All language subtitles for Secrets Series 6 Part 3 Gangs of Pompeii 1080p

(volcano erupting)

Narrator: Pompeii,
the ancient roman city,

Destroyed and
buried by a volcano.

Dicus: The sky went black,
the earth was shaking,

There was fire
falling from the sky.

Narrator: Now
experts are re-examining

A 2,000-year-old crime
scene in the city,

A basement full of dead bodies,

Many robbed of all
their worldly goods.

Killgrove: Every individual
grabbed what they could

In trying to escape.

Narrator: It's an
investigation that will expose

Pompeii was living in
fear of criminal gangs.

Dicus: The dog was left behind
specifically to guard the house

As the owners fled.

Narrator: Where
rough justice ruled.

Russell: There's never anything
like a modern police force.

It's up to you, you have
to find the perpetrators.

Narrator: And where
retribution and brutality

Were never far away.

Benefiel: These groups were
trying to stake out territory

Like the bloods or the crips.

Narrator: Far
from being civilized,

New evidence reveals pompeii
had a dark underbelly

Of lawlessness,
political intrigue

And underworld godfathers.

Dicus: They call him the
prince of pompeii.

Narrator: A city where the
fear of death loomed large

Long before the volcano erupted.

Russell: People had a difficult
life, had a short life,

A much more violent life.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: The relics
of the past hold secrets.

(dramatic music)
(debris falling)

Written in gold.

Stone and blood.

We can unlock them.

These are the secrets of
history's greatest treasures.

(dramatic music)

(dramatic music)

Pompeii, an ancient
roman city built

In the shadow of a volcano,

Spectacularly frozen in time.

Streets and buildings
impeccably preserved

Under millions of tons of ash.

And the haunting molds
of citizens captured

In the final moments
before death.

This was once a vibrant
city, wiped out in 79 ad

By the catastrophic
eruption of mount vesuvius.

Dicus: The eruption has made

This town extraordinarily
important for

Modern archaeology because
even though the eruption

Destroyed pompeii, it also
preserved it like no other city.

Narrator: But even after
decades of excavation,

Mysteries are still
emerging from the ashes.

The most puzzling scene is
a basement where the bodies

Of two very different groups
of people were discovered.

Those at the back of the room

Had almost no
possessions between them,

But the group
closest to the door

Were laden down with riches.

Killgrove: There were a
lot of coins.

There was a lot of jewelry
and they didn't find

As many artifacts
with the second group,

Leading some to suggest
that maybe these

Were two different
social classes.

Narrator: The bizarre
division of wealth

Has led to a dramatic
theory emerging.

(scarpati speaking in
foreign language)

Narrator: To work out what
happened in this basement,

A team of experts are
re-examining the evidence.

It's a cold case investigation
that will delve into a world

Of lawlessness, organized
violence, and revenge.

But using
state-of-the-art science,

The 2,000-year-old mystery
may finally be solved.

(dramatic music)

August 24th in the year 79 ad.

At 1:00 p.M., the long
dormant volcano mount vesuvius

Explodes into life.

(volcano erupting)

Within 24 hours the
catastrophic eruption

Has destroyed not only pompeii,

But numerous
coastal communities,

Including the upmarket
suburb of oplontis.

Dicus: Oplontis is just a little
bit closer to mount vesuvius

So it was entirely buried,
wiped off the face of the earth.

It was unknown for centuries
after it was buried.

Narrator: Since
its discovery,

Archaeologists have spent
decades excavating the remains

Of oplontis, including a
once lavish seaside villa.

Known as villa a, experts
believe it was built

By emperor nero as a retreat
for his second wife, poppaea.

Killgrove: At the time of the
eruption of vesuvius

Nobody was living at villa a,
although when it was occupied,

It probably would have been
by a large extended family

As well as their slaves.

Narrator: In the 1980s,
archaeologists discovered

A second set of buildings
just feet from villa a

Buried under the ash.

