hot
18:57in Pompeii
18:58a jewel
19:00of the burgeoning
19:01Roman Empire
19:02Merchants
19:08and manufacturers
19:09prospered
19:10in the city
19:10of 20,000
19:11The region
19:15was rich
19:15with vineyards
19:16and orchards
19:17The early Romans
19:19were unaware
19:19of the price
19:20for this bounty
19:21They did not
19:22realize
19:23that the black
19:24fertile earth
19:25they cultivated
19:25was a legacy
19:27of the mountain
19:27to the west
19:28A volcano
19:29that spewed
19:31forth destruction
19:31every few
19:32hundred years
19:33So they thought
19:36little of the
19:37tremors
19:37that interrupted
19:38the morning's peace
19:39But later
19:40something went
19:41horribly wrong
19:43From across the bay
19:46a 17 year old
19:47youth watched
19:48as Mount Vesuvius
19:49turned into
19:50a fuming monster
19:51Later
19:54he recorded
19:55his observations
19:55A cloud appeared
19:58of unusual
19:59size and shape
20:00hot ash and pumice
20:07stones broke
20:08in upon them
20:09The people covered
20:15their heads
20:16with pillows
20:16the only defense
20:18against a shower
20:19of stones
20:19My mother
20:21beseeched me
20:22to make my escape
20:23in any manner
20:24I could
20:24You might have
20:26heard the shrieks
20:26of women
20:27the moans
20:28of children
20:28and the outcries
20:30of men
20:30A dark
20:32A dark and horrible
20:33cloud charged
20:34with combustible
20:35matter
20:35suddenly broke
20:36and set forth
20:37Some bewailed
20:46their own fate
20:46Others prayed
20:50to die
20:50The darkness
20:55that fell
20:56over the city
20:56would last
20:57for almost
20:582,000 years
20:59In the 18th century
21:07the men
21:08women
21:09and children
21:09who had been
21:10silenced
21:11in 79 A.D.
21:12were finally
21:13exhumed
21:14from their
21:15untimely graves
21:16During the excavations
21:22archaeologists
21:23created plaster casts
21:25around their
21:26skeletal remains
21:27capturing details
21:28of the precise
21:29moment
21:29of their death
21:30What can these
21:37victims reveal
21:38about the last
21:39hours of Pompeii
21:41Were they
21:48suffocated
21:48burned
21:51buried alive
21:53The remains
22:00of the more
22:00than 2,000 people
22:02found amidst
22:03the ruins
22:03offer clues
22:05to the savagery
22:06of Vesuvius
22:07and to its
22:08potential
22:09to kill again
22:10In destroying
22:15Pompeii
22:16Vesuvius
22:17also preserved
22:18it
22:18The vast ruins
22:20are a natural
22:21laboratory
22:22a moment
22:23frozen in time
22:25For volcanologists
22:29this crumbled
22:30city
22:31opens a window
22:32into the
22:32destructive force
22:33of one of
22:34history's
22:35most perplexing
22:35disasters
22:36When I first
22:40went to Pompeii
22:41in 1979
22:42I was struck
22:43by the fact
22:44that this
22:46important eruption
22:47perhaps the most
22:48famous eruption
22:48in history
22:49had really
22:51been neglected
22:52and not
22:53interpreted
22:54properly
22:54Harold
22:58Sigurdsson
22:59wanted to
23:00understand
23:00more
23:01about the
23:01eruption
23:01and the
23:04exact
23:04sequence
23:05of events
23:05that took
23:06the lives
23:06of so many
23:07The first
23:12step
23:13was to
23:13figure out
23:14exactly
23:15how
23:15the people
23:16of Pompeii
23:16were killed
23:17For insight
23:26into the events
23:27that destroyed
23:28Pompeii
23:28Sigurdsson
23:29turned to
23:30an ancient
23:31document
23:31the only
23:32known
23:33eyewitness
23:33account
23:34of 79
23:35AD
23:35The Pliny
23:38Letters
23:39written by
23:40the youth
23:41who had
23:41watched
23:41the eruption
23:42from across
23:43the bay
23:43of Naples
23:44From relative
23:49safety
23:50Pliny
23:51the nephew
23:52of a naturalist
23:52carefully noted
23:54the timing
23:54of the 18
23:55hour eruption
23:56the shape
23:58of the mushroom
23:59cloud
23:59the showers
24:02of volcanic
24:02ash
24:03and rock
24:03but one
24:06chilling detail
24:07had long
24:09been thought
24:09to be
24:10an exaggeration
24:11On the other
24:13side
24:14there was
24:14a dark
24:15and horrible
24:16cloud
24:16charged
24:17with combustible
24:18matter
24:18Not long
24:20after
24:21the cloud
24:22descended
24:22During the
24:24climates
24:24of the eruption
24:25Pliny
24:25Younger
24:26describes
24:27a black
24:27cloud
24:28that rolls
24:28down
24:29from the
24:29volcano
24:29and over
24:30the ocean
24:31Now
24:32to many
24:32scientists
24:33or to many
24:34volcanologists
24:35this would
24:35have seemed
24:36impossible
24:37until very
24:38recently
24:38It wasn't
24:40until they
24:41witnessed more
24:42contemporary eruptions
24:43of other volcanoes
24:44that scientists
24:45understood what
24:46Pliny had observed
24:482,000 years ago
24:49The dark
24:51and horrible
24:51cloud
24:52was probably
24:53what is now
24:54called
24:54a pyroclastic
24:56flow
24:57Mount St.
