The letters of the Roman senator and writer Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (known as Pliny the Younger) to his close friend, the historian Tacitus, are the only surviving eyewitness accounts of the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
- Pliny the Younger (61-112 AD) was a Roman bureaucrat and writer, famous for his
letters, known as epistles, which comprised of insightful knowledge on public
and private aspects of life during the Roman empire.
- After the death of his father Caecilius, Pliny the Younger was brought up under the watchful eye and guidance of his uncle (his mothers brother) Pliny the Elder, a famous naturalist.
- Young Pliny had witnessed the eruption of Mt Vesuviusat from Misenum on the other side of the Bay of Naples which he lived with his uncle, Pliny the Elder, Admiral of the Naval Fleet
- His uncle had commanded a fleet of rescue ships that managed to evacuate most of the inhabitants living in Herculaneum. Unfortunately Pliny the Elder died of along the shore due to suffocation.
- Pliny the Younger would later describe his eyewitness account on the event and the death of his uncle in a letter to his friend Tacitus.
Limitations: We are limited to the amount of primary evidence since the eruption of Mt Vesuvius occurred over a thousand years ago. Even with Pliny the Youngers account, because it wasn't written until 25 years onwards we may not be able to fully rely on his descriptions and claims, his views might even be bias or somewhat manipulated. Researchers have therefore been able to compare archaeological and scientific analysis to Plinys account to somewhat match up the truth and eliminate the inaccuracy.