It was a sprawling
commercial complex

Used to store locally
produced wine and oil.

But in a basement storeroom,
now known as room 10,

They discovered the first
traces of human remains.

The body count in this one room
would eventually exceed 60.

Men, women, and
children all buried

Under 20 feet of
volcanic ash and debris

When mount vesuvius erupted.

(scarpati speaking in
foreign language)

Narrator: But the
experts were perplexed

By what appeared to be
two separate groups:

One destitute, the other weighed
down with gold and silver.

(scarpati speaking in
foreign language)

Narrator: Closer
analysis revealed

This was no ordinary haul.

It was potentially the finest
treasure trove in pompeii.

For roman jewelry
expert courtney ward,

One find stands out
above all others.

A. Ward: These
earrings in particular

Are absolutely fantastic

Because it's quite a
solid piece of gold.

And if you look at
the pearls themselves,

They're really, really
high quality, they match,

Which is something that is
amazing in the ancient world

And was valued more than
the material itself,

Was having two pearls that
matched and this pair has four.

The quality of craftsmanship,
the cost of the materials,

And just the fact that
these match so well

Really showcases the cost
of the pearls and the wealth

Of the person who owned them.

Narrator: At first
the experts thought these

Were the remains of an
elite family taking shelter

From a volcanic eruption.

But this theory doesn't
explain the second group

Who had nothing,
discovered only feet away

From the superrich.

Now bioarchaeologist
dr. Kristina killgrove

From the university of
north carolina, chapel hill,

Is trying to piece
together the full story

Of the bodies in room 10.

Killgrove: One of the
hypotheses that my team

Is currently investigating
is a forensic one,

The idea that maybe
some of the individuals

Towards the back of the
room had died previously

From falling objects
or from gasses.

Narrator: If the wealthy
group were already dead,

Could it be a group of looters
stumbled upon their bodies

And their riches?

The team of investigators
are about to find out.

Killgrove: This suggestion,
or this hypothesis,

Then raises the
possibility that the people

Towards the front of the room
may have taken any objects

That they found on the people
in the back of the room

In order to have the
resources to start a new life

After they were rescued.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: This intriguing
theory will lead experts

On a journey that
explores a darker side

To the seemingly
civilized pompeii.

A world where thieves
would steal from the dead

In the midst of a
natural disaster.

And new evidence suggests
that before mount vesuvius

Erupted, residents of pompeii
were already living in fear,

Not of the volcano, but
gangs of violent criminals.

(dramatic music)

In a wealthy suburb of pompeii,
experts are trying to solve

A 2,000-year-old murder mystery.

They're investigating if a
group of super rich citizens

Were targeted by thieves
as mount vesuvius erupted,

Burying everyone
under volcanic ash,

Because there is evidence
throughout pompeii

That the population were doing
all they could to protect

Their valuables from robbers.

Dicus: It really is interesting
that we have so much evidence

That people were very
concerned about the safety,

The welfare of their houses.

Narrator: The most
impressive example of this fear

Of violent theft was
found at the warehouse

Where the two groups of
bodies were discovered.

Killgrove: At oplontis,

Archaeologists found a
very large strong box

That they think
belonged to the owner

Of this large commercial area

And it's possible that that
person was found in room 10

As one of the skeletons.

Narrator: This ornate
strongbox was the roman answer

To a state-of-the-art
home security system.

It's a clear indication
of the lengths

To which the wealthy would go
to protect their valuables.

(scarpati speaking in
foreign language)

Narrator: Following a
painstaking restoration,

The exquisite detailing
of the ancient safe

Can at last be revealed.

The highly prized item featured
a 4-stage locking mechanism

To protect any riches inside.

The strongbox was so well made,

It took a full-scale
natural disaster

To breach its defenses.

And evidence from elsewhere
in pompeii suggests,

In the lead-up to the
devastating eruption,

Crime was rampant
across the city.

