Pompeii Damaged by Volcaniclastic Debris Flows Triggered Centuries Prior to the 79 A.D. Vesuvius Eruption

This study records that Pompeii, long before its final devastation by the 79 A.D. Vesuvius eruption in southern Italy, was damaged by several mass gravity flows. Composition of the deposits indicates that they were derived from volcaniclastic cover of carbonate highlands positioned 14 km NE of the city. Stratigraphic and petrologic analyses of sections in excavations and drill cores in and near Pompeii record the presence of three downslope‐directed debris flows dated between 8th and 2nd century B.C. Some of these deposits were channelized via a stream bed that once extended from high reliefs to Pompeii. It is proposed that one of these events may have been partially responsible for urban decline during the 4th century B.C. These mass flows are interpreted as having been triggered primarily by intense rains in a manner similar to those that have occurred and destroyed towns in this region during the past 50 years. Our investigation shows that Pompeii and adjacent areas in the past, much as in recent time, have likely been most frequently susceptible to episodic damage by avalanches and mass flows of volcaniclastic material resulting from hydrological effects rather than from volcanic events, earthquake tremors, and societal disruptions such as wars.