Archaeology Researchers puzzle over exact date of Pompeii's demise
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which buried the Roman city of Pompeii under ash, is considered one of the most famous natural disasters of antiquity. However, the exact date of the event is still disputed to this day.
22.11.2025, 13:21
SDA
Scientists are discussing the possible date of the eruption between August and November 79 AD at an international conference in Boscoreale near Pompeii this weekend.
The only contemporary witness to mention the date in letters to the historian Tacitus was Pliny the Younger. The oldest manuscripts give the date as August 24, which is traditionally considered the most likely day.
However, some evidence contradicts this statement: autumnal fruit found in Pompeii, graffiti on house walls and new archaeological finds, including an inscription discovered in 2018, indicate that the city still existed in October. There is also discussion that the letters in some manuscripts could be read differently, pointing to November 1 as a possible date.
While the archaeologist Alessandro Russo and the classical philologist Pedar Foss consider August 24 to be the most likely date of the eruption, other researchers argue for a period between September and November. Clothing found in the streets of Pompeii indicate cooler temperatures, which are more suitable for the fall.
Researchers from the University of Valencia are investigating the clothing of the victims of the eruption of Vesuvius in Pompeii in 79 A.D. The research is based on plaster casts from the necropolis of Porta Nola, particularly finds from 1975. The study suggests that people who died outside the houses wore heavy clothing. In contrast, the victims found inside the houses were found wearing everyday clothing. Further analysis of fabric types and material compositions is still pending.
