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Pompeii Damaged by Volcaniclastic Debris Flows Triggered Centuries Prior to the 79 A.D. Vesuvius Eruption
Author(s) -
Senatore Maria Rosaria,
Ciarallo Annamaria,
Stanley JeanDaniel
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.21458
Subject(s) - pyroclastic rock , geology , debris , volcano , channelized , debris flow , geomorphology , paleontology , geochemistry , oceanography , computer science , telecommunications
This study records that P ompeii, long before its final devastation by the 79 A . D . V esuvius eruption in southern I taly, was damaged by several mass gravity flows. Composition of the deposits indicates that they were derived from volcaniclastic cover of carbonate highlands positioned 14 km NE of the city. Stratigraphic and petrologic analyses of sections in excavations and drill cores in and near P ompeii record the presence of three downslope‐directed debris flows dated between 8th and 2nd century B.C . Some of these deposits were channelized via a stream bed that once extended from high reliefs to P ompeii. It is proposed that one of these events may have been partially responsible for urban decline during the 4th century B . C . These mass flows are interpreted as having been triggered primarily by intense rains in a manner similar to those that have occurred and destroyed towns in this region during the past 50 years. Our investigation shows that P ompeii and adjacent areas in the past, much as in recent time, have likely been most frequently susceptible to episodic damage by avalanches and mass flows of volcaniclastic material resulting from hydrological effects rather than from volcanic events, earthquake tremors, and societal disruptions such as wars.