Roman historian kevin dicus
is examining a tragic remnant

Of one of pompeii's most
popular security measures:

A guard dog that died
protecting its master's home.

Dicus: Most of the people that
come here look at this

And they see their family pet.

We see something different here.

He's contorted, he's on his
back and the story is he

Was chained to his post.

(volcano erupting)

Narrator: When vesuvius
erupted, this guard dog,

Like hundreds of
pompeii's residents,

Was encased in layers
of pumice and ash.

The void left when the body
decayed allowed experts

To create a perfect
plaster cast of the animal.

Dicus: So it's entirely
possible that the dog

Was left behind specifically
to guard the house

As the owners fled to protect
the home from looters.

He spent the last moments
of his life still guarding

This house, chained up
as the house was buried.

Narrator: But the
remains of pompeii

Also reveal the wealthy
elite weren't the only ones

Who lived in fear of thieves.

From the richest
households to the poorest,

Every door in pompeii
was locked at night.

And one door in particular
shows just how scared

The residents of this
city were of crime.

In a middle-class
residential neighborhood,

A plaster cast taken from
a cavity left in the ash

Has revealed a
2,000-year-old door

Designed to keep the most
heavy-handed robbers out.

Dicus: We are looking at
the preserved form

Of one of the most sophisticated
locking mechanisms,

The safest and the stoutest
that we can find in pompeii.

The door itself was a double
door, opening here inside.

Now the first locking mechanism
was this rather simple

Iron rod going from
this door to this door,

Somewhat like our
modern dead bolts,

But that wasn't enough,

The second locking mechanism

Was this wooden pole right here.

One would insert it into
a hole in the wall here

Across between two doors into
the hole in the wall here.

It's impossible to open,
but that wasn't enough.

The third locking
mechanism is this,

This long pole leaning
against the door.

Narrator: Pompeii's
middle classes

Were fortifying their
homes against robbers.

Dicus: It was sort of overkill,
but really this gives us an idea

Of what they're thinking about.

There might be bad
people afoot outside.

They'd have no idea so
they're going to do what they

Can to keep this door shut.

Narrator: The
remains of pompeii

Don't just capture scenes
of everyday roman life

2,000 years ago, they
preserve evidence

Of a city living in fear.

And with no police force to
keep the population safe,

It would fall to the
citizens to dish out

Their own form of justice.

(dramatic music)

Experts are investigating
if a room discovered

In a pompeii suburb
filled with over 50 bodies

Is an ancient crime scene.

They suspect that a rich family,

Who sought shelter when
mount vesuvius erupted,

Was targeted by a
gang of robbers.

Evidence from the remains
of the legendary city

Suggests that in the years
leading up to the volcano,

Crime in pompeii was rife.

Benefiel: So, theft is a problem
because goods are portable,

It's easy to walk off with
them, and especially if you

Think about the fact
that there are no banks

And there'd be no
way to get it back.

Narrator: To work out
what happened in the room

Where the bodies
were discovered,

Bioarchaeologist kristina
killgrove is examining

A unique 3d map.

Using modern techniques,
she's hoping to find clues

Missed when the bodies
were originally unearthed.

Killgrove: This model was put
together through a process

Called 3d photogrammetry.

Numerous pictures were
taken with a digital camera

And then stitched together
to create an entire model.

Narrator: The model
shows the exact position

Of the bodies following
their initial discovery,

But kristina has
returned to room 10

And through her own excavation,

She's discovered
yet more remains.

Killgrove: We found additional
individuals as well,

Children in this area, and
some additional children

In this area as well.

Narrator: Kristina
suspects the group at the back

Of the room, who appear to
be protecting the children,

Were a family.

They were evidently killed
by falling ash and debris.

But were they the rich
villa owners whose bodies

Were then plundered for

Valuables by
opportunist thieves?

To find out, kristina
and her team will conduct

Isotope analysis of
the bones and teeth

To learn what the
two groups ate.

