24 September 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

The bronze age village Afragola buried by the Plinian eruption of mount Vesuvius 4,000 Years Ago

Mount Vesuvius’ Plinian eruption about 4,000 years ago—2,000 years before it buried the Roman city of Pompeii—left remarkable preservation of early Bronze Age village life in the Campania region of southern Italy.

The remarkable preservation of the village of Afragola is unmatched in Europe. It was located near modern Naples, about 10 miles from Mount Vesuvius.

Researchers were curious to see if they could determine the time of year the eruption occurred due to the level of preservation and variety of plants preserved at the site.

Afragola was excavated over an area of 5,000 square meters, making it among one of the most extensively investigated sites of the Early Bronze Age in Italy.

In a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the researchers explained how the eruption took place in different phases, beginning with a dramatic explosion that primarily transported debris to the northeast.

UConn Department of Anthropology researcher Tiziana Matarazzo said, “The site is exceptional because Afragola was buried by a giant eruption of Vesuvius, and this tells us a lot about the people who lived there and the local habitat. In this case, by finding fruit and agricultural materials, we were able to determine the eruption season, which is not usually possible,”.

 Southern Campanian plain in the Bronze Age showing  Afragola and surrounding villages.
Southern Campanian plain in the Bronze Age showing Afragola and surrounding villages.

Matarazzo added: the last phase brought mainly ash and water – this is the so-called phreatomagmatic phase – which was scattered mainly to the west and northwest, about 25 kilometers from the volcano.

The village was buried in a thick layer of volcanic material during this phase, which replaced the molecules of plant macroremains and produced flawless casts in cinerite (also known as ash tuff), a material that doesn’t degrade for thousands of years.

“Leaves that were in the woods nearby were also covered by mud and ash which was not super-hot, so we have beautiful imprints of the leaves in the cinerite,” said Matarazzo.

The village also had a warehouse where all the grain, various agricultural goods, and fruits were collected from the nearby forests for storage. The building caught fire probably due to the arrival of pyroclastic materials and collapsed, carbonizing the stored vegetal materials inside.

In the Bronze Age, the Campanian Plain was home to a diverse range of food sources, including grains and barley, hazelnuts, acorns, wild apples, dogwood, pomegranates, and cornelian cherries, all of which were exceptionally well-preserved in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption.

“This eruption was so extraordinary that it changed the climate for many years afterward. The column of the Plinian eruption rose to basically the flight altitude of airplanes. It was unbelievable. The cover of ash was so deep that it left the site untouched for 4,000 years. Now we get to learn about the people who lived there and tell their stories,” said Matarazzo.

The evidence points toward the eruption happening in the fall, as the villagers amassed their food stores from the nearby woods.

Connecticut Üniversitesi

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103587

Banner
Related Post

It may have been designed in Nevali Çori before Göbeklitepe was built

10 October 2021

10 October 2021

Göbeklitepe, Nevali Çori, Karahantepe, and Taştepeler, which will make us rethink what we know about human history, change the information...

Unique finds unearthed in the ancient city of Olba in southern Türkiye

16 August 2023

16 August 2023

In the excavations carried out in the ancient city of Olba, located in the Silifke district of Mersin, in the...

Burials covered in red dye discovered in Serbian barrows

18 February 2022

18 February 2022

Polish archaeologists excavating two barrow mounds in Vojvodina, in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia, have uncovered the...

Archaeologists discovered 130 dwellings around the Ringheiligtum Pömmelte monument “German Stonehenge”

15 June 2021

15 June 2021

Archaeologists have unearthed 130 dwellings at an Early Bronze Age monument in Germany, indicating that the ‘Stonehenge’ was once home...

Export barred on roundel manuscript gifted to Queen Elizabeth I by Archbishop

12 September 2022

12 September 2022

A rare presentation manuscript that Archbishop of Canterbury Matthew Parker gave to Queen Elizabeth I in 1573 has been sold...

1,800 years old Sewer system found in ancient city of Mastaura

17 May 2022

17 May 2022

Archaeologists found an 1800-year-old sewer system during excavations in the ancient city of Mastaura, in the Nazilli district of Aydın...

Ming-era two shipwrecks found in South China Sea

23 May 2023

23 May 2023

In the South China Sea, two ancient shipwrecks that date back to the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) were...

Excavations Near Stonehenge Uncover Bronze Age Barrow Cemetery

4 June 2023

4 June 2023

The Cotswold Archeology team excavating at the site of a planned housing development near Salisbury, England, has unearthed a giant...

China’s 4300-Year-Old Ancient Pyramids

26 March 2021

26 March 2021

Shaanxi Province in Northwest China is famous for its rich archaeological treasures. Among the many sites discovered in Shaanxi, the...

Archaeologists have found seven pairs of Anglo-Saxon brooches in seven graves during an excavation in Gloucestershire

5 April 2022

5 April 2022

Archaeologists have found seven pairs of Anglo-Saxon saucer brooches, one pair in each of seven burials unearthed in an excavation...

After 85 years of adventure, Globetrotting Mycenaean gold ring returns home

3 June 2022

3 June 2022

The 3,000-year-old gold Mycenaean ring, stolen from the Rhodes Archaeological Museum during World War II and later bought by a...

Do Byzantine coins Record the Supernova of 1054?

25 June 2022

25 June 2022

SN 1054 was one of the most spectacular astronomical events of all time. The supernova explosion eventually formed what is...

A Mikveh or Jewish ritual bath discovered in basement of former strip club in Poland

24 August 2023

24 August 2023

Marian Zwolski, a Chmielnik businessman, bought a former nightclub that had been closed for 15 years a few years ago....

Turkey Adds New Sites to UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

30 April 2021

30 April 2021

Two additional cultural objects have been added to Turkey’s World Heritage Tentative List, bringing the total number of cultural assets...

Archaeologists unearth orchestra floor in Black Sea Region’s Ephesus

10 December 2021

10 December 2021

During continuing excavations in the northwestern province of Düzce, archaeologists discovered the orchestra floor of the theater area in the...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *