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00:00Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
00:30The explosion buried the gorgeous ancient towns, Pompeii and Herculaneum, under a blanket of ash up to 24 metres thick.
00:39But its volcanic debris also preserved these amazing towns and the remains of many of the people trapped inside them.
00:48Now, with access to the very latest discoveries and technology,
00:53it's time to explore the evidence of their lives, to try to understand their world from their point of view.
01:00Even to give them back their voices.
01:04The Duke at Patriremes, the Admiral, gave orders for the warships to be launched
01:09and came on board himself with the intention of bringing help, steering straight to the danger.
01:15I'll be exploring the ancient landscape for clues and using the latest scientific revelations
01:23to uncover how these people lived 2,000 years ago.
01:28This is actually a fragment of material from Pompeii.
01:32It's all been handmade.
01:34And the shocking truth of their deaths.
01:36This is his femur of his leg and most of his body material has vaporized.
01:44With the help of these new discoveries, I'm going to explore the stories of five people who lost their lives.
01:50A young boy trapped inside a villa, a soldier strangely found on the beach, an overworked slave,
01:59a young woman with a secret and a man mysteriously cowering in his room when the devastation hit.
02:07Thanks to new geological discoveries, we can track the eruption blow by blow
02:13to see how these people's lives were snatched from them.
02:2879 AD
02:30For four days in autumn, the region around Mount Vesuvius has been hit by increasing earth tremors.
02:40No one realized that this was a warning, that an eruption was imminent.
02:45Among them, a 20-year-old woman living in the town of Herculaneum.
02:53Forensic analysis has revealed amazing details of her life.
02:58Can you tell how she chose to dress her hair that morning?
03:01Yes, we can see this.
03:03A melted iron hair comb has preserved traces of her hair,
03:07plaited as was fashionable for higher-class Roman women.
03:11But even so, she had a terrible case of nits.
03:16So she's scratching there, because it's sort of driving her mad.
03:20Yes, exactly this.
03:23But there's something else.
03:24In just a month's time, she was expecting her first child.
03:29This is the femur, six centimetres long,
03:36corresponding to a fetus of about eight months.
03:40So she could have given birth very, very soon.
03:44Yes, one month.
03:46She would never know that she was carrying a baby girl.
03:54The disruption of the earthquakes must have been a huge problem
03:58for these bustling market towns whose economy depended on trade.
04:03But on a normal day,
04:05our young pregnant woman might have chosen to prepare
04:09for the impending arrival of her newborn.
04:14Which could have involved a lot of shopping.
04:17And Herculaneum was certainly rammed with shops.
04:22There was everything available,
04:24from perfume and ironmongery
04:26to all kinds of Mediterranean delicacies.
04:31These are the streets that our young pregnant woman
04:34would have known really well.
04:38A wine merchant's advertising
04:41has survived across 2,000 years.
04:45The town looks pretty neat and tidy now.
04:50But there was a real problem with littering
04:52and rubbish being left on these streets.
04:54And we know that because of an inscription here.
05:00If anyone wants to throw away dung in this place,
05:05he is warned that it is not permitted to throw it.
05:10If anyone provides intelligence about this,
05:15freeborn people are made to pay a fine
05:17and slaves are to be punished
05:19by being beaten on their backsides.
05:25It's just a hint
05:27of how frenetic this place was.
05:31So imagine these streets
05:33absolutely buzzing,
05:35packed with people and produce
05:37a bit more like this downtown street in Naples.
05:40So I am channeling my inner ancient Roman
05:43and going in search of some of the supplies
05:46they recommended for pregnancy.
05:50There was plenty of Roman medical advice around
05:53that our pregnant woman might have been aware of.
05:56Some of it sensible,
05:57some of it pretty out there.
06:01For morning sickness,
06:03oh my goodness, I needed help with that,
06:05a day's fast was recommended,
06:07followed by a rub down with olive oil,
06:09which sounds lovely,
06:10and then very easily digestible food.
06:13So boiled eggs
06:14and a kind of porridge
06:15and water
06:16with no wine allowed.
06:18Ciao, ciao.
06:21If she'd hoped for a boy baby,
06:24then she might follow the advice
06:26of Pliny the Elder himself
06:28to eat...
06:36Mm, clearly a bit less cool for them these days.
06:45OK, no problem.
06:46Thank you.
06:47Ciao.
06:47Bye.
06:49We know that our pregnant woman
06:50was going to have a daughter,
06:52so maybe Cockerell's testicles
06:55weren't on her list.
07:01At eight months pregnant
07:03in preparation for the birth,
07:05you could order up little strips of wool
07:08to cover your female parts,
07:10sea sponges to dampen your faces
07:13to wipe up any mess,
07:15or swaddling bandages for babies.
07:17And then on the day of the birth itself,
07:19there was this advice.
07:23Inflation Woolway,
07:24Fimum Aprunum Sui Lumue,
07:26For inflations of the uterus,
07:27it is found a good plan
07:28to apply wild boar's dung
07:30or swine's dung
07:31topically with oil.
07:34But a more effectual remedy
07:35is to dry the dung
07:36and sprinkle it in the patient's drink.
