"Is it coming from the mountain, from the Vesuvius?" "It seems so, uncle" "Master, Master, wake up" "What?" "Give me hands" "You can't stay here, you have to go" "Staying or going both are equally dangerous" "We have to die?" "Mother" "Of course not" "But we're trapped, don't we?" "2,000 years ago the Roman Empire the greatest empire the world has ever known was shaken to its core by the worst natural disaster to strike the ancient world." "In less than 24 hours the city of Pompeii and at Ieast 5,000 of its people was wiped from the face of the earth." "Their killer was the volcano Mountain Vesuvius but how it destroyed them and why so many died was for a Iong time a mystery." "Today Pompeii lies in ruins" "but amidst the crumbling walls and fading paintings tantaIising clues have been unearthed," "casts of victims buried in the ash preserve their dying moments" "Precious objects tell details of their lives" "and the writings of a young man who watched it happen exposed the full horror of what killed them" "From this evidence we can reconstruct the intertwining" "lives of some of the people of Pompeii and tell the chilling and startling story of their last ever days" "POMPEII:" "The Last Day" "Pompeii lies in the shadow Of Mount Vesuvius but this volcano has been quiet for over 1 500 years, people don't even know its a volcano." "The 24th of August AD 79 starts like any other day" "The temple will be restored" "Father we didn't have a very good night last night" "julius PoIybius is one of Pompeii's wealthiest residents" "careful with that it cost me 500 dinaris" "I'm so sorry sir my daughter has been sick with cramp" "Is she pregnant too" "She's 7" "Go to sleep." "Ah, this is the room" "On that morning he was preparing to redecorate his front room," "Outside a slogan on his wall tells us he had political ambitions" "I want it completely redone, you can manage that I trust" "Before the election" "well of course" "I want to entertain my sponsors in here" "Don't know how you can sleep with all this work going on" "It will be no problem mother, its staying awake" "PoIybius's daughter julia is 7 months pregnant her condition will determine the whole family's fate." "Minor earth tremors plague the city, they're one of the signs that Vesuvius is stirring" "But none of the 20,000 people who live here can read the signs" "GIadiators are the sporting heroes of their time are free to roam the streets," "ardent fans scrawI Iove notes on city walls" "Hey!" "Here!" "Life will soon change forever" "But for now they concentrate on doing what they do best, making money" "Come on, hurry up" "This business is run on human urine, its so valuable that the Emperor has even put a tax on it." "It's a fuIIery clothes are brought here to be cleaned" "They use urine because the acid gets rid of grease stains," "it's the slaves of course who do the dirty work." "The remains of at Ieast a dozen fuIIeries have been found in Pompeii" "This one was owned by a man called Stephanus" "Don't let them take advantage, these bastards will try every trick in the book to avoid a honest days work," "they wouldn't have started on this lot if I hadn't seen it arrive" "When will you be back?" "When I've finished my business." "Try not to look so scared Fortunata, you're the wife of Stephanus now, when you speak they hear me" "The slaves do all the chores, even sleeping with their masters" "The land around Pompeii is fertile rich with minerals spewed out by the volcano thousands of years before," "but the giver of Iife also brings death" "Deep beneath the ground through a weak spot in the earth's crust, molten rock or magna has been leaking, a big plus of rock in the neck of the volcano blocks its exit." "As the underground pool of magna grows so the explosive pressure mounts" "The land swells and earth tremors become more frequent, trouble is brewing in paradise" "Don't fret Sabinus the 1 st child is always the hardest on the mother, but julia is young and healthy," "she'II have many more with god's willing yeah" "Around 1 pm on the 24th of August AD 79" "Vesuvius roars back to life, trapped in a super heated pressure cauldron for 1 500 years the molten rock has turned not to lava but to foam" "Ejected at supersonic speed forms a churning column that rises into the sky" "The people of Pompeii have never seen anything like this before." "There is no word in Latin for volcano, because they've no idea what's happening." "Many who could flee, stay" "Perhaps we should go back to barracks..." "Not before you buy me that drink." "Look its just smoke" "Just minutes after the eruption the column of super heated rock and gas had climbed 1 5 kilometres into the sky." "Its easily visible across the bay in Misenum, home to one of the few people who might understand what's going on" "please Master" "Yes yes I'm coming." "well then what is it that's so important that I must be disturbed from my writing" "We thought you'd want to see this