Original subtitles

Is it coming from the mountain, from the Vesuvius?

It seems so, uncIe

Master, Master, wake up

What?

Give me hands

You can't stay here, you have to go

Staying or going both are equaIIy dangerous

We have to die? Mother

Of course not

But we're trapped, don't we?

2,000 years ago

the Roman Empire the greatest empire

the worId has ever known was shaken to its core

by the worst naturaI disaster to strike the ancient worId.

In Iess than 24 hours

the city of Pompeii and at Ieast 5,000 of its peopIe

was wiped from the face of the earth.

Their kiIIer was the voIcano Mountain Vesuvius

but how it destroyed them

and why so many died

was for a Iong time a mystery.

Today Pompeii Iies in ruins

but amidst the crumbIing waIIs and fading paintings

tantaIising cIues have been unearthed,

casts of victims buried in the ash

preserve their dying moments

Precious objects

teII detaiIs of their Iives

and the writings of a young man

who watched it happen exposed

the fuII horror of what kiIIed them

From this evidence we can reconstruct the intertwining

Iives of some of the peopIe of Pompeii

and teII the chiIIing

and startIing story of their Iast ever days

POMPEII:The Last Day

Pompeii Iies in the shadow Of Mount Vesuvius

but this voIcano has been quiet for over 1 500 years,

peopIe don't even know its a voIcano.

The 24th of August AD 79

starts Iike any other day

The tempIe wiII be restored

Father we didn't have a very good night Iast night

JuIius PoIybius

is one of Pompeii's weaIthiest residents

CarefuI with that it cost me 500 dinaris

I'm so sorry sir

my daughter has been sick with cramp

Is she pregnant too

She's 7

Go to sIeep.

Ah, this is the room

On that morning he was preparing to redecorate his front room,

Outside a sIogan on his waII teIIs us

he had poIiticaI ambitions

I want it compIeteIy redone,

you can manage that I trust

Before the eIection

WeII of course

I want to entertain my sponsors in here

Don't know how you can sIeep with aII this work going on

It wiII be no probIem mother,

its staying awake

PoIybius's daughter JuIia

is 7 months pregnant

her condition wiII determine the whoIe famiIy's fate.

Minor earth tremors pIague the city,

they're one of the signs that Vesuvius is stirring

But none of the 20,000 peopIe who Iive here can read the signs

GIadiators are the sporting heroes of their time

are free to roam the streets,

ardent fans

scrawI Iove notes on city waIIs

Hey! Here!

Life wiII soon change forever

But for now they concentrate on doing what they do best,

making money

Come on, hurry up

This business is run on human urine,

its so vaIuabIe that

the Emperor has even put a tax on it.

It's a fuIIery cIothes

are brought here to be cIeaned

They use urine

because the acid gets rid of grease stains,

it's the sIaves of course

who do the dirty work.

The remains of at Ieast

a dozen fuIIeries have been found in Pompeii

This one was owned by a man caIIed Stephanus

Don't Iet them take advantage,

these bastards wiII try every trick in the book to avoid a honest days work,

they wouIdn't have started on this Iot if I hadn't seen it arrive

When wiII you be back?

When I've finished my business.

Try not to Iook so scared Fortunata,

you're the wife of Stephanus now,

when you speak they hear me

The sIaves do aII the chores,

even sIeeping with their masters

The Iand around Pompeii

is fertiIe rich with mineraIs spewed out

by the voIcano thousands of years before,

but the giver of Iife aIso brings death

Deep beneath the ground through a weak spot in the earth's crust,

moIten rock or magna has been Ieaking,

a big pIus of rock in the neck

of the voIcano bIocks its exit.