07:42I just suspect
07:44that is only something
07:45a man would write
07:46knowing he would never
07:47have to drink wild boar dung.
07:52But one less controversial item
07:55for the expectant mum
07:56has miraculously survived
07:59here in Herculaneum.
08:05Oh, perfect.
08:06Oh, my goodness.
08:09Okay.
08:10So, one thing that every parent needed
08:13is stored in here.
08:15And I just should emphasize
08:16that it's incredible
08:18that I've been given access
08:20to this place
08:20because here are totally
08:22unique treasures.
08:32What you're looking at
08:34is a 2,000-year-old crib
08:38for a baby.
08:40It's made of wood
08:41and it survived
08:42because the heat here
08:44was so ferocious
08:45it flash burnt.
08:47Anything that was made of wood.
08:49And there's actually been
08:50a chemical reaction.
08:51So, it's carbonized.
08:53The minerals have actually
08:54physically changed
08:55their chemical compound.
08:57So, you can see
08:58it's got this kind of
08:59sheen on it.
09:01So, this crib has survived
09:03and this would be
09:04exactly the kind of thing
09:06our poor, young, pregnant woman
09:08would have thought
09:09that she'd have needed.
09:11And it's just one
09:13of dozens of wooden objects
09:15that, amazingly,
09:17have been preserved
09:18by the eruption.
09:19Each one,
09:20a prized personal possession
09:22of one of Vesuvius' victims.
09:27So, bland food,
09:30cockerel testicles
09:31and a crib.
09:32What else?
09:34Oh, yeah.
09:35Something for herself.
09:36For that amazing hair.
09:39But I don't mean
09:40a visit to the salon.
09:42I'm thinking of something
09:43more medicinal.
09:46And for those annoying lice,
09:48one Greek doctor at the time
09:49recommended eating garlic
09:51and putting honey on your hair.
09:53Greek honey, of course.
09:55Ciao.
09:57Or there was always
09:58one of these.
10:00A knit comb.
10:01The ancient knit combs
10:03from Pompeii and Herculaneum
10:04are exactly the same design
10:06as the ones
10:07that we still use today.
10:1310 o'clock in the morning
10:15on the day of the eruption.
10:17The earthquakes are getting worse.
10:23A few miles from Herculaneum
10:26stood the town of Pompeii.
10:28Here,
10:29in one of its most luxurious houses,
10:31surrounded by gardens,
10:33water features
10:34and brightly coloured wall paintings,
10:37lived a little boy
10:38under five years old.
10:42His body was discovered
10:43close to that of a man,
10:45a woman
10:45and another small child
10:47who'd taken shelter
10:48in a stairwell.
10:50Possibly,
10:51they were his family.
10:55The bodies of the little boy
10:57and his family
10:57had been preserved
10:58in a way that is unique
10:59to the victims of Pompeii,
11:01as plaster casts.
11:06After the eruption,
11:07they were buried
11:08in volcanic ash.
11:10Their flesh rotted away,
11:12leaving cavities in the ash.
11:15Archaeologists then
11:16filled these cavities
11:17with plaster.
11:20The result
11:21is accurate plaster copies
11:23of the victims,
11:24exactly as they died.
11:27For our little boy,
11:29let's try to imagine
11:31how this last day,
11:32the day of the eruption,
11:34might have begun.
11:36Our little boy
11:37would have started
11:38his morning
11:38as probably every child
11:40has through time
11:41of protesting
11:42about being washed
11:43and dressed.
11:44But because this was
11:45a really wealthy family,
11:47they would almost certainly
11:48have used some
11:49pretty fancy
11:50bathroom products.
11:51We've got recipes
11:52from the times,
11:53so we know that
11:53the Pompeians used pumice
11:55to clean their teeth
11:56and they even imported
11:57urine from Portugal
11:59as a teeth whitener.
12:01His mum's face cream
12:02would have been made
12:03with sensible things
12:04like honey and resin
12:05and barley and eggs
12:07but then some slightly
12:08more unusual ingredients
12:09like chicken fat
12:10or ground deer antler.
12:15And we know
12:17from some of the most
12:17popular poets
12:19in Rome
12:19that it was thought
12:20really important
12:21that women
12:22should keep clean
12:23and sweet smelling.
12:28Do not let your armpits
12:30reek like a goat.
12:31Do not let your teeth
12:35turn black through laziness.
12:38But wash out your mouth
12:40every morning.
12:43So that told her.
12:46Now, we can't know
12:48what the adult woman
12:49found with the little boy
12:50smelt like
12:51but we do know
12:52that she was
12:53super glamorous.
12:55Her body was found
12:56heavy with jewellery
12:58including this
12:59a solid golden bracelet.
13:02It's decorated
13:04with a picture
13:04of Selene
13:05the goddess of the moon
13:07wearing a veil of stars
13:08and flanked
13:09by two snakes.
13:12Next,
13:13time for our little boy
13:14to get dressed.
13:15And fascinating
13:17new research
13:17reveals the details
13:19of exactly
13:20what he wore.
