u A fearful black cloud was rent [split] by forked and quivering bursts of flame, and parted to reveal great tongues of fire . . . Darkness fell, not the dark of a moonless or cloudy night, but as if the lamp had been put out in a dark room. You could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men; some were calling their parents, others their children or their wives, trying to recognise them by their voices. People bewailed their own fate or that of their relatives, and there were some who prayed for death in their terror of dying. Many besought the aid of the gods, but still more imagined there were no gods left, and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness for evermore.
Pliny the Younger Source B
Looking at the evidence
1. What are the feelings and emotions of the people Pliny described in Source A. Give reasons for your answer.
2. Is this a primary or a secondary source?
3. What do you think caused the darkness that Pliny describes?
Looking at the evidence
This image shows archaeologists working on a street in Pompeii. They are surrounded by the dust- caked bodies of people from the town who had no time to escape when Mount Vesuvius erupted. 1. What are the archaeologists doing in this picture? 2. Why do you think the bodies are in this position?