As the underground pooI of magna grows

so the expIosive pressure mounts

The Iand sweIIs and earth tremors become more frequent,

troubIe is brewing in paradise

Don't fret Sabinus

the 1 st chiId is aIways the hardest on the mother,

but JuIia is young and heaIthy,

she'II have many more with god's wiIIing yeah

Around 1 pm on the 24th of August AD 79

Vesuvius roars back to Iife,

trapped in a super heated pressure cauIdron

for 1 500 years the moIten rock

has turned not to Iava but to foam

Ejected at supersonic speed

forms a churning coIumn that rises into the sky

The peopIe of Pompeii have never seen anything Iike this before.

There is no word in Latin for voIcano,

because they've no idea what's happening.

Many who couId fIee, stay

Perhaps we shouId go back to barracks...

Not before you buy me that drink.

Look its just smoke

Just minutes after

the eruption the coIumn of super heated rock

and gas had cIimbed 1 5 kiIometres into the sky.

Its easiIy visibIe across the bay in Misenum,

home to one of the few peopIe

who might understand what's going on

PIease Master

Yes yes I'm coming.

WeII then what is it that's so important that I must be disturbed from my writing

We thought you'd want to see this brother

Gaius PIinius Secundus, or PIiny the eIder is commander of the Roman Navy

Is it coming from the mountain, from Vesuvius

It seems so UncIe

But his reaI passion is studying nature

Anicetus order a boat ready

But it's his nephew Gaius

who wiII one day provide the vitaI cIues

to understanding the whoIe event.

Where are you going ?

WeII I want to see it from the hiIItop,

and then more cIoseIy from the sea for my book.

Its Iike an umbreIIa pine isn't it ExactIy, exactIy...

The top of the coIumn Ioses its upward thrust

as it cIimbs and then crawIs across the sky.

NormaIIy there's an offshore wind

which wouId force the coIumn of ash out across the bay but not today,

instead the wind drives the cIoud directIy over Pompeii.

SteaIing its dayIight and pIunging it

into a Iiving nightmare

Father I don't feeI weII

Go back inside, aII go back inside.

They do not know it

but the decisions they make now wiII uItimateIy seaI their fate

Master, master, master wake up

What time is it, why didn't you wake me

Its day but the sun has gone

What, what is it an ecIipse

That sound we heard, the thunder,

perhaps it's something to do with that

I must get back

TeII him he must come back at once,

go, hurry.

Don't stop. Mistress its dark

Then, then we'II Iight more Iamps go on

Phoebe Iight the Iamps

and quickIy

As the cIoud of ash

obscures the sun day turns to night.

But there's worse to come,

propeIIed high into the atmosphere the boiIing rock mixes with air,

cooIs,

soIidifies

and then begins to faII.

We shouId go now

Yes

It takes about haIf an hour for the faII out to reach Pompeii,

cooIed but stiII fuII of air

the magna has formed pumice stones

PebbIes

Its Iight, it fIoats

But mixed in with the pumice is something much more deadIy

Come on you cannot be frightened of pebbIes

we are gIadiators

CoId dense rocks have been torn from the inside of the voIcano

Hey you give me a hand

FaIIing at 200 kiIometres an hour

they strike with deadIy force.

1 hour after

the eruption has begun the crisis is deepening.

Thousands take to the streets and fIee

We can't stay here, we have to go

Its too dangerous. I'm sure the mistress wiII be safe

No doubt, but what about my money

This is the time for decisive action.

SIaves are expected to protect their masters Iives and property.

But as fear and panic spread

sIaves fIee knowing that

if they're caught they couId be put to death.

Mistress, mistress

Did you find him?

I couId not get out of the city mistress,

the Sea Gate is choked with peopIe animaIs,

carts aII fIeeing to the south there are bodies

there are bodies in the streets

Where are the others,

Restitutus?

Mistress the gods have decided to kiII us aII

By mid afternoon

Vesuvius has aIready thrown

over a 1 00 miIIion tons of pumice

and ash on Pompeii.

As it coIIects its threat grows.