13:22The little boy's cast
13:24has just been 3D scanned
13:26so we can tell
13:27really precisely
13:28what he was wearing
13:29on that morning.
13:30And it's this very short tunic
13:31that finishes
13:32well above the knee.
13:34But then,
13:35look at it
13:35from another angle.
13:37We can tell
13:37that the cloth
13:38has been tied up
13:39on his left-hand shoulder.
13:41But look at his back.
13:43It's got rucked up.
13:45and as a mum
13:46you just want to
13:47tug it down
13:48and help him out.
13:51Remarkably,
13:52we now also know
13:53what his tunic
13:54was made of.
13:55The material's been
13:56analysed microscopically
13:57and we know
13:59that it's made
14:00of linen.
14:01This is actually
14:02a fragment of material
14:03from Pompeii.
14:04You can see
14:05it's all been handmade.
14:06You can see
14:07the kind of weft
14:07and the warp there.
14:09Linen was really
14:10common in Pompeii.
14:12It was worn by
14:12well-to-do people
14:13because it was a material
14:15that allowed your skin
14:16to breathe
14:17and to keep you cool.
14:18So we know
14:19that that little boy
14:20got dressed this morning
14:21as he always
14:22would have done
14:23not knowing
14:24that it was going
14:25to be his last day alive.
14:29Whatever the plans
14:30were for his day
14:31suddenly
14:32everything changed.
14:36Around 11 o'clock
14:37in the morning
14:37there was the hiss
14:39of an explosion
14:39and a cloud of ash
14:41appeared above
14:42Mount Vesuvius.
14:44To take me through
14:45the evidence
14:46for the eruption
14:46is geologist
14:48Professor Chris Jackson.
14:50It's actually
14:50a relatively small
14:52eruption.
14:53A blast of ash
14:54comes out.
14:55Before the big one?
14:56Before the big one,
14:57yeah.
14:58That's interesting
14:59because you don't
15:00I mean well
15:00with the records
15:01that we've got
15:01that survived
15:02you don't hear about that
15:03nobody's writing about it.
15:04No, so exactly
15:05this is one of the time
15:06when the geological record
15:07comes to our aid
15:08because what we find here
15:09east of Vesuvius
15:11are ash deposits
15:12associated with
15:13that smaller
15:14initial eruption.
15:15But I mean my goodness
15:16if that's happening
15:17there's no way
15:18the people in Pompeii
15:20and Herculeanium
15:20aren't going to notice
15:22that something's going on.
15:23It would have been
15:23a very, very worrying time.
15:29Just imagine the shock.
15:31Vesuvius hadn't shown
15:32any sign of activity
15:33for hundreds of years.
15:35Most people thought
15:36it was a mountain
15:36and now that mountain
15:38had exploded.
15:52The explosion
15:53would have triggered
15:54chaos and panic
15:55for all those
15:56we're following.
15:57The streets
15:58would have been filled
15:59with people pushing
16:00and shoving
16:00and panicking
16:01while some thought
16:02the best strategy
16:03was to hunker down
16:04and try to brave it out.
16:09None of those
16:10unfollowing left
16:12but it would prove
16:13a fatal mistake.
16:15The first explosion
16:16was only the starting gun.
16:19Unknown to them
16:20these people
16:21had just one hour left.
16:23Then
16:24close to noon
16:26Vesuvius erupted.
16:34The top of the volcano
16:36has been blown off.
16:37It's actually fragmenting
16:38and forming pumice
16:39and we can see these bits
16:40flying out of the volcano here.
16:42I'll tell you actually
16:43what's really clear
16:44from this as well
16:45is that Herculaneum
16:46is closer
16:47but it seems that Pompeii
16:48is getting the main hit.
16:50Exactly.
16:50Because of the
16:51atmospheric conditions
16:52the wind direction
16:53at the time of the eruption
16:54as we fly up
16:55into the cloud
16:56you can imagine
16:57the whole of the sun
16:58would have been
16:59blotted out
17:00by this column of ash
17:01which rose up to
17:02about 10 miles
17:03into the atmosphere.
17:05So these poor
17:06poor people
17:07so it's pretty much
17:08pitch black
17:09they've got
17:10even if the pumice
17:10is quite light
17:11they're still being
17:12pelted
17:13with millions
17:14of rocks of pumice
17:15and they're
17:16desperately working out
17:17how to try to escape.
17:18Yeah, you either
17:19decide to escape
17:20or you actually
17:21decide to stay
17:22inside your house.
17:24Have you been
17:25next to a volcano
17:27when it's erupted, Chris?
17:28I have been fortunate
17:29or unfortunate enough
17:30to be near volcanoes
17:31when they erupt.
17:32You can feel
17:33the blast of the eruption
17:35you get pelted
17:36with ash
17:36you can smell
17:38the volcanic glasses.
17:39And what does it
17:40sound like?
17:41It sounds like
17:42nothing I've ever heard
17:42before in my entire life
17:44it's just a loud
17:45booming noise
17:45so almost like
17:46heavy artillery
17:47being let off.
17:49For the people
17:50I'm following
17:50it must have felt
17:52like the end
17:52of the world.
