Rediscovering Pompeii

release dates: June 6-12
23-1 (09)
© 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
A Buried City
Rediscovering Pompeii
Imagine yourself on a warm August
day. What might you and your friends be
ITALY
doing? You could be:
• playing outside
with pets
ROME
Mt. Vesuvius
Misenum
Herculaneum
• swimming at
Pompeii
BAY OF NAPLES
Experts believe about 20,000 people lived in Pompeii at
the pool
the time of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Many of
them were probably able to escape before being buried.
Pompeii in the first century
Signs of trouble
• getting ready for
school to start
If you had lived in Pompeii in A.D. 79,
Living so close to Mount Vesuvius,
your hometown would have been a busy,
citizens of Pompeii were used to feeling
successful place. Crops grew well because
earthquakes. In fact, in A.D. 62, a strong
of the rich volcanic soil around the Bay of
earthquake caused many buildings to fall
Naples. Shopkeepers sold baked goods,
down and streets to buckle. Builders,
• helping with
fish cooked to order, and cloth for clothes.
plumbers and slaves repaired much of
chores around the
Wealthy people had grand houses with
the damage over the next 17 years.
house
courtyards called peristyle gardens.
In the days before Aug. 24, people in
They had slaves to cook their food and
Pompeii felt small tremors, or
tend to their homes. Most buildings were
vibrations. Hanging lamps
On a regular day like this more than
two stories high.
swung. Water stopped
1,900 years ago, citizens of a city in Italy
Temples, or large buildings where
flowing from the
were going about their business when a
people worshipped, in Pompeii honored
aqueduct, a pipe for
mountain about six miles away rumbled
different gods and goddesses, including
moving water. Birds flew
and then exploded.
Jupiter (god of sky and thunder) and
away from the area.
The Mini Page studied more about the
Apollo (god of light and sun), and the
*A.D. stands for anno Domini, which means “the
city of Pompeii, what life was like there,
Roman emperor Vespasian.
year of our Lord” in Latin. When we use it with a
and Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that
Pompeii probably didn’t smell very
year, it refers to the time after Jesus Christ was born.
buried the city and many of its
good because people emptied their
B.C. stands for “before Christ.”
inhabitants on Aug. 24, A.D. 79*.
garbage and sewage into the gutters.
Some people say B.C.E. (before common era) and
C.E. (common era) instead.
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®
23-2 (09); release dates: June 6-12
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
The Volcano
An eyewitness account
Pliny the Younger’s words to Tacitus
Across the Bay of Naples from
Here are some of Pliny the Younger’s
Pompeii, a young man and his uncle
observations, or comments, about the
lived in a city called Misenum (my-
eruption of Mount Vesuvius:
SEEN-um). The uncle, Pliny (PLIH-nee)
“The cloud was rising from a mountain —
the Elder, was a scholar of all the
at such a distance we couldn’t tell which, but
sciences, including weather, astronomy
afterwards learned that it was Vesuvius. I can
and geology.
best describe its shape by likening it to a pine
When Mount Vesuvius exploded, a
tree. It rose into the sky on a very long ‘trunk’
large, dark cloud rose up from it. Pliny
from which spread some ‘branches.’
the Elder saw the cloud and wanted to
“Ash was falling onto the ships now, darker
get a closer look. He ordered his
and denser the closer they went. Now it was
servants to prepare a boat and began
bits of pumice, and rocks that were blackened
sailing across the bay.
and burned and shattered by the fire. …
Pliny the
(B)road sheets of flame were lighting up many
Younger stayed
parts of Vesuvius. … (T)here was danger from
the rocks that were coming down, light and
behind to finish
photo by Adrian Pingstone
fire-consumed as these bits of pumice were.
Pliny the Younger compared the cloud
his homework. His
(People) tied pillows on
of smoke to “umbrella pines” like
good study habits
these seen on a busy street in Rome.
top of their heads as
probably saved his
protection against the shower of rock. It was daylight now
life! His uncle died
elsewhere in the world, but there the darkness was darker
from breathing the
and thicker than any night.
poisonous vapors,
“Then came a smell of sulfur, announcing the flames, and
or odors, that the
the flames themselves. … Supported by two small slaves he
volcano released.
(Pliny the Elder) stood up, and immediately collapsed. As I
Pliny the Younger
Pliny the Younger
understand it, his breathing was obstructed by the dust-
wrote letters to Tacitus (TAS-ih-tus), a
laden air, and his innards … simply shut down. (H)is body
historian, about what he saw so that his
was found untouched, unharmed, in the clothing that he had
uncle would never be forgotten.
had on.”
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
Mini Spy . . .
TM
TM
rown
Basset B
ews
The N
Pompeii
TRY ’N
FIND
Hound’s
Mini Spy and Alpha Betty are hiking in a volcanic park. See if
Words that remind us of Pompeii are hidden in the block below. Some
you can find:
• man in the moon
• question mark
• dolphin
words are hidden backward, and some letters are used twice. See if you
• arrow • bird
can find: ITALY, AUGUST, VESUVIUS, POMPEII, PERISTYLE, CAST,
EARTHQUAKE, AQUEDUCT, VOLCANO, MISENUM, PLINY, VAPOR,
• pencil
TACITUS, BEACH, EXCAVATE, POISONOUS, ARCHAEOLOGIST,
• mushroom
FIORELLI, ASH.