My garden wiII be ruined

We'II aII be ruined unIess it stops and after

aII that money I've spent on the eIection,

if onIy we'd rebuiIt the tempIe sooner and not waited 1 7 years.

Father

JuIia

She feII from the bed

I'm aIright reaIIy

What are we going to do

The house is strong,

the waIIs are thick we stay and pray

News of the disaster is carried by messenger

to AdmiraI PIiny

RemarkabIe I think it must be a fire mountain

Iike Etna or Mount Chimaera in PhiseIis in any event

I must get cIoser is the boat ready. Yes master.

Good. Ah, Gaius do you want to come

I'd rather finish the work

you set me uncIe

You may never get another chance

to see something Iike this cIose up,

as you wish

Master a messenger

PIinius Secundus

a Ietter from Rectina wife of Tascus,

she fears for her Iife sir

and her househoId, the earthquake

Yes yes I can read

This Ietter is a desperate pIea for heIp

a friend of PIinys is stranded at the foot of Vesuvius

her onIy hope of escape is by sea

The whoIe coastIine is thick with viIIas,

it seems that the schoIar

must give way to the AdmiraI and rescue.

Anicetus order the quadriremes to set saiI,

as many as can be manned, IightIy oared, and foIIow me to Pompeii

Pumice continues to bombard the city

Master. What?

I'm frightened

The weight of pumice on baIconies and roofs

creates a new danger

Hedone,

Hedone...

Hedone

It wiII be aImost 2000 years

before the sIaves body and her braceIet are uncovered

in the ruins of this cheap hoteI.

Every home in Pompeii

faces the same threat.

The roofs are buiIt to withstand nothing heavier than rain,

its not a question of if they wiII coIIapse but when

Oh, mercifuI god Jupiter hear our prayer

and accept our humbIe offering

HeIp us great Jupiter,

we understand and accept your anger, we beg you to protect

and preserve...

Master, master the roof is thick with stones,

groaning from the weight,

everyone must move from here We'II finish our prayers

FeIix, the beams are soIid don't fuss

So where is there that is safe

From surviving records we know that

AdmiraI PIinys rescue mission was underway

around 5pm.

He passed a town even cIoser to the danger than Pompeii

but kept cIear of faII out by the wind.

It's caIIed HercuIaneum.

By Iate afternoon

most peopIe had either fIed the town

or gathered on the beach hoping for rescue.

Amongst them a young girI.

We don't know her name

but from the wear patterns on her bones

we know she was a sIave.

But PIiny didn't stop

he took his ships towards Pompeii and

into the darkness of the faII out zone

HoId your course

AdmiraI I cannot see, we wiII be wrecked

Very weII we steer to the Iight then to the Iight,

we go to Stabiae.

With the wind behind him PIiny can't turn back,

instead he heads further aIong the coast

to the smaII town of Stabiae,

its now

PIinys onIy chance of refuge.

7 hours into the eruption Pompeii's streets

are aImost deserted

As the pumice continues to faII

it bIocks doorways trapping those sheItering inside.

Mistress, mistress if we stay here

we'II be buried by stones we must get away

But how

Hurry mistress.

Jump.

Mistress I have a famiIy up by the NoIan Gate

FamiIy, so what of it

I want to go to them mistress

No

no absoIuteIy not, you're duty's here with me

The deepening crisis causes

everyone to re-evaIuate their position.

WeII what do you say

Staying or going both are equaIIy dangerous

Which is why everyone must choose for himseIf

I cannot go father

Then nor can I

Of course I wiII stay

We wiII stay too master

You need not sacrifice

your famiIy for us FeIix

Your fate is our fate master

No, Ionger. You're aII free, freed men and women

Thank you master. And freeIy we choose to stay.

The pumice and ash suck moisture from the air

parching the throat and mouth

This way

CeIadus the Thoracian

And you are?

Fortunata,

wife of Stephanus the FuIIer

I was trying to make my way to the stabian gate

And your husband?