17:53They were now
17:54in a race
17:55to save themselves
17:56and their loved ones.
18:02Although he couldn't
18:03have imagined it
18:04there was one victim
18:05who would die
18:06a hero
18:07as this catastrophic
18:08day unfolded.
18:11A battle-scarred
18:12veteran soldier.
18:15He's got a limp
18:16and a slightly
18:17kind of whistly
18:18voice.
18:19The possessions
18:20he was carrying
18:21high-end weaponry
18:23a lot of cash
18:24and a whole
18:25carpenter's toolkit
18:26point to him
18:28being a military
18:29carpenter
18:29of the emperor's
18:30Praetorian fleet
18:32based at
18:33nearby Missenum.
18:36I'm standing
18:37on the headland
18:38right above
18:38ancient Missenum
18:39just across the bay
18:40from Vesuvius
18:41where the fleet
18:42and around
18:4310,000 troops
18:44almost certainly
18:45including our soldier
18:46were based.
18:49The one written
18:50account of the eruption
18:51that we have
18:52is by Pliny the Younger
18:54the nephew
18:55of the fleet's admiral.
18:56Writing from Missenum
18:58he got the same
18:59apocalyptic view
19:00of the eruption
19:01that our soldier
19:02could well have
19:03experienced.
19:05It was like an umbrella
19:07pine rising out
19:08of the ground
19:09a trunk
19:10splitting off
19:11into branches
19:12some areas
19:13were white
19:13others were murky
19:15depending on how much
19:17ash had been carried
19:18in its blast.
19:20I mean
19:21can you imagine
19:22the fear
19:23they must have felt?
19:27But
19:28seen from Herculaneum
19:29in the shadow
19:30of the volcano
19:31the cloud of debris
19:33must have been
19:33truly terrifying.
19:43Just think of
19:44our young pregnant woman
19:45desperately trying
19:47to protect herself
19:47and her unborn trials.
19:50All that could have
19:51been on her mind
19:51was that she needed
19:52to get out
19:53or take cover.
19:57She and nearly
19:59everyone else
20:00in the town
20:00had the same idea.
20:01We know that
20:02they headed for the docks
20:04which offered
20:05the possibility
20:05of escape.
20:09Can you imagine
20:10the wave of relief
20:11that our young
20:12pregnant woman felt
20:14once she'd made it
20:14down here
20:15because these things
20:16are a bit like
20:17a bomb shelter
20:17and built with
20:18incredibly thick walls
20:20and roof
20:21so maybe
20:22just maybe
20:23she relaxed
20:24for one moment
20:25thinking that
20:26at last
20:26she was safe.
20:29Initially
20:30she was
20:31because
20:33high altitude winds
20:34were blowing
20:35the cloud of pumice
20:36and ash
20:36away from her town
20:38Herculaneum
20:39and towards Pompeii
20:41but there was
20:42at least one person
20:43in Herculaneum
20:44who didn't follow
20:46the crowds
20:46down to the docks
20:47and he's
20:48the last of the people
20:50whose story
20:50I want to uncover.
20:52He was discovered
20:53by archaeologists
20:54in rather
20:56mysterious
20:57circumstances.
20:59This is the
21:00Augustalium
21:01a kind of
21:01state-recognised
21:03members club.
21:04This one was
21:05founded in honour
21:06of the Emperor
21:06Augustus Caesar.
21:08It was for very
21:09influential people
21:10in the town
21:10but what makes
21:11this special
21:12is that the
21:12members here
21:13were mainly
21:14freedmen
21:15so men
21:16who'd formerly
21:16been slaves.
21:23I think you can
21:25really feel
21:25the purpose
21:26and energy
21:27of this place
21:28because the people
21:29who met here
21:30had a real
21:31sense of civic
21:32pride.
21:33We know
21:34from inscriptions
21:34that they paid
21:36for public
21:36buildings
21:37and artworks
21:38for the town
21:39and even
21:40funded things
21:40like gladiatorial
21:42games.
21:43At the centre
21:45of this
21:45pillared hall
21:46stands a shrine.
21:48Hard to believe,
21:49isn't it,
21:49that it was painted
21:502,000 years ago.
21:53These colours
21:54are just
21:55incredible.
21:57So this is
21:59a shrine
22:00to Hercules,
22:01the kind of
22:02action man
22:03superhero
22:03of the ancient
22:04worlds,
22:05and he was
22:05really important
22:06to Herculaneum.
22:07The story went
22:08that he'd actually
22:09founded the city
22:10and given it
22:11its name.
22:12That's Hercules
22:12up there
22:13with the goddesses
22:13Minerva and Juno.
22:15And it is so
22:17beautiful,
22:17this is so special,
22:19but there's something
22:21around here
22:21I have got
22:22to show you.
22:24The real secret
22:26here is that
22:27it's also the final
22:28resting place
22:29of another victim
22:30of Vesuvius.
22:35Honestly,
22:35I am so lucky,
22:37guys,
22:37to get access in here
22:40because people
22:40are never
22:40normally allowed in.
22:42So just get a sense
22:43of where we are.