This could reveal if a
wealthy, well-fed family

Had fallen prey to
malnourished robbers.

And if it was theft, there
were no shortage of suspects

Because pompeii, like
most roman cities,

Had an enormous underclass.

Russell: If you think that you

Want to live in
the roman period,

I don't think you'd
want to be a slave,

I don't think you'd
want to be a freedman,

I don't think you'd want
to be a poor person.

Ordinary people had a difficult
life, had a short life,

Lived a much more violent life.

Narrator: Historical records
tell us that for the poor

In roman society,
breaking the law was often

Their only chance of survival,

But it was a risk worth taking.

Because for a
sophisticated civilization,

The roman empire was
surprisingly lawless.

Russell: Throughout the roman
period there's never anything

Like a modern police force.

There's no one whose job it
is to go and seek out crimes

And arrest the perpetrators or
to investigate what happened.

Narrator: As far as the
government was concerned,

Protecting life and property
was a matter for individuals.

Russell: It's up to you, you
have to find the perpetrator,

You have to arrest him, you
have to bring him to court,

And obviously that's much
easier to do if you're rich.

Narrator: In the
commercial heart of pompeii,

There are still the faint
traces of how everyday romans

Took the law into
their own hands.

Rebecca benefiel is an
expert in deciphering

Ancient messages written
on countless walls

Across the roman world.

Benefiel: Ancient graffiti lets
us know about the thoughts

Of the people who lived
through the roman empire

Because we can see how
people were communicating.

Narrator: These messages
are the romans talking

And sometimes shouting
to each other.

News, advertisements,
messages between friends.

It was the ancient
equivalent of billboards,

Broadcasting, and social
media all rolled into one.

Benefiel: There are more than
12,000 inscriptions

That were written on
the walls of pompeii

So they have
information that people

Wanted to get out
to the entire city.

Narrator: On the
side of a former tavern,

Rebecca has spotted the faint
outline of an ancient message.

Having meticulously mapped
out the inscription,

It reveals thieves once
roamed these streets.

Benefiel: The inscription was
right here next to the entrance

To the tavern.

It said, "a bronze vessel has
gone missing from this shop."

And then it said, "if
someone will bring it back,"

And then in much
larger letters it said,

"they will be given a
reward of 65 sesterces."

65 sesterces was a lot of money.

Narrator: The reward
for the return of something

As seemingly everyday as a
bronze vessel was extraordinary.

The equivalent of over
three weeks' wages

For an average roman worker.

Benefiel: Maybe a day's wages
would be two to three sesterces,

So 65 sesterces
was a big reward.

Narrator: But the
message goes further.

It offers a bonus reward
in exchange for the thief.

In a country with no police
force and little state justice,

Residents were dishing
out their own punishment.

Benefiel: It's clear that
whoever put

This post up was saying,

I know there's a thief out
there, I want you to catch

That thief and I'll
give you a reward.

Narrator: If apprehended,
the thief who stole

The bronze vessel could
have faced untold suffering

Because for many roman citizens,
justice came in the form

Of vigilante punishment.

(whipping)

Russell: If you were an ordinary
person and there was something

Going on in your neighborhood,
it seems most likely that you

Would have dealt
with it yourself,

So people were on their
own a lot of the time.

People settled their own
grievances informally,

Potentially by violence.

Narrator: And
evidence from the layout

Of a middle-class home
in pompeii provides clues

As to who residents
would rely on to mete out

Their rough justice.

Dicus: This room would
be occupied by

One of the trusted slaves

And what he would do is
control access into the house.

And we can think of some slaves

As very frightening characters.

Think of the
gladiators, for example,

Doing the master's
bidding and they

Could be prone to violence.

Narrator: Just like
the mafioso families

That were to come, in
pompeii, gangs of citizens

Could be called upon to
dish out the punishment.

Russell: There seems
to have been

A lot of this informal justice,

Folk justice, going on
throughout the roman empire

For things that the authorities

Don't really concern
themselves with.