25:01Helens
25:011980
25:02Scientists
25:04watched
25:05as a blistering
25:06wave
25:06of hot
25:07ash
25:07rock
25:08sulfur dioxide
25:09and other
25:10gases
25:11curled
25:12laterally
25:12and downward
25:13at great
25:14velocities
25:15burning
25:16and destroying
25:17everything
25:17in its path
25:18El Chichon
25:25Mexico
25:261982
25:27A large
25:29pyroclastic
25:30eruption
25:30very much
25:31like Pliny
25:32had described
25:33First
25:34molten material
25:36mainly ash
25:37and rock
25:37fragments
25:38shot 20
25:39miles high
25:40to form
25:40a towering
25:41mushroom cloud
25:42Later
25:44when the
25:45energy
25:45of the blast
25:46was no longer
25:46strong enough
25:47to keep
25:47this dense
25:48column aloft
25:49it collapsed
25:51and cascaded
25:52down the mountain
25:53in convulsive
25:54waves
25:54superheated
25:59ash
26:00churned
26:00around heavier
26:01ground-hugging
26:02gas
26:02and rock
26:03in a racing
26:05burning
26:06avalanche
26:07pyroclastic
26:17pyroclastic flows
26:18have overtaken
26:19cars
26:20traveling at
26:2180 miles
26:22an hour
26:22they flattened
26:27entire villages
26:28and scorched
26:31everything
26:31and everyone
26:32caught in
26:33their path
26:34perhaps
26:36perhaps it was
26:36this kind
26:37of eruption
26:38that annihilated
26:39Pompeii
26:40a new
26:41science
26:42developed
26:43of the
26:44understanding
26:45of pyroclastic
26:46flows
26:46and it became
26:47obvious
26:48that
26:48similar processes
26:50had taken place
26:51in 79 AD
26:52but how well
26:54does the extensive
26:55archaeological record
26:57in Pompeii
26:57support this
26:59understanding
26:59of the 79 AD
27:01eruption
27:02anthropologist
27:05Machij and
27:05Renata
27:06Henneberg
27:06traveled
27:0710,000 miles
27:08from Australia
27:09to examine
27:10the remains
27:11of a family
27:12discovered in a
27:12house
27:13off one of
27:14Pompeii's
27:14main streets
27:15the Hennebergs
27:23return the
27:24skeletons
27:25excavated
27:25from two
27:26rooms here
27:27to the
27:27exact location
27:28and poses
27:29they held
27:30in the moment
27:31of their
27:32demise
27:32at this
27:38murder
27:39scene
27:40archaeological
27:41drawings
27:41are the
27:42chalk marks
27:42around the
27:43body on
27:43the street
27:44the right
27:47ulna was
27:47quite in
27:48place
27:49and articulated
27:50the position
27:52and condition
27:53of the
27:53skeleton
27:53offers clues
27:55to the
27:55cause of
27:56death
27:56so we
27:58can say
27:59with confidence
28:00that the
28:01entire
28:01person
28:02was
28:02buried
28:03here
28:04who
28:07were the
28:08people
28:08who lived
28:09here
28:09and died
28:10here
28:11why did
28:18they remain
28:19when so
28:20many others
28:21fled the
28:22city during
28:22the early
28:23hours of
28:23the eruption
28:24apparently
28:30the family
28:30decided to
28:32sit it
28:32out
28:33rather than
28:34to run
28:34and they
28:36locked
28:36themselves
28:36into
28:37those
28:37two
28:38strong
28:38bedrooms
28:39with
28:39probably
28:39very
28:40strong
28:40wooden
28:41doors
28:42and tried
28:43to simply
28:43wait out
28:45what will
28:45happen
28:46the elderly
28:47gentleman
28:48on the bed
28:48and the
28:50young boy