22:44So the shrine's
22:45to my right there
22:46and this is this
22:46slightly strange,
22:48mysterious room
22:49with bars on the windows.
22:51And there's something
22:52remarkable inside.
23:00OK,
23:01so just so you can
23:03understand what
23:03you're looking at,
23:04this in the corner
23:06of the room
23:06is a bed
23:07and this is the
23:08original wood
23:09around the edge.
23:11But in the middle
23:12there are the remains
23:13of a body
23:15and we know
23:16this was a man.
23:18There are just
23:19enough remains
23:19to make out
23:21that he laid here.
23:23Who is this man,
23:24though?
23:24It's all slightly odd.
23:26It doesn't quite add up
23:27because this is
23:28is a pretty posh room
23:29but you've got bars
23:30on the window there.
23:32So maybe he was
23:33some kind of a caretaker.
23:35This could have been
23:36a treasury
23:36to the club.
23:40As the eruption began,
23:42he may have heard
23:43commotion in the street
23:44outside as people
23:45rushed past
23:46in panic
23:47to the docks.
23:50He certainly chose
23:51not to go down
23:52with the other people
23:53at the port
23:54so maybe he just felt
23:56it was his duty
23:57to stay.
24:02At this point
24:03in Herculaneum,
24:04only a light dusting
24:05of ash was falling
24:06on the streets
24:07outside
24:07so he may have
24:09felt protected.
24:11The eruption
24:12would have been watched
24:13at a safe distance
24:14by our soldier
24:15and the rest
24:16of the fleet,
24:17including its admiral,
24:19Pliny the Elder,
24:20a distinguished military man
24:22who also had
24:23a really keen interest
24:24in nature.
24:26Pliny the Elder
24:27was ever more intrigued
24:29by the strange plume
24:30emerging from the volcano
24:32and being a man of science,
24:34he decided
24:35to order up a ship
24:36so he could go
24:37to investigate.
24:40But just before he set off,
24:42an urgent message arrived
24:43from a female friend of his
24:44who lived near Vesuvius,
24:46begging him
24:47to come to rescue her.
24:48Suddenly,
24:49an interesting scientific phenomenon
24:50had become a crisis
24:51so he ordered back up.
24:54Pozo.
24:56And it's at this point
24:58that we think
24:59our soldier
24:59enters the story.
25:01On board one of Pliny's ships,
25:03launched to take part
25:05in one of the most daring
25:06rescue missions
25:07of the ancient world.
25:11The Duke at Padriremes,
25:13the Admiral,
25:14gave orders
25:14for the warships
25:15to be launched
25:17and came on board himself
25:18with the intention
25:20of bringing help,
25:22steering straight
25:23to the danger.
25:28The evidence
25:29of his belongings
25:30suggests our soldier
25:32was a specialist
25:33military carpenter
25:34in the fleet
25:34and that he carried
25:36his tools
25:36ready for any repairs
25:38that might be needed.
25:43Around this afternoon,
25:44he'd have set off
25:45with the fleet
25:45across the Bay of Naples,
25:47but already
25:48the boat
25:49was being bombarded
25:50with pumice
25:51and ash
25:51and burning rock
25:52so he might have
25:53had to use
25:54his carpentry skills.
25:55Now,
25:56pumice actually floats
25:57in the water
25:58and it forms
25:59these kind of
26:00thick shoals
26:01like rafts
26:01that would have
26:02banged up
26:02against the hull
26:03of the boat.
26:04For the sailors,
26:05it must have been
26:06terrifying.
26:10The ships
26:11were around
26:1140 metres long
26:13but even
26:14with over
26:14200 oarsmen,
26:15they only travelled
26:16at eight knots,
26:18taking three and a half
26:19hours to reach
26:20the other side
26:20of the bay,
26:21so it was probably
26:22late in the afternoon
26:23by the time
26:24they got there
26:25and conditions
26:26were deteriorating
26:28rapidly.
26:32Minute by minute,
26:34the pumice fall
26:34was getting heavier
26:35and the visibility
26:36would have been
26:37getting worse
26:37and worse.
26:38By the time
26:39they approached
26:40the coast,
26:41it was almost
26:42as dark
26:42as night.
26:47warships this size
26:48were too large
26:49to dock
26:50at the seaside town
26:51of Herculaneum.
26:52So how could they
26:54reach the thousands
26:55of desperate civilians
26:56hoping for rescue?
26:58A clue's been found
26:59on the beach.
27:03Close to where
27:04the soldier was discovered,
27:06archaeologists
27:07found this.
27:10It's a boat
27:11that capsized
27:12and then was
27:12thrown up
27:13onto the beach.
27:14Now,
27:15we know it's not
27:16just an ordinary
27:16fishing boat
27:17because this is
27:18an official
27:18naval design,
27:20so it feels
27:21pretty certain
27:22to me
27:22that this is
27:23a boat
27:24employed
27:24on that
27:25rescue mission.
27:30Boats like this
27:31could have been
27:32launched
27:33from the large
27:33warships
27:34and given
27:35his special
27:36set of skills,
27:37our soldier
27:38was perfectly
27:38placed to aid
27:39the rescue mission.
