Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

You've got great swirling clouds of heaven knows what happening, changing through time. And what the experts say, and the experts are people who come from Iceland, which I'm really interested in, because you can see volcanoes in action in Iceland. And they know that you have all sorts of different effects.

And they worked out that Herculaneum is at the beginning of the eruption, probably only 12 hours into the eruption, when it's covered in its flow. Pompeii is another 12 hours later. So different things are happening by the time that Pompeii is overwhelmed.

And they worked out that Herculaneum is at the beginning of the eruption, probably only 12 hours into the eruption, when it's covered in its flow. Pompeii is another 12 hours later. So different things are happening by the time that Pompeii is overwhelmed.

And they worked out that Herculaneum is at the beginning of the eruption, probably only 12 hours into the eruption, when it's covered in its flow. Pompeii is another 12 hours later. So different things are happening by the time that Pompeii is overwhelmed.

It's the earlier stage of the same discovery story. In my view, archaeology is very closely linked to politics. You can't do archaeology without big money. Big money means politics. And it's certainly the arrival of a new Spanish dynasty in the south of Italy that drives this discovery. But they, the Bourbons who discovered it, also, they created a myth about it.

It's the earlier stage of the same discovery story. In my view, archaeology is very closely linked to politics. You can't do archaeology without big money. Big money means politics. And it's certainly the arrival of a new Spanish dynasty in the south of Italy that drives this discovery. But they, the Bourbons who discovered it, also, they created a myth about it.

It's the earlier stage of the same discovery story. In my view, archaeology is very closely linked to politics. You can't do archaeology without big money. Big money means politics. And it's certainly the arrival of a new Spanish dynasty in the south of Italy that drives this discovery. But they, the Bourbons who discovered it, also, they created a myth about it.

They created a myth of a site that had been lost forever, entirely forgotten, and that they were the first to expose it. And one of the things we've discovered working in Herculaneum, exploring tunnels that had been explored by the excavators, is that there is material that goes back to the Middle Ages. People have been poking around, and of course in antiquity they were poking around.

They created a myth of a site that had been lost forever, entirely forgotten, and that they were the first to expose it. And one of the things we've discovered working in Herculaneum, exploring tunnels that had been explored by the excavators, is that there is material that goes back to the Middle Ages. People have been poking around, and of course in antiquity they were poking around.

They created a myth of a site that had been lost forever, entirely forgotten, and that they were the first to expose it. And one of the things we've discovered working in Herculaneum, exploring tunnels that had been explored by the excavators, is that there is material that goes back to the Middle Ages. People have been poking around, and of course in antiquity they were poking around.

I think it's better to think of it in terms of these places were never forgotten. No one had the sort of absurd resource and the absurd ambition to try and dig it up again. After all, in antiquity, in 79, they could have... The Roman emperor, he had resource. He could have said, let us excavate these sites and restore them to their ancient glory. No, the closed book.

I think it's better to think of it in terms of these places were never forgotten. No one had the sort of absurd resource and the absurd ambition to try and dig it up again. After all, in antiquity, in 79, they could have... The Roman emperor, he had resource. He could have said, let us excavate these sites and restore them to their ancient glory. No, the closed book.

I think it's better to think of it in terms of these places were never forgotten. No one had the sort of absurd resource and the absurd ambition to try and dig it up again. After all, in antiquity, in 79, they could have... The Roman emperor, he had resource. He could have said, let us excavate these sites and restore them to their ancient glory. No, the closed book.

That was a decision not to recover them and rediscover. So they only sent little tunnels because an ancient city is full of wealth. Marble, lots of marble, like the former Pompeii. Silver. Silver. Silver treasures. That's what you're really after. Yeah, marble, you could make more marbles. Bronze is more valuable than marble. Bronze is good stuff. But silver's better, gold.

That was a decision not to recover them and rediscover. So they only sent little tunnels because an ancient city is full of wealth. Marble, lots of marble, like the former Pompeii. Silver. Silver. Silver treasures. That's what you're really after. Yeah, marble, you could make more marbles. Bronze is more valuable than marble. Bronze is good stuff. But silver's better, gold.

That was a decision not to recover them and rediscover. So they only sent little tunnels because an ancient city is full of wealth. Marble, lots of marble, like the former Pompeii. Silver. Silver. Silver treasures. That's what you're really after. Yeah, marble, you could make more marbles. Bronze is more valuable than marble. Bronze is good stuff. But silver's better, gold.

So they tunneled away looking for that. But they didn't bother to recover the city. There are lots of other cities in antiquity that were destroyed and rebuilt, like Antioch. Antioch was completely destroyed in the 5th century. And Justinian decided, we're going to remake it. And he made a better one.

So they tunneled away looking for that. But they didn't bother to recover the city. There are lots of other cities in antiquity that were destroyed and rebuilt, like Antioch. Antioch was completely destroyed in the 5th century. And Justinian decided, we're going to remake it. And he made a better one.

So they tunneled away looking for that. But they didn't bother to recover the city. There are lots of other cities in antiquity that were destroyed and rebuilt, like Antioch. Antioch was completely destroyed in the 5th century. And Justinian decided, we're going to remake it. And he made a better one.

But yes, yeah. So you can remake an ancient city. They decided to leave Pompeii and Herculaneum. It was like they'd met these forces of nature that simply overawed them and they weren't going to touch it. So what I'm saying is that it was never forgotten. You know, the stories of the destruction were some of the most vivid stories told from antiquity.