brother" "Gaius PIinius Secundus, or PIiny the elder is commander of the Roman Navy" "Is it coming from the mountain, from Vesuvius" "It seems so uncle" "But his real passion is studying nature" "Anicetus order a boat ready" "But it's his nephew Gaius who will one day provide the vital clues to understanding the whole event." "Where are you going ?" "well I want to see it from the hilltop, and then more closely from the sea for my book." "Its like an umbrella pine isn't it exactly, exactly..." "The top of the column loses its upward thrust as it climbs and then crawls across the sky." "normally there's an offshore wind which would force the column of ash out across the bay but not today, instead the wind drives the cloud directly over Pompeii." "stealing its daylight and plunging it into a living nightmare" "Father I don't feel well" "Go back inside, all go back inside." "They do not know it but the decisions they make now will ultimately seal their fate" "Master, master, master wake up" "What time is it, why didn't you wake me" "Its day but the sun has gone" "What, what is it an eclipse" "That sound we heard, the thunder, perhaps it's something to do with that" "I must get back" "tell him he must come back at once, go, hurry." "Don't stop." "Mistress its dark" "Then, then we'II light more lamps go on" "Phoebe light the lamps and quickly" "As the cloud of ash obscures the sun day turns to night." "But there's worse to come, propelled high into the atmosphere the boiling rock mixes with air, cools, soIidifies" "and then begins to fall." "We should go now" "Yes" "It takes about half an hour for the fall out to reach Pompeii, cooled but still full of air the magna has formed pumice stones" "pebbles" "Its light, it floats" "But mixed in with the pumice is something much more deadly" "Come on you cannot be frightened of pebbles we are gladiators" "cold dense rocks have been torn from the inside of the volcano" "Hey you give me a hand" "FaIIing at 200 kilometres an hour they strike with deadly force." "1 hour after the eruption has begun the crisis is deepening." "Thousands take to the streets and flee" "We can't stay here, we have to go" "Its too dangerous." "I'm sure the mistress will be safe" "No doubt, but what about my money" "This is the time for decisive action." "slaves are expected to protect their masters lives and property." "But as fear and panic spread slaves flee knowing that if they're caught they could be put to death." "Mistress, mistress" "Did you find him?" "I couId not get out of the city mistress, the Sea Gate is choked with people animals, carts all fleeing to the south there are bodies there are bodies in the streets" "Where are the others," "Restitutus?" "Mistress the gods have decided to kill us all" "By mid afternoon" "Vesuvius has already thrown over a 1 00 million tons of pumice and ash on Pompeii." "As it collects its threat grows." "My garden will be ruined" "We'II all be ruined unless it stops and after all that money I've spent on the election," "if only we'd rebuilt the temple sooner and not waited 1 7 years." "Father" "julia" "She fell from the bed" "I'm alright really" "What are we going to do" "The house is strong, the walls are thick we stay and pray" "News of the disaster is carried by messenger to admiral PIiny" "remarkable I think it must be a fire mountain" "like Etna or Mount Chimaera in PhiseIis in any event" "I must get closer is the boat ready." "Yes master." "Good." "Ah, Gaius do you want to come" "I'd rather finish the work you set me uncle" "You may never get another chance to see something like this close up, as you wish" "Master a messenger" "PIinius Secundus a letter from Rectina wife of Tascus, she fears for her life sir and her household, the earthquake" "Yes yes I can read" "This letter is a desperate plea for help a friend of PIinys is stranded at the foot of Vesuvius her only hope of escape is by sea" "The whole coastline is thick with villas, it seems that the scholar must give way to the admiral and rescue." "Anicetus order the quadriremes to set sail, as many as can be manned, lightly oared, and follow me to Pompeii" "Pumice continues to bombard the city" "Master." "What?" "I'm frightened" "The weight of pumice on balconies and roofs creates a new danger" "Hedone," "Hedone..." "Hedone" "It will be almost 2000 years before the slaves body and her bracelet are uncovered in the ruins of this cheap hotel." "Every home in Pompeii faces the same threat." "The roofs are built to withstand nothing heavier than rain, its not a question of if they will collapse but when" "Oh, merciful god Jupiter hear our prayer and accept our humble offering" "help us great Jupiter, we understand and accept your anger, we beg you to protect and preserve..." "Master, master the roof is thick with stones, groaning from the weight, everyone must move from here We'II finish our prayers" "felix, the beams are solid don't fuss" "So where is there that is safe" "From