27:41He may have
27:41been on the beach
27:42itself
27:43helping with
27:43the evacuation
27:44as our pregnant
27:45woman desperately
27:46waited in line.
27:51In Pompeii,
27:53the fall of
27:54volcanic debris
27:54was much more
27:55severe than it
27:56was in Herculaneum.
27:58The ash cloud
27:59was being blown
28:00in Pompeii's direction.
28:02rocks and pumice
28:04rained down
28:05relentlessly,
28:06clogging the roads
28:07and smashing
28:07in roofs.
28:09Half a mile
28:10outside Pompeii
28:11lies a villa,
28:13Cavita Giuliana.
28:15Two human bodies
28:17were found here,
28:18one that
28:19of a young man.
28:21Video,
28:22taken at the time
28:23of the excavation,
28:24reveals how a
28:25plaster cast
28:26of his body
28:26was made.
28:28Archaeologists
28:29discovered a cavity
28:30in the ground
28:31where his flesh
28:32once was
28:32before it
28:33rotted away.
28:35They removed
28:36the bones
28:36then filled in
28:37the cavity
28:38with plaster
28:38which was then
28:39carefully chipped
28:41out of the ash
28:41to reveal
28:43an accurate
28:44plaster copy
28:45of his body.
28:48His spine
28:49shows evidence
28:50of carrying
28:50heavy loads
28:51so he was
28:53possibly a slave.
28:55The evidence
28:56also suggests
28:57that the villa
28:58was a farm.
28:59Our slave
29:00may have worked
29:01in the fields
29:02perhaps tending
29:03a crop of grapes
29:04to make the
29:05Pompeian wines
29:06that were famous
29:07across the empire.
29:09In the stables
29:10a horse
29:11was found
29:12saddled up
29:13as though ready
29:13to make a break
29:14for it.
29:15The animals
29:16must have been
29:17wild with panic.
29:21There were huge
29:23sheets of fire
29:24and leaping flames
29:26shining through
29:27the dark night
29:28in long
29:29as flammarum
29:30figuras
29:30they scaven.
29:32The position
29:33of the men's
29:34corpses
29:34suggests
29:35they'd sought
29:36shelter
29:36in a basement
29:37passageway
29:38deciding to
29:39wait here
29:40for the
29:40bombardment
29:40to end.
29:42A decision
29:43that was
29:43to prove
29:44fatal
29:45because things
29:46now took a
29:47turn for the
29:48worse.
29:51So around 8pm
29:53in the evening
29:53things really
29:54really kick off
29:55and we actually
29:55have this
29:56acceleration
29:57in material
29:58coming out
29:59of the volcano
30:00and at this
30:01point
30:01this column
30:02of ash
30:03is reaching
30:03about 20
30:04miles up
30:05into the
30:05atmosphere.
30:0620 miles?
30:0720 miles!
30:08I mean that's
30:09just so terrible!
30:10Yeah, all of
30:11this material
30:11is raining
30:12down upon
30:13Pompeii.
30:15Can you
30:15hear each other?
30:16If people are
30:17calling out for
30:17help
30:18would their
30:19voices have
30:20carried?
30:20The volcano
30:21itself will
30:22make a noise
30:22when it erupts
30:23but then after
30:23that it will
30:24be maybe just
30:24the pitter-patter
30:25of ash
30:26falling down
30:26but just
30:26the general
30:27chaos
30:28amongst the
30:29population
30:29it is that
30:30which will
30:31be the
30:31noise
30:31which makes
30:32it difficult
30:32for people
30:33to communicate
30:33with each
30:34other.
30:34And this
30:35is going
30:35on for
30:35hours.
30:36So that's
30:37hours worth
30:37of fear.
30:38Yeah, so
30:39Pompeii's really
30:39in the firing
30:40line here.
30:41We have ash
30:42both kind of
30:43small particles
30:43but also big
30:44bombs raining
30:45down on the
30:45city.
30:46The roads
30:47would have
30:47been coated
30:47with this
30:48material but
30:49also the
30:49roofs of the
30:50houses will
30:50be getting
30:51increasingly
30:52battered by
30:52this fallout
30:53from the
30:53volcanic column.
30:55Totally, totally
30:56petrifying.
30:57Exactly, and
30:57you have no
30:58idea when this
30:58volcano is going
30:59to stop erupting
31:00either.
31:00So you have no
31:01idea whether or
31:02not you should
31:03stay and hunker
31:04down and look
31:04after yourselves
31:05in your houses
31:06or whether you
31:06should try and
31:07plan your
31:07escape.
31:12As night
31:12fell, Vesuvius
31:14continued to
31:15spew out vast
31:16quantities of
31:16rock.
31:18In Pompeii, our
31:20little boy was
31:20hunkered down
31:21inside of one of
31:22the town's
31:23grandest houses.
31:25The adult woman
31:26was found with a
31:27lot of cash on
31:27her, surely
31:28waiting for the
31:29chance to make a
31:30break for it.
31:33As Vesuvius
31:34erupted, the
31:35family must have
31:36been speechless
31:37with terror.