Narrator: Now, new evidence
suggests that in the decades

Before the eruption, tension
on the streets of pompeii

Was boiling over.

The city was about to
succumb to mob rule

And one political figure
would harness the chaos,

Emerging as the
godfather of pompeii.

Just 20 years before
pompeii was buried

Beneath volcanic ash, the city
was descending into anarchy

Where families were forced
to find ever safer ways

Of protecting their
wealth from thieves.

The escalating levels
of crime and violence

Would start a chain reaction
that would lead to the rise

Of a mafia-like godfather.

But before then, in the
lawless neighborhoods

And commercial
districts of pompeii,

It was everyone for themselves.

Benefiel: We've come down the
strada di mercurio,

There are houses at that
end, but at this end,

Close to the forum,
there are shops

And this is where
the fruit sellers

Would have had their
retail establishments.

Narrator: 2,000 years
ago this street was lined

With fruit shops and faint
traces of graffiti suggest

The fruit sellers were more
than simple street vendors.

They'd joined forces to
become a workers union

And these faded slogans
were campaign posters.

Benefiel: On this building was
the most interesting inscription

About the fruit sellers.

They said, "all the fruit

Sellers together
ask that you vote

"for marcus holconius prisus,"
which suggests that they

Made a collective
decision about who they

Wanted to endorse for mayor.

Narrator: Evidence of
other campaign posters

Have been discovered
throughout pompeii.

The fruit sellers were just
one of many pressure groups

Now active in the city.

And all were fighting
for their own interests.

Benefiel: They are expressing
their support for that candidate

And probably expecting some
sort of benefit in return.

One scholar has suggested
that these groups

Might be similar
to modern day gangs

Who are trying to stake out
territory and putting their tags

On things like the bloods
or the crips gangs from la.

Narrator: In roman society
these gangs were known

As collegia and they
had the power to change

The course of politics.

Russell: The way that collegia
were organized,

The way that they were
based around neighborhoods

Or occupational groups, the
fact that they were a mix

Of people of different
social statuses made them

Potentially a really
powerful political tool

And actually members
of the roman elite

Could be quite
nervous about that.

Narrator: The growing
number of collegia

Throughout the roman empire
had the state worried

Because for the first time,

The middle and lower classes
of society had a voice.

And groups were known to use
violence to get their own way.

Russell: The way we see these
collegia operating,

The way we see them being
used to mobilize violence

Sometimes when we're
talking about high politics,

It doesn't seem impossible
that that could also happen

On a more daily basis.

Narrator: The graffiti
across pompeii reveals the city

Was gripped by
powerful collegia,

Each with their own agenda.

But new evidence suggests
when the need arose,

The city's competing
collegia would join forces

To fight a common enemy.

Rebecca benefiel has found
evidence of growing friction

Between pompeii
and its neighbors,

A tension that would
soon boil over.

Benefiel: Right now we're in the
lupanar and it is a brothel

And there's plenty of
decoration to give you a sense

Of the activity that
would take place here.

Narrator: The lupanar
would have been a popular

Destination for men from
pompeii and surrounding towns.

And carved into
the plaster walls,

Rebecca has discovered

A treasure trove of
ancient graffiti.

Together they can provide
an insight into the thoughts

Of everyday roman
citizens, but many messages

Are impossible to decipher
with the naked eye.

Benefiel: The first thing we
do when we're looking

For ancient graffiti is
we have to survey the wall

Because they're incised with a
sharp instrument into plaster

And there's not much contrast
so it's hard to see them.

Narrator: To bring the
ancient messages to life,

Rebecca and field director
jacqueline dibiasie-sammons

Are lighting and photographing
the faint incisions

From multiple angles.

They're now creating
ultra-high definition images

Of the graffiti with no shadows.

Sammons: I'm controlling
the camera

Through the computer here.

Benefiel: So that's the height
and that's the width.