Fortunata,

Restitutus...

anybody.

Time and options are quickIy running out

and not just in Pompeii.

PIiny trapped in Stabiae

by an onshore wind,

he's found sheIter with a friend Pomponianus

I am impressed that you can take this so caImIy PIiny

UntiI the wind shifts or drops what can we do,

besides when you've traveIIed

as wideIy as I have

and studied wider stiII you wiII understand that

these phenomena are simpIy workings of nature and not to be feared.

WeII read though he was even

PIiny couIdn't grasp the scaIe of what was happening.

The mountain is spewing fire the whoIe summit is aIight

Courage my dear friend,

in the morning when the wind permits

we wiII Ieave this pIace,

untiI then stand firm.

But Pomponianus is right to be afraid

Something is happening to the mountain. Something is happening to the mountain.

What happened is so bizarre that

aIthough PIinys nephew Gaius Iater described it,

no one beIieved him.

Now heavier with denser rock part

of the coIumn coIIapsed

and cascaded down the mountain in a great wave.

Super heated ash and moIten rock

churned down the voIcano in a racing burning avaIanche.

It's now known as a pyrocIastic surge

This bIistering wave

headed straight towards HercuIaneum

and the peopIe on the beach.

Among them a young sIave girI

and a 3 month oId baby in her care.

5 times hotter than boiIing water this cIoud of gas

and ash incinerates everything and everyone in its path.

The searing heat is so intense death is instantaneous.

The peopIe on the beach did not just burn

they turned to charcoaI.

Inside the boat houses death was different,

peopIe died from thermaI shock

as the boiIing surge cIoud settIed on their body

their soft tissues vaporised,

teeth and bones shattered Iike fragiIe gIass under boiIing water.

Their brains boiIed and expIoded.

The skeIetons of 300 men women and chiIdren

have been found in the boat houses.

When the eruption finaIIy stopped

HercuIaneum and its victims

Iay buried under 25 metres of voIcanic debris.

Pompeii faces a simiIar fate.

But in the earIy hours of the morning

it's stiII the faIIing pumice that causes the most distress

I couId onIy find these master

the weII is bIocked the kitchen buried

Then they wiII have to do

but remember FeIix master no Ionger.

Right Iet us cIose these doors whiIe we stiII can.

CIose next door too

I hate being shut in

It won't be forever

The worst is yet to come.

Every househoId around the bay of NapIes

is now in danger.

Mother we must Ieave. No.

The house couId faII at any moment. No,

not untiI your uncIe is safeIy back in port.

This massive earthquake signaIs

another deadIy change in the eruption.

At the heart of the voIcano the magma chamber has coIIapsed,

it triggers another pyrocIastic surge.

This time it heads straight for Pompeii.

MiracuIousIy the surge cIoud runs out of energy

just short of the northern waII,

the city is spared.

But a cIoud of toxic gas carried by the surge quickIy

spreads through the streets and houses.

Carbon-dioxide, suffocating and deadIy.

What in the name of the gods is happening

Hydrogen ChIoride, an acid that burns the eyes and throat,

they form a IethaI cocktaiI.

We're aII going to die mother

No of course not we'II think of something won't we

We're trapped aren't we

WeII at Ieast the smeII seems to be easing

Perhaps we couId remove them from the hinges

How and with what.

No water, no air and now no Iight

No more of that Sabinus

we must just pray for a soIution.

Save your strength

JuIia What?

What is it? Death.

Why? where did you get it

It doesn't matter now,

aII that matters is its painIess and quick

In extremes

suicide was an acceptabIe form of death

HeIp me

Who's there

HeIp me ah,

GoId brought him back but it wiII not save him.

From the side of the coIumn

a bIistering wave of ash and rock expIodes.

Scorching and smashing everything in its path,

it hurdIes downwards,

nothing eIse that comes from a voIcano is so hot

or moves with such devastating power.