31:38I mean, material
31:38is coming out of
31:39the volcano at
31:40around 500 miles
31:42an hour, but we
31:43don't know why
31:44they didn't leave.
31:44Were they trying
31:45to save the
31:46beauty in their
31:46home, or were
31:47they just desperately
31:48trying to find
31:49somewhere to
31:50shelter?
31:56We know from
31:57the positions of
31:57their remains that
31:59as time drew on,
32:00the little boy
32:01and other victims
32:02sought safety in a
32:03stairwell.
32:05The eruption had
32:07started around
32:07noon and kept
32:09spewing out
32:10pumice and
32:11scalding ash
32:12through the night
32:12and into the
32:13early hours of
32:14the next day.
32:15Pompeii and the
32:16surrounding
32:17countryside were
32:17now covered in
32:18three metres of
32:19volcanic debris.
32:21Then, at around
32:23four o'clock in
32:24the morning, the
32:25assault stopped.
32:29At last,
32:30for some, a chance
32:32to get out.
32:37This is an area in
32:39the city known as
32:40the Garden of the
32:41Fugitives, because
32:43thirteen bodies of
32:44fleeing victims were
32:45found here, now
32:47captured as castes.
32:51having made a run
32:52for it, they'd been
32:54stopped in their
32:55tracks.
32:56But if they died
32:58after the
32:59bombardment, what
33:01exactly killed
33:02them?
33:04It was a new and
33:07deadly phenomenon.
33:09This huge column of
33:10ash had built up in
33:12the atmosphere, and
33:13now it starts to
33:14collapse because it
33:14can't be supported
33:15anymore by material
33:17coming out of the
33:17volcano, and that
33:19generates something
33:19called a pyroclastic
33:20flow.
33:21So it's basically
33:22that, collapsing
33:23down the side of the
33:24mountain.
33:25So as it collapses
33:26down, the ash, the
33:27rocks, the gases are
33:28all brought with it,
33:29and they are
33:29travelling very, very
33:30quickly, so several
33:31tens of miles an
33:32hour, maybe even a
33:33few hundred miles an
33:34hour, and it's hot
33:35several hundreds of
33:36degrees Celsius.
33:37So you can imagine
33:38if this hits one of
33:40these towns, then
33:41it's going to be bad
33:41news for anybody
33:42there.
33:44A few minutes after
33:46the column of ash
33:46collapsed, a mighty
33:49pyroclastic flow
33:50barrelled down the
33:51side of the mountain
33:52straight towards
33:53Herculaneum and our
33:54soldier, our pregnant
33:56woman, and our
33:57caretaker.
33:59And it was this
34:00caretaker, who seems
34:02to have been resident
34:03in one of the town's
34:04meeting places, who
34:05was in the front
34:06line, apparently
34:08taking refuge in a
34:09side room.
34:12All that we know
34:13about him is that in
34:14those final moments,
34:15he chose to throw
34:16himself down and lie
34:17with his face buried
34:18into the bed, maybe
34:20praying to Hercules,
34:21maybe just desperately
34:22trying to get some
34:23refuge from that hot
34:24gas and ash.
34:29In an instant, this
34:31building was engulfed as
34:33volcanic debris poured
34:34in through the windows.
34:36We know it became
34:37hotter than an oven.
34:40What little remains of
34:42this man's body reveals
34:43just how intense the
34:45heat was.
34:46This is his femur of
34:48his leg and most of
34:50his body material has
34:51vaporised, but the fat
34:53has left this kind of
34:54stain in the ash and
34:56pumice.
34:58He's lying face down,
35:00and we know that he
35:02suffered extraordinary
35:04heat.
35:04There was a kind of
35:05heat shockwave here
35:07of around 520 degrees
35:09centigrade.
35:10And what that did is it
35:12actually exploded his
35:14skull.
35:17Death would have been
35:19virtually instant.
35:25The pyroclastic flow
35:26raced on, down through
35:28the town, to the docks
35:30where the inhabitants of
35:31the city were still
35:32trying to escape.
35:33One of the people down
35:34here on this beach was
35:35our soldier.
35:37Now, we don't know what
35:38he saw or heard, but we
35:41do know that the force of
35:42the pyroclastic flow
35:43smashed him to the ground,
35:45burning his flesh right
35:47off.
35:50The sea vaporised.
35:52The soldier's exposed
35:54bones were scorched by the
35:56scalding ash.
35:57Black marks show where the
35:59bones were hit directly by
36:00flying, burning debris.
36:04There's nothing he could
36:06have done to save himself.
36:10Nearby in one of these
36:11chambers, our young woman
36:13might have felt the heat
36:15of the pyroclastic flow just
36:17seconds before burning
36:18ash and gas poured through
36:20the doors.
36:23The walls of the chambers
36:25shielded the intense heat.
36:27So, instead of stripping
36:29her flesh, she would have
36:31baked.
36:32Breathing the hot mixture of
36:34gases into her lungs would
36:36have killed her by asphyxiation
36:38in just two breaths.
36:43Herculaneum was covered in
36:45around three metres of hot
36:47ash, but this was just the
36:49first wave.
