Detailing a disastrous autumn day in ancient Italy

The Plinian eruption of Mount Vesuvius around 4,000 years ago — 2,000 years before the one that buried the Roman city of Pompeii — left a remarkably intact glimpse into Early Bronze Age village life in the Campania region of Southern Italy. The village offers a rare glimpse into the lives of the people who lived there, and the degree of preservation led the researchers to pinpoint the timing of the eruption, based on archaeobotanical record.