28:50tried to
28:52hold
28:52hands
28:53hanging on
28:54for their
28:55lives
28:56the volcanic
28:59ash came
28:59in
29:00and the
29:01air
29:02temperature
29:02rose
29:03the fumes
29:04the volcanic
29:05gases
29:05started coming
29:06in
29:07and these
29:07people
29:08suffocated
29:09we see
29:10the movements
29:11of their
29:12bodies
29:12the last
29:14intentions
29:15of those
29:16people
29:16who
29:17failed
29:18to sit
29:19it out
29:20and who
29:21succumbed
29:22to
29:22this rather
29:23dreadful
29:24but
29:25quite
29:25fast
29:26death
29:27protected
29:28by thick
29:29stone
29:30walls
29:30the family
29:31waited out
29:32the rock
29:32showers
29:33only to be
29:34suffocated
29:34later
29:35by volcanic
29:36gases
29:36and ash
29:37in the
29:40courtyard
29:40of this
29:41once grand
29:41residence
29:42the
29:43Hennebergs
29:43create a
29:44facial
29:44reconstruction
29:45of the
29:45patriarch
29:46of the
29:46ill-fated
29:47household
29:47first
29:49they take
29:50the dimensions
29:50of his
29:51features
29:51and the
29:52height
29:53of the
29:53orbit
29:54will be
29:5533
29:57a computer
29:59program
30:00turns these
30:01measurements
30:01into a
30:02vision of
30:03the face
30:03that once
30:04was
30:04there is
30:05no way
30:06to predict
30:06a future
30:07except to
30:08look back
30:08into the
30:09processes
30:09of the
30:10past
30:10we'll
30:11smooth it
30:11out
30:12later
30:13but
30:13it gives
30:14the
30:14overall
30:15impression
30:17and therefore
30:18we learn
30:19from the
30:20dead
30:20about
30:22our
30:22future
30:23as they
30:27flesh out
30:28these
30:29characters
30:29the story
30:32of
30:32Pompeii
30:33comes once
30:34more
30:34to
30:34life
30:34here
30:43was a
30:43large
30:43family
30:44of
30:44prosperous
30:44Romans
30:45unwilling
30:46or unable
30:47to flee
30:48their
30:48home
30:48and save
30:49themselves
30:50they
30:51succumbed
30:52to a
30:52horrendous
30:53end
30:53death
30:54by
30:55suffocation
30:55in a
30:56cloud
30:56of ash
30:57and gas
30:58but
31:00many
31:00of
31:00their
31:00neighbors
31:01suffered
31:01an
31:02even
31:02more
31:02grisly
31:03fate
31:03at
31:06an
31:06ongoing
31:07excavation
31:07site
31:08in
31:08Pompeii
31:09the
31:09mangled
31:10remains
31:10of
31:11two
31:11young
31:11women
31:12were
31:12found
31:12scattered
31:13in the
31:13street
31:13mowed
31:14down
31:15as they
31:15tried
31:15to
31:16escape
31:16the
31:18surge
31:18that
31:20encircled
31:20these
31:21women
31:21wrapped
31:22them
31:22in a
31:22cloud
31:22in which
31:23there
31:23was
31:23no
31:23possibility
31:24for
31:24them
31:24to
31:25breathe
31:25at
31:25all
31:25the
31:26women
31:27choked
31:27to
31:27death
31:28on
31:28the
31:28cloud
31:28of
31:29hot
31:29volcanic
31:29ash
31:30and
31:30gas
31:30but
31:31Vesuvius
31:32was
31:32not
31:32yet
31:33finished
31:33with
31:33them
31:33a
31:34moment
31:34later
31:35the
31:35heavier
31:35pyroclastic
31:36flow
31:37washed
31:37over
31:38Pompeii
31:38with
31:39the
31:39destructive
31:39force
31:40of a
31:40tidal
31:41wave
31:41the
31:42flow
31:47sliced
31:47this
31:47woman's
31:48cranium
31:48perfectly
31:49in
31:49half
31:49it
31:53scooped
31:53up
31:54shingles