36:51Within the hour, a second
36:53surge hit the town, burying it
36:55in a further two metres of
36:57ash.
36:57The pyroclastic flows, they
36:59just keep coming.
37:00Yep.
37:01They continue.
37:02There was a third flow here
37:03which almost reached Pompeii.
37:05So, that's interesting.
37:06So, the Kivito Giuliana is just
37:08here in the countryside.
37:09So, that's going to be what took
37:10out those two men and the
37:12horses.
37:12Exactly.
37:16Major new research by Italian
37:18volcanologists and the British
37:20Geological Survey reveals more
37:22details about the flow than ever
37:24before.
37:25We now know that as it
37:27approached Pompeii, it slowed
37:29and cooled dramatically.
37:32We're talking about
37:32temperatures of probably
37:33around about 100 degrees
37:34Celsius.
37:36But even so, does that mean
37:37it's worse for them?
37:39Does that mean it's going to
37:40take people slightly longer
37:41to die?
37:42It means you're not
37:42incinerated, but if you're
37:44being hit by a fast-moving
37:45flow containing gas, which
37:48is 100 degrees Celsius, it's
37:49going to kill you more
37:50slowly.
37:51So, the estimates here are
37:52that some of the people could
37:53have taken about 15 minutes
37:55to die.
37:56Awful.
37:59In Villa Cavita Giuliana, on
38:01the outskirts of Pompeii, our
38:03slave and another man had left
38:05a horse saddled up in the
38:06stables, ready to escape,
38:08while they sheltered in a
38:09passageway in the house.
38:12Around 6.30am, without
38:14warning, they were overwhelmed
38:16by gas and ash swirling at
38:19around 100 degrees.
38:22After many minutes, they died.
38:27The heat was ferocious, but
38:29nothing like it was in
38:30Herculaneum.
38:31So, here, body tissue could
38:34survive long enough for ash to
38:35fall on it and form a kind of
38:37casing, which is why, centuries
38:39later, archaeologists have been
38:41able to make casts like this.
38:46One revealing detail that we have is
38:48the posture of the older man.
38:50He was holding his fists in front
38:52of him, a position often called the
38:55boxer's pose, the body's automatic
38:57response to heat stress.
39:02But Pompeii itself hasn't actually
39:04been hit by a pyroclastic flow, has
39:06it?
39:06No, it's been spared up to this
39:08point, but then there was a fourth,
39:11fifth, and sixth flow.
39:13And as you can see, they went
39:15straight through Pompeii.
39:17So, nobody is going to survive that?
39:19No.
39:19So, the sixth one would have been the
39:21largest one, and in fact, it was so
39:22large that deposits from that flow
39:24were found way over here on the
39:26other side of the Bay of Naples.
39:30The family of our little boy was
39:31found sheltering in the stairwell.
39:33He was a metre or so away, somehow
39:36separated.
39:38We now know that in temperatures of
39:41100 degrees, these victims of
39:43Pompeii would have endured close on
39:4615 minutes of boiling hot ash before
39:50they finally died.
39:53It seems our family group suffered the
39:56same terrible fate as those two men.
39:59The mother, with the little child's
40:02brother or sister on her lap,
40:03But our little boy died alone.
40:12The sixth and final pyroclastic flow
40:15still had enough energy in it to come
40:17hurtling across the water here, and
40:19Pliny the Younger described what he
40:21saw.
40:25I looked around.
40:27A dense cloud was spreading across the
40:29earth like a flood.
40:31Darkness fell, not the dark of a
40:33moonless light, but as though a lamp
40:35had been extinguished.
40:37You could hear the screams of women,
40:39the cries of children, and the shouts
40:41of men, all calling out for their
40:43families desperately, trying to
40:45recognize them by their voices.
40:52The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD expended the
40:56energy of 100,000 atomic bombs.
41:01Since then, it's erupted several times and
41:04is now monitored 24 hours a day by sensors
41:07around the crater.
41:10Over 2 million people, including the whole
41:14population of Naples, live within Vesuvius'
41:17range.
41:20Fortunately for them, they can rely on
41:22scientists to identify the danger signs of an
41:25eruption.
41:25Back in 79 AD, the only people who
41:30survived were those who had an instinct to
41:32get out before Vesuvius exploded.
41:36But there were plenty of those who did.
41:42Our poor victims suffered desperate ends.
41:47But theirs isn't the only story.
41:50Most people from Pompeii and Herculaneum actually
41:54managed to escape, and many of them ended up
41:57here in central Naples, in what was the
41:59ancient city of Neapolis.
42:01Now, we know that because we have their names
42:05in written records and on stone inscriptions.
42:08And many of those families lived here for
42:11generations.
42:12So, it could just be that the descendants of
42:17the survivors of Vesuvius are still walking
42:20these streets today.
42:22We will 너�entes.
42:26Yeah.
42:27Can we go!
42:28Go!
42:29Go!
42:30Go!
42:31Go!
42:31Go!
42:32Go!
42:33Go!
42:36Go!
42:41Go!
42:43Go!
42:44Go!
42:48Go!
43:00Ευχαριστώ.
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