Tag: Herculaneum

Pliny the Elder: Eyewitness to the fury of Vesuvius

Jun 21, 2025

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by

Mark

in Everything Latin, Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius, Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger, Pompeii, Roman Empire, Tacitus

A Plinian eruption is the name given to any volcanic eruption of the ferocity of the one which destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii in 79AD, and which subsequently cost Pliny his life. He, his sister and nephew (Pliny the Younger) were living in a villa in Misenum, across the Bay of Naples from Mount Vesuvius at…
Herculaneum’s Villa of the Papyri

Jun 27, 2024

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by

Mark

in Everything Latin, Herculaneum, History, Roman Empire

The Villa of the Papyri is the name given to a private house that was uncovered in the ancient Roman town of Herculaneum. This town, along with nearby city of Pompeii, is perhaps best remembered for its destruction during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Because of this natural disaster, most, if not…