BBC Documentary: Pompeii: The Mystery of People Frozen In Time

Narrated by Margaret Mountford, this documentary seeks to answer two questions: How exactly did the people of Pompeii die and why are their bodies so beautifully preserved. Mountford's is shown around the amazing ruins of Pompeii by Paul Roberts, Head of the Roman Collections at the British Museum.

Unlike many historic volcanic eruptions, Pompeii provides a very unusual archeological setting; the casts of Pompeii preserved real people which makes them unique.

The eruption began on August 24, 79 AD, heralded by a powerful earthquake in the morning. At 1pm Vesuvius erupted violently. A huge column of ash 14 km high was pushed into the atmosphere. It became dark as night and pumice, ash and chunks of solidified lava began to rain down on the city. In less than one hour, the column was 32 km high. It was thought that the ash was responsible for killing the people of Pompeii by causing them to suffocate. This was based on the statue of a muleteer with his hands covering his face which was seen as evidence that the people suffocated by ash. But this interpretation was questioned by some including Dr. Peter Baxter or Cambridge University who felt that the sitting posture of the man did not suggest suffocation?
If they didn't die from the ash, what did cause their deaths and the unusual positions of many of the people in death?

Body cast of muleteer

Herculaneum, a smaller city of five thousand to the west provided the clues. Herculaneum was a city of mainly very wealthy Romans who holidayed there. It was closer to Vesuvius and therefore felt the eruption much more strongly. There were very few human remains found and it was assumed the population of the city fled in time. However, in the 1980's a group of sheds near the harbour were discovered. In these sheds and in their vicinity during excavations, some 300 skeletons were discovered. Dr. Pier Paolo Petroni states that based on the condition of the skulls, which are fractured and blackened inside, there is evidence that these people were subjected to very high temperatures, high enough the cause their brains to boil and explode. Their bodies were reduced to skeletons. Like Pompeii there was no lava found in Herculaneum, suggesting a very different kind of eruption.

Pliny the Younger, a Roman magistrate was a witness to the eruption of Vesuvius. His letters to the historian, Tacitus, describing the eruption in great deal have provided geologists and archeologists with valuable information on the eruption. Twelve hours after the initial eruption, Vesuvius was still spewing forth large volumes of ash and gas. Pliny wrote about a great mass of material which swept down the mountainside. His description was not fully understood until the eruption of Mount St. Helen's in 1980, in which a pyroclastic flow, of approximately 700 C flowed horizontally for 10 km, destroying everything in its path. It appears Herculaneum and the people in the the boat sheds experienced a similar event during the Vesuvius eruption.

One of the casts in Pompeii is that of a woman with her arms raised. It was thought that this woman was defending herself against an attacker but now it is understood that her position is characteristic of a person who was killed by intense heat, causing her to raise her arms, with the arm muscles contracting permanently in this position which she remained after death. Could there then have been a second pyroclastic flow from Vesuvius that reached Pompeii? And if so why are the remains of the people there so different from those found at Herculaneum?

Pompeii: The Mystery of People Frozen in Time is a fascinating reconstruction of this historic disaster that has captured the imagination of archeologists and the public for decades. The reconstruction of the faces of two people who died in the disaster put a human face on this tragedy that occurred two thousand years ago.

Germania by John Wilson

Germania is a  novel about a Roman legion ambushed and slaughtered in the wilds of Germania. .The story is told by Lucius Quintus Claudianus, a member of the 19th Legion Scorpio, specifically the IXth cohort. In the opening chapter of Germania Lucius, nearing 100 years of age is living at his sister's grandson's villa just by the northwestern gate of the town of Herculaneum in 79 AD - the year of Mount Vesuvius' famous eruption which destroyed both Herculaneum and Pompeii. 

Lucius decides to write his story, "I have just returned from the roof and it is what I saw there that has prompted me to begin this tale. Although the sun still shines above and the sky to the west is as blue as a robin's egg, the picture is altogether different to the east. There a cloud hangs, turning the landscape below it as dark as midnight. It is no ordinary cloud, such as presages a thunderstorm, but an unnatural one that blossoms up in a vast column from the unknown depths of the mountain."

And so Lucius begins to tell us about the events that led up to a long forgotten tragedy, all the while unaware of the disaster about to unfold before him in Herculaneum. As a young apprentice signifer to the IXth Cohort, Lucius and a group of warriors are ambushed and captured by barbarians while on their way to Vetera to join the 19th Legion. They are quickly rescued by Cherusci warriors who are loyal to Rome and are part of the Roman Auxilliary forces. 

It is at this time that Lucius meets Freya, a Cherusci warrior who is travelling with her uncle Arminius. It is through Freya that Lucius begins to understand what life is like for the barbarian tribes that live on the borders of the Roman territory and what it is like to serve Rome but never be accepted as a an equal in Roman society. When Lucius offers Roman ways as a means to be civilized, Freya questions what being civilized will mean to her way of life and her tribe. It is this struggle to see the benefits Rome offers in contrast to the loss of a way of life and freedom that precipitates barbarian rebellion against Rome.

When the 19th Legion enters Illyria, Bato, leader of the Bruesci tribe rebels and attempts to force the Romans out of Illyria. The ensuing battle is described vividly and provides thrilling insight to Roman warfare. Although Bato is seemingly defeated this time, Freya soon comes to understand what her uncle Arminius is planning. When Arminius must choose between Rome and Cherusci, Freya must decide who she will be loyal to, Arminius, the Cherusci and their way of life, or Lucius and Rome.

Discussion

Germania is a novel that explores the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest which occurred in 9 A.D. The battle was fought between Roman soldiers and the Germani people. The battle began when the Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus were ambushed by the Germanic chieftain, Arminius. 

Arminius was a prince in Cherusci tribe, the son of the Cheruscan chief, Segimerus who was an ally of Rome. He learned to speak Latin, had Roman citizenship and was well educated. He eventually served in the Roman cavalry and became a commander in the auxiliaries. Arminius returned to Gaul where he served sd an officer in Varus's auxilia as well as a trusted advisor to Varus who was governor of Germania. But behind the scenes, Arminius was rallying the various Germanic tribes including the Cherusci, Marsi, Bructeri and many others to form an alliance against Rome.

Varus was considered a ruthless ruler in Germania and Arminius was not really loyal to Rome. Along with the other Germanic tribes, a plan was devised to ambush the three legions under Varus's command. Since the Roman army was well armed and very well trained, special tactics were needed. Arminius convinced Varus to set up a summer camp in Cherusci lands where they could be observed by the tribe. The plan was then to attack the Romans on their way back to their winter camp.

Arminius set his plan in motion, having his allies create unrest, while he influenced Varus's actions over the summer months. Varus began his move to the winter camp on September 7, 9 A.D with the XVII, XVIII and XIX Legions. Arminius left Varus, telling the Roman commander that he was organizing the Cherusci auxiliaries but in fact was organizing men from the Angrivarii and Bructeri to attack. The next day as the Roman army made its way through the Teutoburg Forest, they were attacked. Because of the dense bush, the Roman soldiers were strung out along a long line which made attack not only easy but successful. It is estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 Roman soldiers were killed, with a small number likely being enslaved. The Roman defeat was so complete that it shocked Emperor Augustus. Although the Roman defeat in the Teutoburg Forest is often listed as the main reason for limiting the Roman incursion in Germania, there were likely other factors at work as well.

Wilson's writing is vivid, exciting and he manages to include a great deal of historical fact and information about Roman legions in Germania. The ending while tragic is supremely satisfying. Highly recommended.

Book details:

Germania by John Wilson
Key Porter Books Limited 2008
278pp