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National Geographic In the Shadow of Vesuvius
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From deep in the earth come clues to |
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They died instantly, |
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But only now are we beginning |
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the mosaic that tells |
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Pulsing with |
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southern Italy is also the intimate |
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Active for 17,000 years, |
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Mount Vesuvius erupted most recently |
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Only a few miles from Vesuvius another |
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Here, the sea appears to be boiling, |
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the earth regularly grumbles and groans |
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"Vesuvius slumbers", |
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"but his heart is still awake". |
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A microcosm of our eternal battle |
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this is life in the shadow of Vesuvius |
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Washed by the placid waters |
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the region of Campania |
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and travelers, emperors and kings. |
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Two thousand years ago |
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"the most blest land", |
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"the fairest of all regions, |
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not only in Italy but |
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"a place where the summers are cool |
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and where the sea dies away gently |
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The climate and extraordinarily rich |
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to grow grapes, olives, |
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But 2,000 years ago few understood |
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was a gift from the mountain |
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the mountain was in fact a volcano. |
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Today we know Mount Vesuvius |
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and infamous, volcanoes in history. |
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The most active volcano on the |
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it has erupted some 50 times |
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Looming over a metropolis vastly |
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Vesuvius, the "flaming mountain", |
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Today, Vesuvius's shadow falls on |
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in the greater Naples area |
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one of the most densely populated |
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Nowhere else in the Western world |
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do such vast numbers dwell in the |
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Though most Neapolitans either don't |
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that Vesuvius is an active volcano, |
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Seismic information from throughout |
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With no practical civil defense plan |
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the goal is to accumulate enough data |
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an early warning system. |
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The science of plate tectonics |
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is composed of about a dozen rigid |
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The movements cause the plates |
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One is called subduction, in which one |
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As this happens, |
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the heat of the earth's interior |
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In this way about 80% of the world's |
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Along the coast of Italy subduction has |
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The most famous in Italy, and perhaps |
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Here, the power of nature's forces |
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Naples itself, |
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San Sebastiano, |
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and two towns made famous |
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Herculaneum and Pompeii. |
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Lost and forgotten for |
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Pompeii is one of the great |
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as much for its poignant story |
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as for its historical significance. |
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Lying six miles from |
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Pompeii was a thriving Roman |
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specializing in the export of wine, |
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Its boundless prosperity was reflected |
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Street of Abundance. |
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Kept safe from the ravages of time by |
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Pompeii is the largest site of the |
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In addition to homes and shops. |
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Pompeii had its own marketplaces, |
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More than a hundred taverns |
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and traders arriving by land and sea |
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from the farthest reaches |
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Bakers were among the busiest tradesmen |
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Grain was ground into flour |
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turned by animals or slaves. |
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In the oldest known Roman amphitheater |
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built 100 years before |
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20,000 spectators thrilled to |
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and battles with wild animals. |
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Soon after excavation was begun. |
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Pompeii's name swept the Western world |
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and its art and architecture had |
