Researchers have found evidence of a catastrophic eruption by Mount Vesuvius some 4,000 years ago which devastated the area of present-day Naples for centuries afterward.
The finding, published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States, provides today's disaster planners with a new "worst-case scenario."
It had previously been believed that the volcano's worst eruption was the notorious one of 79 AD which wiped out the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
But according to experts an eruption 3,780 years ago was more destructive.
Well-preserved remains of a prehistoric village were found about 15km northeast of Vesuvius, where volcanic deposits captured quickly abandoned domestic scenes. Outlines of huts and skeletons of pregnant goats were preserved by the high-speed surges of hot volcanic ash and gases, and researchers found a skeleton of a man and woman buried under 1m of pumice outside the village.
About 15km north-northwest of Vesuvius, thousands of human and animal footprints solidified in cooling ash were found.
Their path indicates a massive, rapid evacuation out of the devastated area.
Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo and Michael Sheridan say their findings represent an important "step forward in our knowledge of Vesuvius."
They note that while the Pompeii eruption had suggested that the area north of Naples was not at risk, the Old Bronze Age eruption suggests all areas surrounding the volcano could be affected.
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