When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, it created an instant museum formerly known as the city of Pompeii. Pyroclastics buried everything—including a recently discovered snack bar, called a thermopolius, which had muralled walls. While buried, the murals were preserved, but once exposed to air a new, harmful chemical reaction started. Reporter Emma Bentley interviewed a few of the scientists trying to save the ancient artwork.
Click above to hear part 2 of Volcanic Mind Melt, featuring Maite Maguregui, professor in the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the University of the Basque Country, Spain, Silvia Perez-Diez, researcher in the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the University of the Basque Country, Spain, and Alia Wallace, archaeologist with the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado with a PhD from University College in London.
Volcanic Mind Melt:
Part 1: Thor Thordarson / Fagradalsfjall in Iceland
Part 2: Emma Bentley / Ancient Pompeii
Part 3: Jazmin Scarlett / La Soufriere in the Caribbean
Part 4: Christopher Jackson / Nyiragongo in Africa
