1. Yr 12 Ancient History Pompeii & Herculaneum
Geographical Context

2. The Physical Environment of Campania
Fertile region in Southern Italy
Crescent shaped volcanic plain approx. 13,595 sq km. at the foot of Apennine escarpment, extending from the Volturno River in the north to the mountains of the Sorrentine Peninsula in the south
Pliny the Elder – ‘One of the loveliest places on earth’.

3. Climate
Two main seasons – hot dry summers (May to Sept) and mild wet winters (Oct – Apr).
Annual rainfall – 845mm on coast.
Sometimes winter was overcast, clear and cold; strong wind blowing from north-east

4. Mount Vesuvius – Effects on the Landscape
Sits on an intersection of two fissures in the earth’s crust
Only active volcano on European mainland
Erupted 30 times after AD79 eruption
Different in appearance today
1277 metres high
11km crater (circumference)
Partly encircled by 1110 m ridge of Mt Somma

5. Mount Vesuvius – Effects on the Landscape
Diodorus (Greek historian) suggests that people knew the volcano was active
Strabo – ‘mountain covered with fertile soil; forming almost level plain; completely sterile & ash-coloured.’
Strabo’s account – first accurate description of the volcano in dormant phase