• number 6
P L
I
N Y E K A U Q H T R A E
• letter A
POMPEII IS A
E B V O L C A N O G X K C M X
WINDOW INTO THE
• lady’s face
PAST!
R H W Q A F
I
O R E
L L
I
I
C
• bat • bell
I
C A S T S U G U A V J B S A
• number 3
S T A C
I
T U S U
I
V U S E V
• lima bean
• snail • fish
T C U D E U Q A H C A E B N A
• exclamation
Y
I
I
E P M O P R O P A V U T
point
L P O
I
S O N O U S L S J M E
• ruler
E W T
S
I G O L O E A H C R A
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®
23-3 (09); release dates: June 6-12
TM
Go dot to dot and color.
Rookie Cookie’s Recipe
Easy Summer Salad
You’ll need:
• 1 package prewashed romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat feta cheese
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons honey-roasted sliced almonds
• salad dressing of choice
What to do:
1. Place torn romaine lettuce in a large salad bowl.
2. Add other ingredients in the order listed, with almonds on top.
3. Pour on desired amount of salad dressing; gently toss and
serve.
You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
Meet Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato stars as Princess Rosalinda in
the Disney Channel movie “Princess Protection
Program” on June 26. She also sings in this
movie.
Demi also stars as Allison in the TV series
“Sonny With a Chance.” She has acted in
several TV series, including “As the Bell Rings”
and “Just Jordan.”
She appeared in the TV movie “Camp Rock”
photo by Bob D’Amico, courtesy Disney Channel
and sang on its soundtrack. She also made a
solo album. She and her friends, the Jonas Brothers, wrote many of
the songs for that album.
Demi, 16, was born in Dallas, Texas. She has two sisters and now
lives with her family in Los Angeles. She has studied the guitar,
piano, songwriting and hip-hop dance.
She began acting as Angela in “Barney and Friends” when she was
9. She has appeared in several TV commercials.
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
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®
23-4 (09); release dates: June 6-12
from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate
Uncovering Pompeii
Forgotten cities
This plaster cast of a
man and a vase he
In Pompeii and nearby cities, ash and
was probably
rocks rained down from Mount
carrying was made
Vesuvius. Pompeii was buried in about
in the 1800s. The
20 feet of the debris, or rubble. The city
casts were detailed
enough to show
of Herculaneum, between Pompeii and
facial expressions
Naples, was completely buried. In fact,
and clothing details.
years later people had forgotten that
Herculaneum had ever existed.
A bigger beach
Some homes in A.D. 79 were built
right on the beach. The soil and ash
photo courtesy Department of Image
from Vesuvius pushed the coastline out
Collections, National Gallery of Art
Library, Washington, D.C.
by many feet.
Buried treasure
A city preserved
Much later, during the 1600s and
The ash that fell from Mount
1700s, people digging wells for water in
Vesuvius hardened, something like
the area discovered parts of sculptures,
cement, after many years. As the bodies
slabs of marble and other items buried
of people and animals decayed, the
in the soil. When others found out about
hardened ash around them kept its
the buried treasures, they began
shape. It was lightweight enough that it
digging and taking whatever they could
didn’t crush the remains.
find. But no one kept records of what
Fiorelli discovered he could pour
was found or where the ruins were.
plaster into the cavity, or opening,
A scientist steps in
where the person’s skin and clothing
Digging for valuables
used to be. This way he could create a
In 1860, the king of Italy turned over
Experts think about 20,000 people
detailed model of how the person looked
the excavation of Pompeii to an
lived in Pompeii at the time of the
when he or she died.
archaeologist named Giuseppe
eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Only about
Fiorelli. (Archaeologists study the
Pompeii today
2,000 bodies were found when scientists
habits and ways of ancient people
Excavations of Pompeii continue
began excavating (EX-ca-vay-ting), or
through the things they leave behind.)
today. Scientists are trying to find out
digging, in the area.
Fiorelli insisted on carefully removing about life in Pompeii even before the
Survivors of the volcano probably
items and cataloging, or listing, each
famous eruption of A.D. 79. They can
returned fairly soon to Pompeii. Upper
one and where it was found.
learn a lot about how cities grow by
stories of buildings could be seen above
continuing this work.
the ash.
At the library:
People tried to dig for valuables
• “Vacation Under the Volcano,” a Magic
The Mini Page thanks Carol Mattusch, guest
buried in their homes or businesses.
curator of the exhibition “Pompeii and the
Treehouse book, by Mary Pope Osborne, and
Roman Villa: Art and Culture Around the Bay of
When they dug deep, they may have
“Ancient Rome and Pompeii,” a nonfiction
Naples” (at the Los Angeles County Museum of
companion book to “Vacation Under the
released poisonous odors like those
Art through Oct. 4) and professor of art history
Volcano”
at George Mason University, for help with
that killed Pliny the Elder. These
• “Pompeii: The Day a City Was Buried” by
this issue.
vapors probably killed some of the
Melanie and Christopher Rice
Next week, The Mini Page is about famous
survivors.
• “Pompeii” by Richard Platt
fathers.
The Mini Page Staff
Betty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large
Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor
Lucy Lien - Associate Editor
Wendy Daley - Artist
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