31:54and
31:54beams
31:55and
31:57violently
31:57smashed
31:58them
31:58into
31:58her
31:58body
31:59as
31:59she
31:59lay
31:59on
31:59her
32:00side
32:00the
32:04force
32:05of
32:06this
32:06flow
32:07was
32:07incredible
32:07not only
32:10was
32:10half
32:11her
32:11cranium
32:11missing
32:12but her
32:15left arm
32:15and left
32:16leg
32:16were
32:16missing
32:17as
32:17well
32:17first
32:21she
32:21was
32:21suffocated
32:22then
32:23dismembered
32:24as she
32:24fled
32:24unprotected
32:25in the
32:26street
32:26eight
32:35eight miles
32:36from
32:36pompeii
32:37and on
32:37the
32:38western
32:38edge
32:38of
32:38vesuvius
32:39is
32:40herculaneum
32:41this
32:44ruined
32:45city
32:45offers
32:46more
32:46evidence
32:46of
32:47the
32:47force
32:47unleashed
32:48by
32:48the
32:4879
32:49AD
32:49eruption
32:50the
32:53metropolis
32:53of
32:545000
32:54was
32:55once
32:55a
32:55resort
32:56for
32:56roman
32:56war
32:57heroes
32:57and
32:57nobility
32:58in
33:01herculaneum
33:02named
33:03for
33:03the
33:03mythic
33:04hercules
33:04are
33:07the
33:07relics
33:07of
33:07opulent
33:08villas
33:08and
33:09grand
33:09roman
33:09baths
33:11here
33:12too
33:12are
33:12the
33:12remnants
33:13of
33:13a
33:13pyroclastic
33:14flow
33:14of
33:15incredible
33:15power
33:16a
33:20heavy
33:20stone
33:20basin
33:21rammed
33:21across
33:22a
33:22room
33:22a
33:25monster
33:25wave
33:26of
33:26searing
33:27ash
33:27and
33:27rock
33:28that
33:28engulfed
33:28everything
33:29in
33:29its
33:29path
33:30only
33:35six
33:35skeletons
33:36were
33:36found
33:37in
33:37the
33:37blanket
33:37of
33:37volcanic
33:38debris
33:38that
33:39covered
33:39the
33:39city
33:39and
33:41for
33:41centuries
33:42archaeologists
33:43believed
33:44that
33:44herculaneum
33:45citizens
33:45had
33:46escaped
33:46then
33:50in
33:501982
33:51a
33:53worker
33:53found
33:54a
33:54chamber
33:54buried
33:55near
33:55the
33:55old
33:56beach
33:56front
33:56in
34:07and
34:08around
34:08these
34:09chambers
34:09hundreds
34:11of
34:11skeletons
34:12many
34:14with
34:14ghastly
34:15burn
34:16marks
34:16were
34:17exhumed
34:17from
34:18deep
34:18deposits
34:19of
34:19ash
34:19and
34:20earth
34:20in his library
34:44of skulls
34:45physical
34:46anthropologist
34:47Luigi
34:47Capasso
34:48examines
34:49the
34:49remains
34:49of a
34:50young
34:50woman
34:50found
34:51in
34:51the
34:51seaside
34:52chamber
34:52Capasso
34:55calls
34:56skeleton
34:56in E52
34:57the
34:58baby
34:59never
34:59born
34:59for
35:01at
35:01her
35:01death
35:01this
35:02woman
35:02was
35:02seven
35:03months
35:03pregnant
35:03her
35:11her
35:11skull
35:12is
35:12scrutinized
35:13for
35:13clues
35:13to
35:13the
35:14exact
35:14nature
35:14of
35:15the
35:15fate
35:15that
35:15befell
35:16her
35:16and
35:16her
35:17unborn
35:17child
35:18under
35:21a
35:21microscope
35:21he
35:22finds
35:22a few
35:232,000
35:23year
35:24old
35:24hairs
35:25a
35:27surprise
35:27because
35:28the
35:29hair
35:29of
35:29most
35:29of
35:29the
35:30victims
35:30was
35:30incinerated
35:31by
35:31a
35:32burst
35:32of
35:32heat
35:32Vesuvius
35:36branded
35:37many
35:37skeletons
35:38with
35:38unique
35:39black
35:39scorch
35:40marks
35:40in