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on European and American culture. |
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A "Pompeii fever" compelled painters |
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and sculptors throughout Europe |
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Neoclassicism was fueled |
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and remained the standard |
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Pompeiians depicted the wine god |
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as was the fertile Vesuvius itself. |
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With no record of eruption |
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they saw it as merely a mountain, |
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On that fateful August day in 79 A.D. |
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thousands fled the city |
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For those who tarried, the end was |
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a painful, choking death from |
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Their bodies were packed |
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which hardened over the years |
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When the forms were discovered |
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plaster was injected into them, |
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Creating these faithful images of the |
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Eight miles northwest of Pompeii |
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It is built atop a buried ancient town |
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which was silenced in the same |
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The earliest part of Herculaneum |
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still remains hidden underground |
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because occupied homes and |
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All traces of Herculaneum |
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Even writings about the once elegant |
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The rebirth of Herculaneum |
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began with its accidental discovery |
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Searching for water, he struck instead |
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Later, excavators knew they |
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when they uncovered marble inscribed |
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In one of the dark tunnels a haunting |
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an impression left in |
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by a statue toppled from its pedestal. |
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Magnificent treasures were uncovered, |
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the ruling nobility of Naples |
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Tunnels were ordered dug and searched. |
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And a massive hole was cut to |
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and priceless bronze statues. |
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Then, except for sporadic digging, |
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Herculaneum was all |
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More than 100 years later |
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when the Fascist government allocates |
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Ton after ton of volcanic debris |
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Only then does the ancient town |
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Pompeii had been relatively |
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yet here at Herculaneum |
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workers struggle through 40 to 60 feet |
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Why this difference? Scientists puzzle |
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Why was Pompeii covered |
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and Herculaneum |
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when the two towns were buried |
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Unlike the commercial center |
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Herculaneum was a residential |
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Built on a low bluff |
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it housed between four and |
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artisans, and fishermen. |
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The most notable gathering places |
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Heated by fires and tended by slaves, |
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With separate sections |
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the baths were a place to relax, |
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Now, bases on record from the past, |
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Herculaneum is magically recaptured |
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as it was in the glorious days |
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They left us image magnificently cast |
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but where were the people themselves? |
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Few human remains had ever been found, |
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and scholars concluded that surely |
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the people of Herculaneum |
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The extraordinary number |
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provides an intimate look |
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A cloth press in a cleaner's shop. |
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The remains of a bed. |
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A baby's charred cradle. |
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A charred doll. |
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Magnificent jewelry, |
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hand-hammered from the purest of gold. |
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And costume jewelry of beads, |
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and perhaps most astounding |
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walnuts, freshly baked bread, eggs, |
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and figs preserved for |
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In 1980, more than 270 years after |
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a skeleton was uncovered on the site |
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Then three more were found there, |
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The arched chambers facing |
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Now they cried out for attention. |
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Yet no one was prepared |
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that would destroy scientific theory |
