Today is the anniversary of the eruption of Vesuvius of AD 79! Or at least the 'official' one. The manuscripts of Pliny the Younger’s letters, which provide an eyewitness account of the disaster, in fact provide a range of dates. 24 August was seen as the most secure textually

But while there’s evidence in the concretised ash that trees were still in leaf and broad beans still fresh at time of eruption, other signs suggest a later date

Among the material remains discovered in the layers are olives, plums, figs and pomegranates, which are harvested principally in September and October. Braziers were positioned to heat rooms in some of the villas. Summer clothes had made way for the warmer coverings of winter.

Was Pliny mistaken over the date, or were these the fruits of another harvest, the preparations for an unseasonably cold August, the heaviest fabrics the victims could find to protect themselves in the disaster?

One clue that the volcano erupted later in the year is the fact that the volcanic matter was dispersed in a south-easterly direction; the winds in the Bay of Naples seldom blow south-east in August

So I blame a scribal error. But 24 Aug has a nice feel to it as it followed the Vulcanalia festival. It was a cruel and insatiable god who fanned the flames of Vesuvius just a day after receiving his bonfires & feast of fish

I've gone into this question in more detail in my book #IntheShadowofVesuvius