35:44his
35:44post-mortem
35:45Capasso
35:46and
35:46his
35:46assistant
35:47painstakingly
35:48mapped
35:48the
35:48burn
35:49patterns
35:49in
35:50order
35:50to
35:50understand
35:51the
35:51nature
35:51and
35:52magnitude
35:52of
35:53the
35:53heat
35:53source
35:54that
35:54charred
35:54these
35:55bones
35:55this
36:00person
36:00in
36:01the
36:01moment
36:01in
36:01which
36:02the
36:02burst
36:02of
36:02heat
36:03arrived
36:03has
36:04his
36:04entire
36:05face
36:05exposed
36:06to
36:06the
36:06highest
36:07temperature
36:07at
36:09the
36:09same
36:10time
36:10there
36:10is
36:11a
36:11well
36:11defined
36:11difference
36:12between
36:12the
36:13right
36:13hand
36:13and
36:14the
36:14left
36:15hand
36:15this
36:18makes
36:18you
36:18think
36:19that
36:19the
36:19man
36:19tried
36:19to
36:20defend
36:20himself
36:20from
36:21the
36:21burst
36:22of
36:22heat
36:22maybe
36:23putting
36:24up
36:24the
36:25right
36:25forearm
36:25and
36:26hand
36:26to
36:26protect
36:27himself
36:27but
36:33there
36:33was
36:34no
36:34escape
36:34for
36:35the
36:35people
36:35of
36:35herculaneum
36:36scorched
36:37and
36:37suffocated
36:38in the
36:38burning
36:38surge
36:39cloud
36:39and
36:40then
36:40buried
36:40under
36:41a
36:41mountain
36:41of
36:42pyroclastic
36:42debris
36:43the
36:48ancient
36:48romans
36:48were
36:49witness
36:49to
36:50one
36:50of
36:50the
36:50most
36:50terrifying
36:51natural
36:52disasters
36:52of
36:53all
36:53time
36:54the
36:56gruesome
36:57fate
36:57that
36:58befell
36:58them
36:58offers
36:59a rare
37:00look
37:00at
37:00the
37:01complex
37:01chamber
37:02of
37:02horrors
37:02of
37:04death
37:04by
37:04volcano
37:05but
37:10does
37:10their
37:10demise
37:11foretell
37:11the
37:12toll
37:12of
37:12Vesuvius
37:13future
37:13eruptions
37:14miles
37:21from
37:22the
37:22human
37:22remains
37:23and
37:23ruins
37:23of
37:23Pompeii
37:24and
37:24herculaneum
37:25a
37:26record
37:26of
37:26the
37:26eruption
37:27of
37:2779
37:27AD
37:28is
37:28permanently
37:29inscribed
37:30in the
37:30walls
37:31of
37:31a
37:31quarry
37:32harold
37:40or
37:40sigurdsson
37:40travels
37:41here
37:41to
37:41study
37:42the
37:42layers
37:42of
37:42rock
37:43deposits
37:43left
37:44by
37:44that
37:44eruption
37:45each
37:46layer
37:46is
37:46like
37:47the
37:47leaf
37:47in
37:47the
37:47book
37:48you
37:50can
37:50see
37:50the
37:51strata
37:51the
37:51layers
37:52and
37:52the
37:52story
37:52that
37:53the
37:53layers
37:53were
37:53offering
37:54us
37:54the
37:56rock
37:56layers
37:56here
37:57from
37:57bottom
37:58to
37:58top
37:58are
37:59a
37:59chronology
38:00of
38:00the
38:00infernal
38:0118
38:01hours
38:02that
38:02destroyed
38:03Pompeii
38:03at
38:05this
38:06locality
38:06we
38:06have
38:06a
38:07fairly
38:07complete
38:08section
38:08of
38:09the
38:09volcanic
38:10deposit
38:10from
38:1179
38:11AD
38:12we
38:12started
38:13the
38:13base
38:13with
38:13a
38:13Roman
38:14soil
38:14beautiful
38:15rich
38:15soil
38:16and
38:17that
38:17is
38:17overlaid
38:18by
38:18this
38:182
38:19centimeter
38:19layer
38:19which
38:20is
38:20the
38:20first
38:20explosion
38:21probably
38:22the
38:22night
38:22before
38:23the
38:23main
38:23eruption