Sammons: To get a really good
image of this graffito,

We're going to take about
60 photographs

That we'll then combine

Into one 2d image in which
we can manipulate the light.

Narrator: The
enhanced messages reveal

All was not well between pompeii
and the neighboring towns.

Benefiel: It talks about the
inhabitants of different cities

Here around the bay of naples

And it starts off with
fell, fell ligitair.

May things go happily for
the people of prutali.

Omnibus nucerinis and
happy things for all

Of the people of neceria.

And then someone adds in a
very different handwriting,

And bad things for
the people of pompeii

And bad things for the
people of pithacusa.

Narrator: This message
is just one of many

Discovered in the city that
suggests there was bad blood

Between pompeii
and its neighbors.

Benefiel: We have another
graffito that says,

At pompeii you eat bread, but
at nuceria you will drink.

There was friction between
pompeii and nuceria.

Narrator: And in 59 ad,
20 years before the eruption

Of vesuvius, the scribbled
taunts and boasts

Between pompeii and nuceria
escalated into open warfare.

At the naples national
museum of archeology,

A clue to the
ferocity of the clash

Can be found within a
2,000-year-old fresco.

Dicus: There's no question of
what we are looking at here.

We are looking at a
rather realistic rendition

Of what pompeii looked like in
the last decades of its life.

What we see here, if we
take a detailed look,

Is that we have the
people fighting.

Narrator: Depictions
of gladiators fighting

In roman amphitheaters
are common,

But these are not
gladiatorial games.

This is a contemporary
record of violent gangs

From pompeii and nuceria,

Fighting to the
death in the arena

And out onto the
streets of the city.

Dicus: And if we
look very closely,

You can see vertical red
lines and this is the blood

Spilling from their wounds,
so we get a very detailed look

At the violence
and the injuries,

Even the death that occurred
on this day in 59 ad.

Narrator: Pompeii was
used to violent clashes

Between gangs, but this
event was off the scale.

It was so extreme it attracted
the attention and fury

Of the emperor in rome.

Russell: When something happens

Like the riot in
the amphitheater

At pompeii, that's when the
state is going to get involved.

If you've got groups that
are feuding on the streets,

I think the roman elite
would have been very worried

That these groups could start
having aspirations to power,

Could start wanting to
affect the political process.

Narrator: The situation
in pompeii had rome worried.

Believing these rogue gangs
could undermine its power

And authority, rome laid down
measures to take back control.

Russell: Tacitus,

The roman historian,
writes about the riots

In the amphitheater at pompeii

And he says that
after the riots,

Illegal collegia were
banned in pompeii.

So if tacitus is
right, someone in power

Seems to have thought that
these groups were active

In pompeii and were
involved in the riot

In the amphitheater.

Narrator: Pompeii's
most disruptive collegia

Were disbanded and
its leaders exiled,

And the city was given
its own harsh penalty.

Pompeii was banned from
hosting gladiatorial games

For ten years.

Russell: Stopping the
games also made

A difference for politicians

And rich people in pompeii
because sponsoring the games,

Paying for the games, was
one of the ways that they

Advertised themselves, one
of the ways that they boosted

Their own political careers,
so not being able to use that

Method anymore would have had
a real affect on them and they

Would have had to find other
ways to promote themselves.

Narrator: But new
evidence suggests

Pompeii's amphitheater was
not lying idle for long

Because the ban offered
one ambitious citizen

The opportunity to
exploit the violent gangs

And ultimately take
control of pompeii.

In a cemetery on the
outskirts of the city,

An impressive crypt
has been discovered.

The name of the
deceased is missing,

But the inscription
reveals the occupant

Had become one of the most
powerful men in pompeii.

Dicus: Among the things
he did for the city

Was to sponsor games

In this arena, and
not just normal games.

A normal game might
have 20 or 30 pairs

Of gladiators fighting.

No, he brings in
over 400 gladiators.