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Many Herculaneans had not escaped. |
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Huddled together in the dark recesses |
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scores were overtaken |
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Perhaps members of the same family, |
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Some of the victims were found wearing |
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Others, no doubt certain |
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gathered their treasure troves |
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Today, the cataclysm that brought |
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has become an unparalleled legacy |
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Analysis of the bone may answer some |
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about Roman culture and daily life. |
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Physical anthropologist Dr. Sara Bisel |
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has spent her career |
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but this opportunity is unique. |
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The reason why the Herculaneum |
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is that it may well be the only one |
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we ever have from |
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because Roman burials were |
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And we've had artifacts before, |
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we've had literature, but this is |
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I find it very moving. |
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Working with chief excavator |
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Bisel uncovers treasures locked |
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A magnificent bracelet is found |
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No doubt a person of wealth, |
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I think she must have had them |
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since her arm is off |
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Oh, this one has a little chain. |
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Her earrings, meant for pierced ears, |
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And as she ran, |
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futile protection against the dark. |
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I take them out of the ground |
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They don't talk to me as much in |
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But when I get them out, then they |
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and what they did every day. |
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And they say whether they are male |
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what kind of work they did, |
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whether they were abused |
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what sort of nutrition they had, |
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Well, I can't see all the illnesses, |
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They can tell me that. |
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Women can tell me how many |
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They can't tell me whether |
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This is noteworthy. |
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From a pelvic bone Bisel is able to |
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and how many babies she had. |
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Twenty-seven years; |
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She was roughly 27 years old |
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From that little bone, |
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In all, Bisel will analyze |
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It is a monumental task. |
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After the bones are cleaned, dried, |
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and dipped in an acrylic-resin |
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Bisel begins the process of |
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In general I think they |
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I haven't seen some of the gross |
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Some of the people who, I presume, |
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were slaves show signs of working very |
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not nearly so healthy |
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Ancient people have beautiful teeth, |
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They have very few cavities |
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and all the teeth just line up |
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With her trained eye, Bisel is able |
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about two people found lying together |
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This baby was in the first chamber |
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And actually before we |
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all you could see was the top of |
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and it was being held in the arms |
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So we didn't know we knew it was a baby |
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The men that were working |
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This is the baby and its mother |
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And I looked at the skeleton |
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and it was a prepubertal girl. |
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So I know it wasn't the mother. |
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So then they all said it |
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but I'll show you that |
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This baby was the baby of a rich family |
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And I don't really think a child that's |
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Now here's the girl |
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And I'll show you why I don't think |
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Sort of a nice-looking person, |
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Nice regular features. |
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But if you look really closely here |
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you can see the line, |
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and the same here on the first molar. |
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Now this deep indentation into |
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when the tooth was forming, she just |