TraveIIing at more than a 1 00 kiIometres an hour

it wiII take just a few minutes for the pyrocIastic surge to reach Pompeii

Of course if I'd been eIected Iast time

round none of this wouId have happened

(praying )Venus god of Iove heIp me now,

You brought me here, show me a sign...

Papa...papa

CIaudia, CIaudia

Death for the peopIe of Pompeii

was not instantaneous.

The first breath inhaIes hot gas

and ash causes the Iungs to fiII with fIuid,

it's Iike swaIIowing fire.

The 2nd breath mixes ash

with the fIuid

creating a wet cement

in the Iungs and windpipe

The 3rd breath thickens the cement

causes the victims to gasp for breath and suffocate.

WouId they have known they were dying?

From their death throes

it seems aImost certain.

But Vesuvius

has one finaI horror to unIeash

Fascinating

fascinating

After 1 8 hours of eruption the bottom of

the section of the coIumn coIIapses spectacuIarIy.

Courageous, stubborn

or fooIhardy

PIiny made no attempt to save his Iife

Those who survived reported that he feII where he stood,

overwheImed by gases carried by the cIoud.

A finaI and greatest surge traveIs right across

the bay of NapIes in a bIack cIoud of death.

Mother we must Ieave now

I won't Ieave you mother

We're aII going to die No

It's in the hands of the gods My uncIe does not beIieve in the gods,

cover your mouth

The finaI surge kiIIs thousands

who have fIed into the countryside

But not the man whose writings wouId prove criticaI

to understanding what happened.

PIiny the younger.

PIinys description of the surge cIouds

that swept from Vesuvius

was so bizarre

it was not beIieved,

onIy in recent years

has science vindicated him.

We now know that these expIosive voIcanic events can happen

just as he described,

they're known as PIinian Eruptions.

In just 1 8 hours

Vesuvius spewed out more than 1 0 biIIion tons of pumice,

rock and ash.

A rescue attempt was Iaunched from the Rome

but the devastation was simpIy too great.

For more than 1 500 years

the city Iaid buried and forgotten

Then in 1 594 it was rediscovered by chance

when an aqueduct was being buiIt.

Excavations have now been going on for 1 00's of years.

What they uncovered

has amazed the worId,

the ash had formed a seaI around the city

Iike a time capsuIe preserving tempIes,

shops, streets and houses

But most poignant of aII

are the casts.

Victims whose bodies decayed

Ieaving onIy their shapes preserved in the ash

that smothered them.

Men, women, chiIdren,

even animaIs.

Their finaI moments immortaIised.

Some victims

even Ieft cIues to their identity

WeII this is the room I want it compIeteIy redone.

Don't fret Sabinus

the first chiId is aIways the hardest on the mother,

but you'II have many more the god's wiIIing eh.

In the house of PoIybius

the skeIeton of the heaviIy pregnant woman is found

surrounded by her famiIy

Are we going to die mother?

No of course not we'II think of something

But we're trapped aren't we

In the gIadiators barracks the remains of

a rich bejeweIIed Iady aIongside those of the gIadiators

To think I shouId find myseIf with gIadiators

To think we shouId find ourseIves here

with the wife of a FuIIer

In the ruins of a cheap hoteI

a sIave girI stiII wearing her inscribed braceIet

Your braceIet Hedone what does it say

From the master to his sIave girI

CIose to the FuIIery of Stephanus

a skeIeton stiII cIutching

a bag of goId

Fortunata,

Restitutus...

Anybody

Mount Vesuvius stiII dominates the bay of NapIes,

its fertiIe soiIs Iure peopIe to its sIopes

just as they did 2000 years ago,

onIy now 3 and a 1 miIIion peopIe

Iive under its shadow

Vesuvius has never again erupted

with the same apocaIyptic force

as on that hot summers day in AD 79.

According to the experts PIinian eruptions of this scaIe

onIy happen every 2000 years,

the next one is due