As the ash and rock fell to Earth, it buried the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
New discoveries are expanding this limited version of events.
It only picks up withthe rediscovery of the citiesand the excavations that started in earnest in the 1740s.
The restored version of John Martin’s Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum.Illustration:John Martin
Butrecent researchhas shifted the narrative.
Pompeii was a community of about30,000 peoplethat hosted thriving industry and active political and financial networks.
Herculaneum, with a populationof about 5,000, had an active fishing fleet and a number of marble workshops.
Both economies supported the villas of wealthy Romans in the surrounding countryside.
But the evidence that people could have escaped was always there.
The eruption itself continued forover 18 hours.
Some archaeologists have always assumed that some people escaped.
But searching for them has never been a priority.
So I created a methodology to determine if survivors could be found.
I also looked for additional evidence, such as improved infrastructure in neighboring communities to accommodate migrants.
These municipalities are primarily in the general area of Pompeii.
But they tended to be north of Mount Vesuvius, outside the zone of the greatest destruction.
It seems as though most survivors stayed as close as they could to Pompeii.
Those cities also built agrand, expensive tomb complexdecorated with inscriptions and large portraits of family members.
Members of the Caltilius family married into another family of escapees, the Munatiuses.
Together, they created a wealthy, successful extended family.
The second-busiest port city in Roman Italy, Puteoli whats known as Pozzuoli today also welcomed survivors from Pompeii.
Some had already been poor to begin with.
Others seemed to have lost their family fortunes, perhaps in the eruption itself.
Fabia Secundina from Pompeii apparently named for her grandfather, a wealthy wine merchant also ended up in Puteoli.
For this reason, its likely that Felicio didnt have any surviving family members.
For example, the Vibidia family had lived in Herculaneum.
How would survivors be treated today?
While the survivors resettled and built lives in their new communities, government played a role as well.
This model for post-disaster recovery can be a lesson for today.
The costs of funding the recovery never seems to have been debated.
Survivorswere not isolated into camps, nor were they forced to live indefinitelyin tent cities.
Theres no evidence that they encountered discrimination in their new communities.
Instead, all signs indicate that communities welcomed the survivors.
Many of them went on to open their own businesses and hold positions in local governments.
Steven L. Tuck, Professor of Classics,Miami University.
This article is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license.
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