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That in itself does not point to |
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This is even more telling the humerus. |
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You see these places here the |
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on the humerus that's the arm bone |
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the attachment for the muscle here |
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which would really only happen in |
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that were far too heavy |
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And no daughter of a rich family would |
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So I think she was a slave. |
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So you see that there really was a cross |
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It wasn't just poor people; |
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You remember the lady with |
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So everybody was down there |
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And they were all there together, |
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But the central mystery remains: |
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By studying various levels |
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Dr. Haraldur Sigurdsson |
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pieces together Herculaneum's |
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The eruption of Vesuvius occurred |
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The first phase lasted for about |
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and resulted in ash fall over |
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During that phase the wind was blowing |
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so that Herculaneum was spared most of |
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...two inches of ash fell during |
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Therefore, the population of |
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of the potential dangers for the city. |
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And so, many Herculaneans stayed. |
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But their good fortune did not last. |
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Sigurdsson finds evidence of a violent |
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that did not occur until many hours |
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These layers contain important lines |
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First of all, carbonized wood, |
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indicating temperatures of two to |
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as well as bricks and |
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which indicate high force, |
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perhaps of the order of one to |
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These layers, therefore, |
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Now surges are the most deadly phases |
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One phase of the Mount St. Helens' |
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Unlike slowly advancing lava flows, |
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Surges explode with the force |
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Compared to Mount St. Helens, |
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the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. |
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For 12 hours Vesuvius hurled into |
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at times as high as 20 miles. |
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When the column collapsed, |
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superheated avalanche that blasted |
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killing its residents. |
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Immediately after the surge |
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called a pyroclastic flow, |
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Of the five surges that followed, |
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but by now most people |
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Herculaneans were not as fortunate. |
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In the ruins of one of Herculaneum's |
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the enormity of |
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This heavy marble bowl was sitting |
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But when the surge blasted through |
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and the force of the surge threw it |
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where it left this impression |
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If you look closely, you'll see |
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by window glass thrown into the bowl |
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when the surge blasted |
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As midnight approached, |
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none could comprehend that their world |
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in one horrifying blow. |
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With the surge bearing down on their |
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the Herculaneans had less than |
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no doubt hoping to escape by sea. |
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When escape became impossible, |
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Scorched by the searing heat |
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they suffocated as the gases tore |
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Pyroclastic flows that followed |
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frozen for nearly two millennia |
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of their final moments on this earth. |
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To date excavations along the ancient |
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But Herculaneum is less |
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It seems certain other chambers, |
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with other dead, remain hidden |
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Because parts of Herculaneum lie |
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and shops of Ercolano, |
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never reveal their ancient secrets |
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seven miles west of Naples is Pozzuoli |
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the largest town in a region known |
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The entire region is a caldera |
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formed about 35,000 years ago |
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The Fiery Fields are dotted with some |
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The only one still active is on |
