Article written by Steven L. Tuck, Miami University
On Aug. 24, in A.D. 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted, shooting over 3 cubic miles of debris up to 20 miles (32.1 kilometers) in the air. As the ash and rock fell to Earth, it buried the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
According to most modern accounts, the story pretty much ends there: Both cities were wiped out, their people frozen in time.
It only picks up with the rediscovery of the cities and the excavations that started in earnest in the 1740s.
But recent research has shifted the narrative. The story of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is no longer one about annihilation; it also includes the stories of those who survived the eruption and went on to rebuild their lives.
The…