surviving records we know that" "admiral PIinys rescue mission was underway around 5pm." "He passed a town even closer to the danger than Pompeii but kept clear of fall out by the wind." "It's called HercuIaneum." "By late afternoon most people had either fled the town or gathered on the beach hoping for rescue." "Amongst them a young girl." "We don't know her name but from the wear patterns on her bones we know she was a slave." "But PIiny didn't stop he took his ships towards Pompeii and into the darkness of the fall out zone" "hold your course" "admiral I cannot see, we will be wrecked" "Very well we steer to the light then to the light, we go to Stabiae." "With the wind behind him PIiny can't turn back, instead he heads further along the coast to the small town of Stabiae, its now" "PIinys only chance of refuge." "7 hours into the eruption Pompeii's streets are almost deserted" "As the pumice continues to fall it blocks doorways trapping those sheltering inside." "Mistress, mistress if we stay here we'II be buried by stones we must get away" "But how" "Hurry mistress." "Jump." "Mistress I have a family up by the nolan Gate" "family, so what of it" "I want to go to them mistress" "No no absolutely not, you're duty's here with me" "The deepening crisis causes everyone to re-evaIuate their position." "well what do you say" "Staying or going both are equally dangerous" "Which is why everyone must choose for himself" "I cannot go father" "Then nor can I" "Of course I will stay" "We will stay too master" "You need not sacrifice your family for us felix" "Your fate is our fate master" "No, longer." "You're all free, freed men and women" "Thank you master." "And freely we choose to stay." "The pumice and ash suck moisture from the air parching the throat and mouth" "This way" "CeIadus the Thoracian" "And you are?" "Fortunata, wife of Stephanus the fuller" "I was trying to make my way to the stabian gate" "And your husband?" "Fortunata," "Restitutus... anybody." "Time and options are quickly running out and not just in Pompeii." "PIiny trapped in Stabiae by an onshore wind, he's found shelter with a friend Pomponianus" "I am impressed that you can take this so calmly PIiny" "until the wind shifts or drops what can we do, besides when you've travelled as widely as I have and studied wider still you will understand that these phenomena are simply workings of nature and not to be feared." "well read though he was even" "PIiny couldn't grasp the scale of what was happening." "The mountain is spewing fire the whole summit is alight" "Courage my dear friend, in the morning when the wind permits we will leave this place, until then stand firm." "But Pomponianus is right to be afraid" "Something is happening to the mountain." "Something is happening to the mountain." "What happened is so bizarre that although PIinys nephew Gaius later described it, no one believed him." "Now heavier with denser rock part of the column collapsed and cascaded down the mountain in a great wave." "Super heated ash and molten rock churned down the volcano in a racing burning avalanche." "It's now known as a pyroclastic surge" "This blistering wave headed straight towards HercuIaneum and the people on the beach." "Among them a young slave girl and a 3 month old baby in her care." "5 times hotter than boiling water this cloud of gas and ash incinerates everything and everyone in its path." "The searing heat is so intense death is instantaneous." "The people on the beach did not just burn they turned to charcoal." "Inside the boat houses death was different, people died from thermal shock" "as the boiling surge cloud settled on their body their soft tissues vaporised," "teeth and bones shattered like fragile glass under boiling water." "Their brains boiled and exploded." "The skeletons of 300 men women and children have been found in the boat houses." "When the eruption finally stopped" "HercuIaneum and its victims" "lay buried under 25 metres of volcanic debris." "Pompeii faces a similar fate." "But in the early hours of the morning it's still the falling pumice that causes the most distress" "I couId only find these master the well is blocked the kitchen buried" "Then they will have to do but remember felix master no Ionger." "Right let us close these doors while we still can." "close next door too" "I hate being shut in" "It won't be forever" "The worst is yet to come." "Every household around the bay of naples is now in danger." "Mother we must leave." "No." "The house could fall at any moment." "No, not until your uncle is safely back in port." "This massive earthquake signals another deadly change in the eruption." "At the heart of the volcano the magma chamber has collapsed," "it triggers another pyrocIastic surge." "This time it heads straight for Pompeii." "miraculously the surge cloud runs out of energy just short of the northern wall, the city is spared." "But a cloud of toxic gas carried by the surge quickly