-
Essay / Ancient Disasters Around the World
Natural disasters like hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes have been occurring since before recorded history, meaning they have been shaping history for centuries. Even more so, the discovery of remains centuries later has provided important insight into the past and allowed us to see the past in ways we could never do without. Of course, when talking about ancient disasters, the first thing that comes to most people's minds is Pompeii, the city that was virtually eradicated by Mount Vesuvius, but there are also many other disasters that shaped the history and changed the course of life. countless people. Recently, remains of the first tsunami victim were found 6,000 years ago (Choi, 2017). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Pompeii is not the only city that was left buried for centuries, just like Atlantis, the city of Helike was once an important city in the Peloponnese Peninsula, it was full of economic and religious culture , until an earthquake then a tsunami wiped it out (Dhwty, 2014). Fortunately, there are written accounts of this site, which is explorable today and is still being explored by archaeologists trying to discover more about the past. The discoveries of all these ancient ruins have changed the way we view history and provided incredible insight into the past. pass. Pompeii, an entire city that lay buried for 17 centuries before being discovered, is a particularly striking example. Pompeii had been forgotten for so long that those who heard of the city's discovery originally thought the researchers must instead be talking about the famous Roman ruler Pompeii (Pompeii Discovery, 2018). Local people's lack of knowledge of these ancient disasters contributed significantly to the number of deaths and the severity of the disasters. Having an entire city preserved for centuries of course allows for incredible discoveries, and not just in bones and casts. of bodies abandoned by the volcano. We know things that we could not know if it had not been preserved. The complete lack of human alteration on the entire city of Pompeii has left an incredible opportunity for researchers and archaeologists digging into the ruins, as it means that everything that has been found is completely authentic to the period right before the eruption, which can only be said in very few places. In fact, an entire documentary was made called “Pompeii: The Last Day” based on information found during excavations of the intact city. Found objects, such as writings on the walls, tell us about the accounting system Pompeii had in place and that the walls were used to leave messages for other people in the area (Documentary Warehouse, 2016). If Vesuvius had not erupted, if the entire city of Pompeii had not been completely buried and left untouched for centuries, would we still have such an accurate view of the city and the daily lives of those who lived there? It is said that the people of Pompeii had no idea what a volcano was, in fact there are accounts directly from Pliny the Younger, a Roman government official of the time, who states that his uncle Pliny l The Ancient One, while watching the eruption of Vesuvius from Naples, decided to take the boat to Pompeii to see it up close. (McGill, 2017). Someone heading directly towards the volcanic eruption zone could not have understood the power of this catastrophe.