Volcanic Activity As archaeology progresses, we just keep finding more structures and objects. Sometimes we even find the remains of bodies. A good example of this are the Egyptian mummies, but not all bodies have been prepared. We also find the remains in many different places. In Pompeii we found the impressions of bodies which had been covered with hot ash. When we made plaster impressions of the areas where the bodies had originally lain, the impressions looked very lifelike and so much so, they were actually disturbing to look at for some. They showed exactly what people were doing when they got buried by the volcano. The volcano is not finished by any stretch of the imagination. Many scientists agree it is not a question if it will ever erupt again but when. Think about this, archaeologists have spent decades bringing Pompeii back to life and some day it will be all covered again. This city was under 10 miles away from the volcano. Akrotiri was an ancient city on the island of Santorini which had been known as Thera. In the 16th century B.C., there was a tremendous eruption and the city was buried in ash. The ash, much as it did on Pompeii preserved the city. Excavations began again in 1967 and today tourists can visit the city. This city Akrotiri is at least 1,000 years older than Pompeii, and life in that area was traced back to at least 5,000 B.C. One of the things which was found was the writing from that period seemed to indicate a Minoan civilization. The city of Cuicuilco in Mexico is another city destroyed by a volcano. It is on the southern shore of Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. There is disagreement on how old the settlement was. Some say it dates back to 1,400 B.C. but others think it is far older, so old it is a sign of building in the Americas which dates back to at least 6,500 B.C. The settlement showed signs of a sort of government. The city had pyramids and an advanced system for water. The city existed until 400 A.D. At that time the Xitle volcano erupted and it destroyed and buried the city. Excavations have been conducted on the city. A lot of ancient cities in Italy have been the victims of volcanic activity. There was Stabiae, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Torre Annuziata and Nicolosi to name some. Stabiae was near Pompeii and didn’t have a chance of not being hit. It was located only about 2.8 miles from Pompeii. Today the town of Castellammare di Stabia stands near where it was. The city was mostly buried by many feet of ash. In the lowest part, it is buried under 16.5 feet of ash. Some say this was where the rich lived and the city contains some of the most stunning villas around. Even the view was incredible as many were located on a hill overlooking the Bay of Naples. The city was rediscovered in 1749 but was reburied and Pompeii became the most famous city buried by ash. Herculaneum was another famous Roman city. The city was preserved by the ash of Vesuvius as it was not that far from the volcano. It was the first city to be discovered from the Vesuvius eruption, and was discovered in 1709. It was not only ash which covered parts of the city but also pyroclastic material in some areas which preserved wood. Even food and papyrus were preserved. Herculaneum was only eight miles from Pompeii. It was a rich town with a population of about 5,000 people. This made it smaller than Pompeii which had an estimated population between 10,000 to 20,000. There were buildings called boat houses there which after the eruption contained over 300 bodies. I guess they tried to flee by boat, but there just wasn’t enough time. The town’s buildings were rich in marble. The town had a long history before the eruption. Some had said Hercules founded it, but it was probably the Oscans. Next to control it were the Etruscans, before being conquered by the Greeks. The Samnites were next to control it before the Romans took over. The city after the eruption was covered with about 66 feet of ash. Torre Annunziata was another place which was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. It also is called by another name, Oplonti. It was located and the modern city is at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. It was destroyed by the eruption of 79 A.D. but then destroyed again in another eruption in 1631 A.D. It is a suburb of Naples. Some of the original buildings have been preserved such as the Villa Oplontis. Today it is a bathing resort and thermal spa. Nicolosi, Italy was another city located on Sicily. It is 99 miles from Palermo. In 1699 Mount Etna erupted with the largest eruption of the volcano. It buried many towns in lava. Problems with Etna started in March when lava flowed and continued until the end in July. Many residents were saved because they fled to Catania where the walls held back the lava until it almost stopped. I say almost because it eventually went over the walls but was subsiding and stopped before doing much damage. There are dangerous volcanoes all over the world. The area known as the ring of fire is located around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. It contains many volcanoes and sites of seismic activity. It is only a matter of when some of these volcanoes will erupt. That is one of the problems living on a dynamic planet. It is claimed this ring even extends to Antarctica and includes Mount Erebus which is known as the southern most volcano on earth. Many people do not realize that the beautiful Hawaiian islands were created by volcanic activity and new islands can be seen popping up out of the ocean from volcanic activity. In 1963 the island of Surtsey appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the Atlantic Ocean. It was born when a volcano sent hot lava into the ocean near Iceland. It is said to be one of the newest natural islands. In 2022 a NASA satellite captured the image of a new island being born. An underwater volcano had created an island in only 19 hours, which was visible from space. The volcano was located in the Central Tonga Islands. Some of these islands were also created by volcanic activity. The earth is constantly changing and volcanoes have much to do with this.
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