spreads through the streets and houses." "Carbon-dioxide, suffocating and deadly." "What in the name of the gods is happening" "Hydrogen chloride, an acid that burns the eyes and throat, they form a lethal cocktail." "We're all going to die mother" "No of course not we'II think of something won't we" "We're trapped aren't we" "well at Ieast the smell seems to be easing" "Perhaps we could remove them from the hinges" "How and with what." "No water, no air and now no light" "No more of that Sabinus we must just pray for a solution." "Save your strength" "julia What?" "What is it?" "Death." "Why?" "where did you get it" "It doesn't matter now, all that matters is its painless and quick" "In extremes suicide was an acceptable form of death" "help me" "Who's there" "help me ah," "gold brought him back but it will not save him." "From the side of the column a blistering wave of ash and rock explodes." "Scorching and smashing everything in its path, it hurdles downwards," "nothing else that comes from a volcano is so hot or moves with such devastating power." "travelling at more than a 1 00 kilometres an hour it will take just a few minutes for the pyroclastic surge to reach Pompeii" "Of course if I'd been elected last time round none of this would have happened" "(praying )Venus god of love help me now," "You brought me here, show me a sign..." "Papa...papa" "claudia, claudia" "Death for the people of Pompeii was not instantaneous." "The first breath inhaIes hot gas and ash causes the lungs to fill with fluid," "it's like swallowing fire." "The 2nd breath mixes ash with the fluid creating a wet cement in the lungs and windpipe" "The 3rd breath thickens the cement causes the victims to gasp for breath and suffocate." "would they have known they were dying?" "From their death throes it seems almost certain." "But Vesuvius has one final horror to unleash" "Fascinating fascinating" "After 1 8 hours of eruption the bottom of the section of the column collapses spectacularly." "Courageous, stubborn or foolhardy" "PIiny made no attempt to save his life" "Those who survived reported that he fell where he stood, overwhelmed by gases carried by the cloud." "A final and greatest surge travels right across the bay of naples in a black cloud of death." "Mother we must leave now" "I won't leave you mother" "We're all going to die No" "It's in the hands of the gods My uncle does not believe in the gods, cover your mouth" "The final surge kills thousands who have fled into the countryside" "But not the man whose writings would prove critical to understanding what happened." "PIiny the younger." "PIinys description of the surge clouds that swept from Vesuvius was so bizarre it was not believed," "only in recent years has science vindicated him." "We now know that these explosive volcanic events can happen just as he described, they're known as PIinian Eruptions." "In just 1 8 hours" "Vesuvius spewed out more than 1 0 billion tons of pumice, rock and ash." "A rescue attempt was launched from the Rome but the devastation was simply too great." "For more than 1 500 years the city laid buried and forgotten" "Then in 1 594 it was rediscovered by chance when an aqueduct was being built." "Excavations have now been going on for 1 00's of years." "What they uncovered has amazed the world, the ash had formed a seal around the city" "like a time capsule preserving temples, shops, streets and houses" "But most poignant of all are the casts." "Victims whose bodies decayed" "leaving only their shapes preserved in the ash that smothered them." "Men, women, children, even animals." "Their final moments immortaIised." "Some victims even left clues to their identity" "well this is the room I want it completely redone." "Don't fret Sabinus the first child is always the hardest on the mother, but you'II have many more the god's willing eh." "In the house of PoIybius the skeleton of the heavily pregnant woman is found surrounded by her family" "Are we going to die mother?" "No of course not we'II think of something" "But we're trapped aren't we" "In the gladiators barracks the remains of a rich bejeweIIed lady alongside those of the gladiators" "To think I should find myself with gladiators" "To think we should find ourselves here with the wife of a fuller" "In the ruins of a cheap hotel a slave girl still wearing her inscribed bracelet" "Your bracelet Hedone what does it say" "From the master to his slave girl" "close to the FuIIery of Stephanus a skeleton still clutching a bag of gold" "Fortunata," "Restitutus..." "Anybody" "Mount Vesuvius still dominates the bay of naples, its fertile soils lure people to its slopes just as they did 2000 years ago," "only now 3 and a 1 million people" "live under its shadow" "Vesuvius has never again erupted with the same apocalyptic force as on that hot summers day in AD 79." "According to the experts PIinian eruptions of this scale only happen every 2000 years," "the next one is due"