38:24towards
38:25the
38:25upper
38:26part
38:26of
38:26this
38:26layer
38:27we
38:27see
38:27that
38:27the
38:27permit
38:27is
38:28getting
38:28darker
38:28and
38:29it's
38:29starting
38:29to
38:29begin
38:30to
38:31form
38:31the
38:31gray
38:31pumice
38:32and
38:33then
38:33that
38:33is
38:34overlaid
38:34by
38:34here
38:35by
38:35a
38:35shirt
38:35this
38:36dark
38:36gray
38:36layer
38:37that
38:38doesn't
38:38look
38:38very
38:39conspicuous
38:41is
38:41actually
38:42the
38:42most
38:42deadly
38:42part
38:43of
38:43the
38:43eruption
38:43so
38:44if
38:45there
38:45had
38:45been
38:45any
38:46people
38:46at
38:47this
38:47locality
38:48they
38:48would
38:48have
38:48been
38:48killed
38:49at
38:49this
38:49particular
38:50event
38:50right
38:50here
38:51this
38:52indelible
38:53geological
38:53record
38:54correlates
38:55precisely
38:55with
38:56deposits
38:56from
38:56contemporary
38:57eruptions
38:58like
38:58Mount
38:58Saint
38:58Helens
38:59and
38:59El
39:00Chichon
39:00proof
39:01that
39:02what
39:02occurred
39:02in
39:0279
39:03AD
39:03was
39:04a
39:05pyroclastic
39:05eruption
39:06now
39:10geology
39:11archaeology
39:12and history
39:13come together
39:14to paint
39:15a detailed
39:16picture
39:16of the
39:17death
39:17of
39:17Pompeii
39:18and
39:19Herculaneum
39:19at
39:21noon
39:21on
39:22August
39:2224th
39:2379
39:24AD
39:24the
39:27peak
39:28of
39:28Vesuvius
39:29explodes
39:30propelling
39:30a 12
39:31mile
39:31high
39:32column
39:32into
39:32the
39:32stratosphere
39:33at
39:34twice
39:34the
39:34speed
39:34of
39:35sound
39:35for
39:38the
39:38next
39:3812
39:38hours
39:39pumice
39:40and
39:40ash
39:40fall
39:41from
39:41this
39:41cloud
39:42onto
39:42Pompeii
39:43but
39:44a
39:44westerly
39:45wind
39:45protects
39:46Herculaneum
39:46when
39:56the
39:56material
39:57becomes
39:57too
39:57heavy
39:58the
40:01massive
40:02column
40:02begins
40:03to
40:03collapse
40:04a
40:06giant
40:07cloud
40:07of
40:07hot
40:08ash
40:08and
40:08gas
40:09surges
40:10down
40:10the
40:10western
40:10flank
40:11of
40:11the
40:11volcano
40:11engulfing
40:13herculaneum
40:13scorching
40:14and
40:15suffocating
40:15its
40:16people
40:16immediately
40:18it is
40:19followed
40:19by a
40:20ground
40:20hugging
40:20flow
40:21of
40:21heavier
40:22ash
40:22and
40:22rock
40:23which
40:23buries
40:24the
40:24city
40:248
40:33miles
40:33away
40:33Pompeii
40:34is
40:35unaware
40:35of
40:35the
40:36fate
40:36of
40:36its
40:36neighbors
40:36a
40:40series
40:40of
40:41surges
40:41and
40:41flows
40:42on
40:42the
40:42eastern
40:42flank
40:43of
40:43vesuvius
40:43does
40:44not
40:45reach
40:45the
40:45city
40:45but
40:47in
40:47the
40:47early
40:48morning
40:48of
40:48august
40:4925th
40:49a
40:50surge
40:50of
40:50toxic
40:51gas
40:51overcomes
40:52Pompeii
40:53and
40:53asphyxiates
40:54all
40:54who
40:54remained
40:55the
40:56flow
40:56of
40:56rock
40:57and
40:57ash
40:57that
40:57follows
40:58knocks
40:58down
40:58buildings
40:59and
41:00buries
41:00the
41:00dead
41:00eventually
41:02the
41:03city
41:03is
41:04completely
41:04obliterated
41:05the
41:11crumbled
41:11cities
41:12of
41:12herculaneum
41:13and
41:13pompeii
41:14were
41:14rediscovered
