On August 24, AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted, unleashing waves of lava and volcanic ash onto the townships below.
Almost 2000 years later, what remains of Pompeii is left frozen in time, just as it was before destruction unfolded.
What may come as a surprise to many, are the untold rescue efforts which took place on that fateful day.
Prominent Roman writer, scientist and military commander, Pliny the Elder, was stationed at the naval base of Misenum at the time of the eruption, and witnessed the violent explosion from across the water.
Among the chaos, the then 55-year-old philosopher ordered a fleet of warships to evacuate as many civilians as possible from the city as it went under, in what would be one of the first recorded military rescues by sea.
Even less well known than the Roman navy’s rescue attempt that day, is the branch’s role in the widespread success of the Roman Empire.
On March 31, the Australian National Maritime Museum will open an exhibition dedicated to unearthing the hidden story of the Roman navy.
‘Escape from Pompeii: The Untold Roman Rescue’, will run daily until August 30 to offer visitors the chance to delve deep into this historically significant era far beyond a volcanic eruption.
The exhibition’s curator, Will Mather, explains that the Roman navy is an “underreported and underappreciated” arm of the Roman military, and that the display aims to bring to light its integral role in the creation of the Roman Empire.
The Romans first rose to power when they defeated the Carthaginians in the battle of the Aegates Islands, which took place in 241 BC off the western coast of Sicily.
“That battle ended the First Punic War and Carthage’s maritime power,” Mr Mather said.
“After that, the Roman navy was able to impose Rome’s will throughout the Mediterranean.”
Featuring more than 100 objects from Pompeii, Sicily, Naples and Rome, the exhibition will showcase an authentic bronze rostrum from one of the ships that fought in the very battle which led to Rome’s control of the Mediterranean.
“The Romans stopped piracy and united the worlds of the Mediterranean and Black Sea for the first time in history, which led to a big boom in the trading of goods, ideas and people, not seen again for a thousand years,” Mr Mather said.
Other objects from antiquity to be showcased include jewellery, ceramics, sculptures and frescoes from Pompeii and Herculaneum, and five haunting body casts of victims of Vesuvius’ fury, frozen for eternity.
“We will also be displaying a loaf of bread, figs, peaches and grain, which were all preserved in the eruption,” Mr Mather said.
“They are very interesting, because they are all things which aren’t usually preserved.”
Boasting myriad ancient objects and offering a 3D multimedia experience, the exhibition also draws on the words of Pliny the Elder through his text Natural History.
“Natural History serves as an Encyclopaedia throughout the Roman world and into the Middle Ages, and only fell out of favour through the Enlightenment when people started doing more scientific works and exploring expeditions,” Mr Mather said.
“Now it’s a little bit unknown, but it’s a very interesting read and it certainly lets you enter into the world of the Roman Empire at the very moment of the eruption because it was only published two or three years prior to the event.”
The exhibition is also narrated through the words of Pliny the Elder’s nephew, Pliny the Younger, who created the only surviving first-hand account of the Roman navy’s rescue attempts that day, which led to the tragic death of his uncle.
Two millennia later, and over 16,000 kilometres away in Sydney, the destruction of the Pompeii and the Roman navy’s efforts on that day will be revived, ensuring that the story lives on for thousands of years to come.