(fire burning)

Narrator: These were
the most spectacular games

In pompeii's history.

The clues from the inscription
on the crypt suggest the man

Responsible was alleius maius,

A hugely successful
businessman and politician.

Dicus: They call him the
prince of gladiator games

And the prince of pompeii and he

Was well known
throughout the city.

Narrator: Alleius maius was
sponsoring gladiatorial games

In pompeii after they
were banned by rome.

And crucially, his tomb
inscription reveals how.

His connections went right
to the top, to emperor nero,

One of the most feared
rulers in roman history.

Dicus: On this tomb
inscription he writes,

I was the one who
spoke to emperor nero

And got these officials who
were exiled and these gladiators

Back to pompeii.

Narrator: Alleius maius
took on rome and won.

The arena was active
once more, making maius

The man of the people and
guaranteeing his path to power.

Dicus: This was for
political advancement.

If he sponsored games and
made these people happy,

Then he could
advance politically.

Narrator: Experts
believe once in office,

Maius relied upon hardened
gangs of supporters

To maintain his grip on power.

He'd become the roman
equivalent of a mafia godfather.

Dicus: If he needed something
done that was a bit violent,

A bit under the table, he
had a whole group of people

That surely would
have done his bidding.

Narrator: Alleius maius
had won over the masses

To secure his rise to power.

But his authority was
built on a foundation

Of corruption and violence,
a legacy that would cast

A dark shadow over the
city until the day pompeii

Disappeared off the
face of the earth.

Archaeologists investigating
a suspected crime scene

In the roman city of pompeii
are getting closer to solving

The 2,000-year-old cold case.

Evidence suggests in
the 1st century ad,

Pompeii was a city
ruled by criminal gangs

Where residents went
to extreme measures

To protect themselves and
their property from thieves.

But no security measures
could protect them

From what happened next.

At 1:00 p.M. On
August 24th 79 ad,

After centuries of inactivity,
mount vesuvius erupts.

(volcano erupting)

Volcanologist dougal jerram
believes the residents

Of pompeii had no idea of the
potential danger they were in.

Jerram: Prior to this volcano
actually coming to life again,

Many of the people on the
ground might not have known

Exactly what the mountain was.

It started at 1:00
o'clock in the afternoon

With this big plinian cloud
rising high in the sky.

Narrator: As hot ash
rained down on pompeii,

The city fell into total chaos.

Dicus: So the experience of the
person actually living here

During the eruption
is terrifying.

The sky went black,
the earth was shaking,

There was fire
falling from the sky.

This would have been horrifying.

Narrator: In the
pompeii suburb of oplontis,

A wealthy family took refuge
in a basement storeroom.

Knowing thieves were everywhere,

They took all their
movable wealth with them,

But were killed by the eruption.

Killgrove: We don't
yet know exactly

How the people at oplontis died.

There are several possibilities,

Including being asphyxiated
by noxious gases,

Maybe injured by
falling architecture.

Narrator: Experts now suspect

Shortly after the
first group died,

A second group found their
bodies in the basement

And took their valuables
because pompeii wasn't destroyed

In the blink of an eye.

Jerram: For me, the real
key to understanding

This cataclysmic eruption
is that it didn't take place

In an instant.

We can go and look at the
layers that form the deposit

From that eruption episode.

Narrator: By examining
the sediment layers

In the ash deposits, dougal
can read the different stages

Of the eruption.

Jerram: People think that
the whole eruption

Happened almost instantaneously,

But actually this
white pumice built up

To about this point
over seven hours.

Narrator: Then at
eight in the evening,

The volcano entered its
second stage of eruption.

Jerram: A different type of
magma started coming out

Of the volcano so the volcano
was plumbing the depths

Of its roots at this stage,

But it's still this
very light pumice

Just falling out of the sky.

Narrator: At 7:00
o'clock the next morning,

The volcano entered its
final devastating phase.

Jerram: As we move up
you can see that

There's a sharp transition.

