The pre‐79 CE alluvial environment south of Pompeii's city walls

Abstract

The environment in the suburban area of Pompeii between Porta Marina and Porta Stabia at the time of the 79 CE volcanic event was investigated by means of a series of core drillings. These revealed the presence of a ubiquitous dark brown layer (referred to as "Phase 2 interval") immediately below the 79 CE eruption deposits. Its stratigraphic interpretation relied on 14C dates, diatom analysis and micromorphology, and on comparisons and correlations with the available stratigraphic logs and excavation data. Phase 2 interval represents the sedimentary accretion that took place from ca. 900-750 cal a BCE to 79 CE. Its formation is the result of periodic flooding by the Sarno river in this distal reach of its floodplain (i.e., backswamps). The resulting picture is that of a patchy environment with weakly developed alluvial soil juxtaposed to areas with stagnating waters. No indication of artificial or natural watercourses derived from the Sarno river, of navigable lagoons, or of harbor basins was found.

At the origins of Pompeii: the plant landscape of the Sarno River floodplain from the first millennium bc to the ad 79 eruption

“…Recently, an investigation by Nicosia et al (2019; see also Furlan et al 2019) has accurately depicted the southern portion of the ancient suburbium of Pompeii (Fig. 10 in Nicosia et al 2019).…”

“…Recently, an investigation by Nicosia et al (2019; see also Furlan et al 2019) has accurately depicted the southern portion of the ancient suburbium of Pompeii (Fig. 10 in Nicosia et al 2019). The area that was investigated by means of mechanical cores is delimited by the 'Pompeii Hill' to the north and east, by the Bottaro-Pioppaino ridge (already in place before 900-750 cal bc, Nicosia et al 2019) towards the sea, and by the Sarno River to the south.…”

“…The gradual coastal progradation from ca. 5,600 cal bp (Barra et al 1989), marked by three relict dune ridges, is summarized in Nicosia et al (2019). Still, there is no consensus on the exact morphology of the coast and the position of the Sarno River mouth at that moment (see Fig.…”

“…Thanks to this exceptional process of burial, no archaeological site in the world has had a higher resonance than Pompeii and the ancient towns and villages nearby that were impacted by the catastrophic eruption. Nonetheless, even if the Sarno River plain has been studied by several authors (see Nicosia et al 2019 and references therein) no vegetational reconstruction has yet been provided for the pre-ad 79 environment, apart from the non-systematic data from the Iron Age village of Longola di Poggiomarino, ca. 10 km NE of Pompeii (Cicirelli and Livadie 2012).…”

“…For this reason, our natural knowledge of the millennium preceding the ad 79 eruption is quite scarce, and the environment at the dawn and at the rise of Pompeii is still a mystery. The present study relies on new pollen data collected from two cores studied by Nicosia et al (2019). New radiocarbon dates have been obtained in order to build a more robust chronological framework for the environmental changes highlighted by palynology, such as modifications induced by both land use and natural processes.…”