41:15300
41:15years ago
41:16and
41:17today
41:17are still
41:18being dug
41:18out
41:18from the
41:19deep
41:19volcanic
41:19blanket
41:20that
41:20engulfed
41:21them
41:21since
41:2679
41:27AD
41:27Vesuvius
41:28has had
41:29dozens
41:29of other
41:30eruptions
41:30the
41:32last
41:32large
41:33pyroclastic
41:34eruption
41:34was
41:35in
41:351631
41:36thousands
41:40ran
41:41for their
41:41lives
41:42many
41:44didn't
41:44make
41:45it
41:45after
41:51such
41:51large
41:52eruptions
41:53Vesuvius
41:54enters
41:55a
41:55repose
41:56period
41:56but
41:57even
41:58in
41:58repose
41:59the
41:59volcano
42:00is
42:00not
42:00sleeping
42:01it
42:02is
42:02building
42:02up
42:03a
42:03reservoir
42:03of
42:04molten
42:04material
42:04deep
42:05below
42:05the
42:06crater
42:06these
42:08periods
42:09of
42:09repose
42:10are
42:10punctuated
42:10by
42:11effusive
42:12eruptions
42:12surges
42:14of hot
42:14lava
42:15and
42:15sometimes
42:16burning
42:16ash
42:17the
42:19last
42:19of
42:20these
42:20effusive
42:21eruptions
42:21was
42:22in
42:221944
42:23the
42:24second
42:24world
42:25war
42:25raged
42:26when
42:26Vesuvius
42:26put
42:27on
42:27that
42:27show
42:28as
42:30lava
42:30crept
42:31into
42:31the
42:31town
42:31of
42:32San
42:32Sebastiano
42:33allied
42:34troops
42:34evacuated
42:35the
42:35inhabitants
42:45san sebastianu has been rebuilt atop and around the lava flow that destroyed it more than 50 years ago
43:01san sebastianu has been rebuilt atop and around the lava flow that destroyed it more than 50 years ago
43:14since then
43:17Vesuvius has been eerily quiet
43:21but the people here realize that the threat has not disappeared
43:33that the volcano might be gearing up for an even bigger eruption
43:39the flanks of Vesuvius bear deep scars from the eruption of 44
43:46to better understand the behavior of the volcano director of the vesuvius observatory lucia civeta comes here to study its past
43:57the past
43:59teaches us a lot of things
44:02to study and to try to improve the knowledge of the past history of the volcanoes to understand its future behaviors
44:11this is the major responsibilities of the vesuvius observatory
44:17was the
44:181944 eruption the end of a cycle?
44:22Or does it mark the beginning of a new cycle of larger more violent eruptions like that of 1631 or even
44:3079 a.d?
44:32Civeta examines remnants of the past eruptions to search for signs of what Vesuvius will do next
44:41And there are other clues to the future behavior of the volcano
44:46Somewhere deep beneath Vesuvius
44:52is the magma chamber
44:56This is the reservoir where molten material collects
45:01Above the chamber is the critical pathway to the surface
45:05the conduit
45:06The size and location of the magma chamber and the condition of this conduit hold vital information about the future behavior of the volcano
45:15A team of geophysicists from the University of Naples
45:25has the job of mapping
45:27Vesuvius' deep uncharted
45:29inner space
45:30They've come to the volcano to investigate the scale of its next eruption
45:40Will it be effusive with lava as in 1944 or explosive with pyroclastic flows of gas, rock and hot ash as in 79 a.d?