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It is called La Solfatara |
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Unable to explain the constant steam |
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the ancients thought surely this |
| 00:29:36 |
In more recent times Solfatara was |
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of inspiration for Dante's "Inferno". |
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Throughout its history Solfatara |
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of layman and scientist alike. |
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In the beginning it was pressure |
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and we cannot enter the area |
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because there is a corrosion |
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So there is the possibility |
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Today, scientists stand behind |
| 00:30:10 |
protected against ground collapse. |
| 00:30:12 |
Seventy years ago they were able |
| 00:30:15 |
right on the crater's floor. |
| 00:30:20 |
Just beyond the trees at the edge |
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for the unlikely sight of campers. |
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Here, for a few thousand line, |
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tourists from many countries |
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This unusual piece of real estate |
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for more than 100 years. |
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Eugenio de Luca. |
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Not so many people used to come here |
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because they were afraid. |
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Now they come again. |
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we have never been afraid. |
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I was sure, we were sure |
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I mean nothing volcanic, you know. |
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Tourists continue to come with |
| 00:31:09 |
and no doubt a bit of daring. |
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But just beyond the ridge, thousands |
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The uneasy of Pozzuoli live and work |
| 00:31:24 |
Pozzuoli is a working-class |
| 00:31:27 |
Two thousand years ago, |
| 00:31:29 |
it was a favorite holiday resort |
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In its heyday it was also one of the |
| 00:31:36 |
of the Roman Empire. |
| 00:31:43 |
Now as then, hawkers pitch their wares |
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They go about their business, |
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but buyers and sellers alike are |
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of another potential danger |
| 00:32:05 |
Throughout recorded history Pozzuoli |
| 00:32:08 |
by earthquakes triggered |
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of magma lying beneath the town. |
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As the magma has risen and fallen, |
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As the ancient Roman marketplace |
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were above water level when the market |
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Now they are marked with the burrows |
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evidence that over the centuries |
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As recently as 1976 |
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One period of startling uplift |
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when the ground rose five-and-half feet |
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Boats that once anchored |
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must now be reached by ladder. |
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Were Pozzuoli not situated near water, |
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the uplift would be more difficult |
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In fact, it was fishermen |
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as well as the bubbles boiling up |
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If too much pressure builds, |
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the threat is an explosion like the |
| 00:33:29 |
Preceded by a series of earthquakes, |
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the eruption raised the earth |
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On October 4, 1983, after months |
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a four-point earthquake |
| 00:34:09 |
The older buildings fared the worst. |
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Already weakened by a period of |
| 00:34:15 |
many, like this church, |
| 00:34:25 |
No one can say how many houses |
| 00:34:27 |
but at least half the population |
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some in fear, |
| 00:34:42 |
With their economy collapsed |
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an estimated 35,000 people were |
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and temporary camps hastily set up |
| 00:34:59 |
A population already severely stressed |
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was now uprooted from the only home |
| 00:35:26 |
In 1985 the volcanic uplift |
| 00:35:29 |
and people began to return to Pozzuoli |
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Some businesses, their buildings |
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set up temporary shops |
| 00:35:44 |
Scientists can neither explain |
| 00:35:49 |
Many residents still live elsewhere, |
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For fishermen, the best catch |
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So Raffaele Bucciero, |
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must sleep in Pozzuoli |
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Working with his son Vincenzo |
| 00:36:17 |
he hauls in their mile-long net. |
| 00:36:20 |
The bountiful water are famous for |
| 00:36:28 |
Vincenzo has a full-time factory job |
| 00:36:31 |
and has no desire to become a fisherman |
| 00:36:34 |
But he knows his father needs help |
| 00:36:39 |
Vincenzo has his own family now, but |
| 00:36:47 |
Raffaele's wife works perhaps hardest |
| 00:36:52 |
traveling daily to Pozzuoli |
| 00:36:56 |
Annunziata Bucciero is too frightened |
| 00:37:01 |
the family once shared. |
| 00:37:08 |
Major efforts are underway to |
| 00:37:11 |
by injecting new cement into them. |
| 00:37:14 |
But for many people, |
| 00:37:15 |
the chaos and devastation keeps |
| 00:37:20 |
Pozzuoli may be Mrs. Bucciero's |
| 00:37:23 |
but surrounded by the rubble, |
| 00:37:25 |
she is simply too terrified |
| 00:37:30 |
To retain some semblance |
| 00:37:33 |
Mrs. Bucciero has made a ritual |
| 00:37:39 |
For two long years, |
| 00:37:43 |
the routine has seldom varied. |
| 00:37:47 |
They are fortunate to have inherited |
| 00:37:49 |
a small ground-level storage room |
| 00:37:51 |
where the family can gather. |
| 00:37:56 |