You go from this gravelly
layered gray pumice horizon,

About 10 hours maybe or so
of deposit within there,

And then it becomes
a sharp change.

The size of the particles
is much more varied,

There's a lot of small
particles in there

And you can actually see
layers within it that show me,

As a volcanologist,
that there was current,

There was turbulent currents
depositing this material.

Narrator: This distinct
layer of solidified ash

Is evidence of a high-speed
current of heated gas

And volcanic debris.

Known as a pyroclastic flow,

It devastated
everything in its path.

Jerram: A pyroclastic density
current has come and hit pompeii

And what we find when we
look at the top surface

Is that's where
much of the debris,

Many of the bodies are found.

More than 60% of the bodies
that were found in this area

Of pompeii are found
in that upper deposit

And that's vitally important
for understanding the timeline

Between when the
volcano started erupting

And when it finally
killed everybody.

Narrator: 2,000 inhabitants
of pompeii were killed

By the volcano, but miraculously
10,000 people survived.

The timeline of the eruption
reveals how so many escaped

Before the pyroclastic flow hit.

But for those members of
society who had nothing to lose,

The unfolding natural
disaster could have provided

The opportunity of a lifetime.

Dicus: You could take
advantage of the chaos,

These empty properties,
go in, look around,

Take what you wanted.

If you left, you really
probably couldn't come back.

You could, but you would die.

Narrator: Ancient
records reveal

That just before the
pyroclastic flow hit,

People returned to the city,

Some to protect their valuables,

Others to rob the dead.

So who was claiming the wealth
in the oplontis basement?

Kristina killgrove and her team
are homing in on an answer.

Killgrove: So these
samples from oplontis

Are giving us information

About what people were
eating on a day-to-day basis

In the last five
years of their life

Before they were cut
down in their prime.

Narrator: The
isotope analysis results

Are confirming the
experts' suspicions

That the group at the back
of the room were a family.

But intriguingly, both
groups in the room

Appear to have shared
near identical diets.

Killgrove: The clustering
of dietary data

That we see in this chart

Suggests that people are
eating very similar food.

And who eats very similar food?

A family or an extended family.

Narrator: And detailed
analysis of the bones

Provide further
evidence that everyone

In the room was related.

Killgrove: There
are certain traits

On the skull and on the teeth

That are heritable and that
tend to run in families.

Because we found a
large percentage

Of some of these traits,

It seems that many
of them were related.

Narrator: The
experts now believe

This was not an
ancient crime scene,

But a far more desperate
story has emerged.

This was a family tragedy
born out of a fear of crime.

Killgrove: I think a
lot of these data

Back up the hypothesis

That we have that the people
in room 10 at oplontis b

Were biologically related.

It's possible that
it was family wealth

That every individual
in this extended family

Grabbed what they could
in trying to escape.

Narrator: By choosing
to stay in oplontis,

The wealthy family
died in the basement

During the early
stages of the eruption.

But thinking the worst was over,

Their relatives
who'd fled returned,

Only to find the lifeless
bodies of loved ones.

And knowing that
looters were at large,

They reclaimed
the family wealth,

But the volcano wasn't over.

(debris flying)

As the pyroclastic flow
tore through oplontis,

It buried everyone
in the basement

Beneath tons of burning
volcanic debris.

(scarpati speaking in
foreign language)

Narrator: The eruption of
vesuvius froze a moment in time

When the roman empire
was nearing its height.

But pompeii also preserved
some of the empire's

Darkest secrets that are
only now coming to light.

Dicus: The more we find, the
more questions we can ask

And if you imagine that
there's two-thirds of the city

Still left to uncover,
there are so many secrets

Still held under the
ashes at pompeii,

I can't even imagine what more
we can learn from the city.

Narrator: The petrified
remains of pompeii,

Where violence and seething
political rivalries

Simmered just below the surface,

Reveal the last days of this
now legendary roman city

Were in fact anything
but civilized.