But as scholars, researchers, and archaeologists continued to dig, finding amazing sites to explore in Pompeii, and Pliny the Younger's letters were lost, the date of August 24, 79AD was challenged.

Pompeii Experts Back Up Pliny’s Historical Account of Vesuvius Eruption. ... Pliny the Younger wrote two letters about the eruption the Roman historian Tacitus between 107 C.E. and 108 C.E..

The traditionally accepted date for the tragedy, August 24th, 79 AD, comes from the correspondence of Pliny the Younger, the only contemporary witness to document the catastrophe in his letters.

WHEN VESUVIUS BURIED POMPEII IN A.D. 79; The Younger Pliny's Account of the First Great Eruption. DARKNESS; RAIN OF ASHES Poisonous Vapor Which Killed the Elder Pliny -- Description of the Panic ...

The original date of August 24th is derived from the letters of Pliny the Younger, who witnessed the eruption and documented his experiences. ... Pompeii excavations. (photo credit: Roman Babakin.

For his 2022 book, “Pliny and the Eruption of Vesuvius,” Dr. Foss examined 79 early hand-copied manuscripts of the letters and mapped out how textual errors had been compounded.

T he devastation of prosperous, unsuspecting Pompeii in a.d. 79 is the stuff of pathos. Vesuvius spared nothing and no one. Pliny the Younger’s blow-by-blow account is definitive. Suffice it to ...

Earthquake activity as damaging as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius bears part of the blame for the total devastation of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in 79 A.D., new research suggests.