Making do with a portable gas stove, |
| 00:37:58 |
she takes immense pride in being |
| 00:38:02 |
as she has for more than 35 years. |
| 00:38:09 |
"I was happy," she says. |
| 00:38:11 |
"All I cared about was having |
| 00:38:15 |
But the earthquake divided us." |
| 00:38:22 |
In a few years retirement is the goal |
| 00:38:28 |
Until that time his life remains tied |
| 00:38:38 |
He says: We have this cross to bear, |
| 00:38:43 |
Our children are scattered all over. |
| 00:38:47 |
We can't all be together, |
| 00:38:51 |
My wife and I sacrifice. I fish |
| 00:39:03 |
At one o'clock the family is united, |
| 00:39:05 |
the number of people varying |
| 00:39:10 |
With their parents today are |
| 00:39:13 |
and their respective fiancés. |
| 00:39:18 |
It is a time to talk and laugh, |
| 00:39:23 |
and to reenter each other's world |
| 00:39:27 |
A time to pretend their family |
| 00:39:30 |
and that in one short hour |
| 00:39:33 |
to go their separate ways. |
| 00:40:03 |
Before nightfall descends on Pozzuoli, |
| 00:40:05 |
jitneys crowd the marketplace |
| 00:40:08 |
those like Mrs. Bucciero |
| 00:40:19 |
My family is everything to me, |
| 00:40:22 |
Alone late at night, I sometimes cry. |
| 00:40:42 |
After dark Pozzuoli becomes |
| 00:40:55 |
His net set out for the night, |
| 00:40:57 |
Raffaele eats the evening meal |
| 00:41:01 |
It's very hard, he says. |
| 00:41:03 |
At my age where would I go? |
| 00:41:06 |
Pozzuoli has always been our home. |
| 00:41:23 |
Home or not, many residents have been |
| 00:41:30 |
About four miles northwest of Pozzuoli |
| 00:41:34 |
the government is building a new town |
| 00:41:38 |
Acclaiming it the "new Pozzuoli", |
| 00:41:41 |
officials hope it will develop |
| 00:41:46 |
But many residents are doubtful. |
| 00:41:48 |
Isolated from friends and loved ones, |
| 00:41:51 |
they stay only because |
| 00:42:00 |
Perhaps none are more deeply affected |
| 00:42:03 |
than some elderly who are separated |
| 00:42:10 |
"During the quake", she says, |
| 00:42:12 |
the walls were going like this, |
| 00:42:17 |
and I called out to Jesus. |
| 00:42:20 |
the ceiling was shaking and the smell |
| 00:42:28 |
It is a trauma for me when I think of |
| 00:42:34 |
and it hurts to see it so deserted |
| 00:42:52 |
I miss everything in Pozzuoli, |
| 00:42:55 |
everything. It is my home. |
| 00:43:05 |
Generations have been shaken by fear. |
| 00:43:09 |
A new generation waits and wonders |
| 00:43:20 |
Until now the Fiery Fields' volcanic |
| 00:43:26 |
But the Gulf of Pozzuoli is also part |
| 00:43:31 |
Prof. Lorenzo Mirabile believes a |
| 00:43:35 |
will only emerge by including a study |
| 00:43:41 |
His team of scientists from |
| 00:43:44 |
will place instruments at four |
| 00:43:48 |
Surface buoys will mark their location |
| 00:43:52 |
The instruments will indicate |
| 00:43:56 |
by measuring the changes in the height |
| 00:43:59 |
between the bottom and the surface. |
| 00:44:02 |
They will also monitor water |
| 00:44:06 |
taking into account such variables |
| 00:44:14 |
Solar-powered radio transmitters relay |
| 00:44:23 |
The signals from the gulf are received |
| 00:44:26 |
24 hours a day. |
| 00:44:28 |
But Mirabile believes it will take at |
| 00:44:33 |
to even determine what |
| 00:44:37 |
Then, he hopes, the information, |
| 00:44:39 |
in combination with the findings |
| 00:44:43 |
can be used to develop an early |
| 00:44:47 |
before disaster strikes. |
| 00:44:51 |
The Fiery Fields are home to 200,000 |
| 00:44:57 |
The evacuation of such numbers poses |
| 00:45:02 |
Yet, without doubt, |
| 00:45:06 |
it will erupt again. |
| 00:45:12 |
The most recent eruption, in 1944, |
| 00:45:15 |
was filmed by the Allied troops that |
| 00:45:23 |
Relentlessly for three days the lava |
| 00:45:28 |
moving ever close to the town |
| 00:45:32 |
Lying just three miles below |
| 00:45:35 |
San Sebastiano has historically |
| 00:45:40 |
Nearly every generation living here |
| 00:45:42 |
since the early 19th century |
| 00:46:08 |
Even their patron saint seemed |
| 00:46:12 |
Miraculously, only two people died, |
| 00:46:15 |
but two thirds of the buildings |
| 00:46:18 |
Most of the population was homeless. |
| 00:46:23 |
Two hundred yards wide, the solidified |
| 00:46:28 |
as a vivid reminder of |
| 00:46:34 |
One man remember well. |
| 00:46:39 |
Raffaele Capasso would go on to |
| 00:46:43 |
a position he has held for 31 years. |
| 00:46:49 |
For his the-year-old niece he recalls |
| 00:46:54 |
as the lave advanced and |
| 00:46:59 |
Could it erupt again? She asks. |
| 00:47:03 |
Yes, he replies. The volcano has been |
| 00:47:09 |
We've never seen it |
| 00:47:14 |
But, he goes on, we must rely |
| 00:47:23 |
Under Mayor Capasso's leadership, |
| 00:47:25 |
San Sebastiano today is a thriving, |
| 00:47:29 |
As a young man, it was he who urged |
| 00:47:32 |
not to abandon their city, |
| 00:47:37 |
And rebuild they did right on |
| 00:47:45 |
What might be an ominous reminder |
| 00:47:48 |
stands as unofficial monument |
| 00:47:57 |
Mayor Capasso, often quoted as saying, |
| 00:47:59 |
"The power of man in greater |
| 00:48:03 |
has turned San Sebastiano |
| 00:48:08 |
Before the eruption some |
| 00:48:12 |
Today, that figure |
| 00:48:17 |
And San Sebastiano is |
| 00:48:20 |
that crowd the slopes of Vesuvius. |
| 00:48:26 |
Twice every year, those living |
| 00:48:30 |
to Naples' cathedral, the Duomo, |
| 00:48:32 |
in anticipation of an ages-old ritual |
| 00:48:35 |
the miracle of San Gennaro, |
| 00:48:48 |
San Gennaro, martired in 305 A.D., |
| 00:48:50 |
is said to have saved the region |
| 00:48:55 |
But perhaps most importantly, |
| 00:48:57 |
he is its protector against |
| 00:49:06 |
A small amount of his dried blood |
| 00:49:10 |
The faithful believe it must |
| 00:49:12 |
to ensure Naples' safety |
| 00:49:17 |
Occasionally, the miracle has not |
| 00:49:22 |
Then in 1980 the region suffered |
| 00:49:26 |
from which it is still recovering. |
| 00:49:28 |
Nearly 3,000 died. |
| 00:49:55 |
The miracle has happened. |
| 00:49:57 |
Vesuvius, the devout believe, |
| 00:50:25 |
They offer prayers of thanks. |
| 00:50:27 |
This land holds their roots; |
| 00:50:32 |
And once again San Gennaro |
| 00:50:53 |
With renewed faith on this bright |
| 00:50:56 |
it is a time to reflect, to look |
| 00:51:11 |
Yet even as they rejoice, |
| 00:51:13 |
the faces of the present hauntingly |
| 00:51:21 |
The faces of the living are reflected |
| 00:51:29 |
In 1632 the Viceroy of Naples warned: |
| 00:51:32 |
Children and children's children. Hear |
| 00:51:35 |
I warn you now. Sooner or |
| 00:51:40 |
Flee so long as you can. |
| 00:51:42 |
And yet people still return |
| 00:51:46 |
even to build new town farther up |
| 00:52:05 |
In years to come, |
| 00:52:06 |
scientists will continue to be drawn |
| 00:52:09 |
to probe more deeply |
| 00:52:12 |
to ponder the fate of those |
| 00:52:19 |
Perhaps today the power of man has |
| 00:52:25 |
Perhaps science does hold hope |
| 00:52:28 |
when Nature can at last be tamed. |
| 00:52:33 |
Ultimately, perhaps, |
| 00:52:34 |
it may be the indomitable human spirit |
| 00:52:39 |
Those in the shadow of Vesuvius |
| 00:52:43 |
foolhardy by others. |
| 00:52:46 |
The judgment is history's to decide. |
| 00:52:49 |
For now only this is sure: |
| 00:52:55 |
its specter nevertheless remains. |
| 00:52:59 |
Long after the sun has disappeared |
| 00:53:03 |
a mountain's shadow continues to fall. |
