Countdown to disaster | The final day of Pompeii

Description

The Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum were wiped off the map within 24 hours of Vesuvius erupting, buried under volcanic debris that would entomb them for centuries. Subscribe to our channel here: https://bit.ly/SubHistoryExtraPods In this second episode of our four-part series on Pompeii, Kev Lochun is joined by historian Dr Jess Venner to explore the cataclysm with the help of the experiences of two men: Roman statesman Pliny the Elder, who sailed into danger never to return, and his nephew Pliny the Younger, whose letters provide the only known eyewitness account of the disaster. #HistoryExtra #ancientrome #pompeii 00:00 Intro 01:01 Introducing Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger 03:03 First signs 06:09 Initial responses 08:48 Devastation 10:56 Pliny the Elder’s final hours 18:17 Graffiti of the ship Europa 21:43 Herculaneum’s demise 30:28 The end of Pompeii 36:36 Pliny the Younger’s escape 39:42 A chance for escape? 41:03 Survivors? 43:35 Pliny the Elder’s end GO BEYOND THE PODCAST Want to know more about the story of Pompeii? HistoryExtra's Kev Lochun has curated a selection of essential reading from the HistoryExtra archive to help you explore the story of the cataclysm, the Roman way of life and the nature of the Roman empire: https://bit.ly/4bjYKmE ▷ Find out more: https://www.historyextra.com/ ▷ Follow the podcast on iTunes: https://apple.co/3Y6n8Bt ▷ Like our page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HistoryExtra/ ▷ Follow us on Twitter: https://x.com/HistoryExtra ▷ Follow us Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historyextra/ ▷ Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@history_extra Subscribe to our Substack for Life Lessons from History with Dr David Musgrove: https://historyextra.substack.com/ 🏰 History at your fingertips Unlock the past with leading historians, exclusive ad‑free podcasts and stories from across the globe, only on History Extra. https://www.historyextra.com/subscribe/?utm_medium=social&utm_content=youtube.com&utm_campaign=youtube-2026