Reconstruction of the collapse stages of the 'Black Hall' in Pompeii

The discovery of a cycle of frescoes depicting mythological subjects inspired by the Trojan War during ongoing excavations in insula 10, Regio IX in Pompeii, signed by director Zuchtriegel and others, published in the fourth issue of the Pompeii Excavations E-Journal, involves the DiSTAR-Federiciano Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences with Professor Claudio Scarpati supervising the volcanological research concerning the phases of burial and destruction of the 'Black Hall.'

Systematic observation of the stratigraphic relationships between the products of the various phases of the Vesuvian eruption of 79 A.D. and the fragments of the roof of the hall, carried out during the excavation work, made it possible to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the collapse of the roof and the burial of this room. The failure of limited portions of the roof caused the anomalous accumulation of about four meters of pumice in parts of the hall, protecting them from the destructive impact of subsequent pyroclastic currents and preserving the much-admired frescoes.

The article highlights the importance of collaboration between the Federico II University and the Pompeii Archaeological Park in interdisciplinary studies involving excavation sites.