World Renowned Exhibit Coming to Birmingham Mid-October ! ! !

The signs that preceeded the eruption of Mount Vesuvius were subtle, passing virtually unnoticed by the people living there in A.D. 79: a powerful earthquake seventeen years beforehand, another more modestly sized earthquake in A.D. 64, and a succession of minor quakes and tremors over the years that did nothing to warn, instead helping to desensitize the Roman citizens to the looming danger....




The only real warning these people had occured mere weeks ahead of the eruption, but these were warnings they had no ways of understanding. Wells and springs dried up and the small earthquakes began to swarm right up until the eruption began on the afternoon of August 24 A.D. 79.




Lasting two days, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius covered Pompeii, Herculaneum, and several smaller nearby towns in up to 75 ft of fine ash and pyroclastic deposits, burning and suffocating the residents who could not make it out or who did not comprehend the certain death they faced by staying.

Archeaological work at Pompeii and surrounding areas has been ongoing for almost 250 years and this October, the Birmingham Museum of Art is bringing some of that work to our fair city! Pompei: Tales from an Eruption...Herculaneum, Oplontis, Terzigno opens October 14, 2007 and runs through January of 2008. Don't miss your opportunity to see the largest collection of artifacts from Pompeii ever to leave Italy, many of which have never been seen outside that country!

The Emmet O'Neal Library has many resources to get you started on your exploration, click here to see them! Also, our book group, The Bookies, will be discussing Robert Harris' novel, Pompeii, on October 9th at 10am. Please join us! As a special treat, the Bookies will be taking a group tour of the exhibit on October 16th. Tickets are $14 and your money must be turned in by October 1st! We will be touring the exhibit, then, for those interested, gathering for lunch at the Museum. The cost of lunch is not included in your group tour ticket.

If you'd like more information about the Bookies and/or the group tour of the Pompeii exhibit, contact Katie Moellering at 445-1118 or kmoellering@bham.lib.al.us.

htw