The Last XXIV Hours.

1933 years ago today, according to the most accepted reckoning. The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried in ash by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. About 3000 people were killed. The ruins have been an archaeological treasure—A vivid snapshot of the Roman empire near its peak.

(Image from Wikimedia.)

We have a contemporary account from Pliny the Younger, describing the activities of his uncle Pliny the Elder, a senior Roman official who was at the scene and did not survive.

Suppose the Elder Pliny had been on Twitter. His tweets might have looked something like this (Being updated all through the day).