45:50Domenico Patella and his team use the conductivity of the earth to image the volcano
46:01They shoot electrical currents from a portable transmitter to a receiving station
46:06The receiver records measurements of the distance these currents travel
46:16and the resistance encountered
46:18The team gather similar soundings from a grid of sites
46:24to build a database about the core of the Vesuvius
46:35Back in his lab
46:36Patella analyzes measurements from recent fieldwork
46:40His research suggests that there is a medium-sized magma chamber three to six miles below the crater
46:48But there is one heart-stopping finding
46:50The team identifies a rock plug at the top of the conduit
47:01Other experiments confirm this alarming discovery
47:09This obstruction in the conduit
47:10the pathway from the magma chamber to the crater
47:13is serious news for Naples
47:16I make an analogy between a bottle of champagne and the activity of a volcano
47:30In a bottle of champagne, the liquid resides with lots of gas under pressure
47:37When the pressure is high and the cork pops
47:39we have an explosive outpouring of liquid
47:41This new finding leads scientists at the observatory to a very somber conclusion
47:50So now the conduit is obstructed
47:53The magma chamber is deep
47:55I think there is a high probability that the next eruption will be an explosive eruption
48:00The kind of eruption that we expect is so violent and so quick in its evolution
48:12We are quite confident
48:14very likely that the eruption is going to be an explosive eruption
48:17In my opinion, the longer the repulse period
48:19or the longer the dormancy period
48:21the greater likelihood of a very very large eruption
48:27Perhaps an eruption on the scale of 1631
48:31or even 79 A.D.
48:45Photographs of victims of contemporary eruptions
48:47are compared to the human remains in Pompeii
48:52by a doctor on a gruesome mission
49:03Peter Baxter has witnessed the many ways a massive eruption with pyroclastic flows can kill
49:11He calculates Vesuvius' casualty projections
49:15There is likely to be first of all an area of total destruction
49:19close to the volcano
49:23Further out another zone would be where the buildings and people would be
49:28under extreme temperatures from the flow
49:31and again the risk to life would be very great
49:36But there's a third zone further out from the volcano
49:39which could involve a large area where the effects would be not so much from heat
49:44but from the high concentration of particles which could asphyxiate people
49:50and cause lung injury
49:54650,000 people live in the death zones around the volcano
50:00The only way to protect people is an evacuation of this person from the area where they live
50:12before the onset of the eruption
50:15But because the warning signs can begin months or even years before an eruption
50:20it is difficult to know for certain when one is imminent
50:24Few understand the problem this presents as intimately as Franco Barbary
50:28The major difficulty here and on any other volcano in the world
50:34is that we don't have any capability of assessing the precise moment of the eruption
50:41In 1985 Barbary traveled to Colombia to help monitor another restless volcano
50:48Nevada del Ruiz
50:52He and others proposed a plan to move thousands of people out of its path
50:59A few weeks after his return to Italy
51:01Barbary received a letter from the Colombian authorities thanking him for his proposals
51:05which they had not yet implemented
51:09The letter arrived one week after the volcano erupted
51:19Rescue teams were able to save some people
51:21But thousands more perished
51:28But thousands more perished
51:30Well, the Nevada del Ruiz
51:44Well, the Nevada del Ruiz tragedy
51:48was certainly
51:49one of the worst experiences I personally had
52:03This is a terrible experience
52:07Should this measure have been taken
52:10would have saved the nearly 25,000 persons that lost their life
52:16Barbary's sobering personal experience fuels his drive to protect greater Naples
52:25from not one but two menacing volcanic regions
52:30Vesuvius and the flagrian fields
52:34He now spearheads a new emergency evacuation plan
52:38It is intended to protect the communities directly in the volcano's line of fire
52:46It is intended to protect the people out of the volcano
52:52Under Barbary's leadership the ministry for civil protection prepares for the worst
52:59They know there is high probability that the next eruption will be explosive and immense
53:07They know more than half a million people live in the path of the killer volcano
53:11And they know that to pinpoint the exact timing of the eruption is nearly impossible
53:19Based on the assumption that it will take seven days to evacuate
53:24It is their job to sound the alarm and begin the massive exodus
53:28To evacuate the region on mass to order people to leave homes businesses and large sections of the city empty
53:39To shut down commerce industry to tear apart the daily lives of so many is almost unthinkable
53:48But the alternative is even worse
53:51As the giant Vesuvius begins to yield the secrets of its dark past and deep inner workings
54:02Scientists try desperately to predict its future
54:08For it is not a question of if Vesuvius will erupt again
54:12Only when
54:28Can evacuation plans work in time on nova's website find out about one that succeeded in saving thousands of lives
54:42To order this show for nineteen ninety five plus shipping and handling all one eight hundred two five five nine four two four
55:04And to learn more about how science can solve the mysteries of our world ask about our many other nova videos
55:12To be continued...
55:14To be continued...
55:16To be continued...
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