Indonesian 'Pompeii of the East' discovered

'Pompeii of the East' discovered


An expedition to the site of the largest volcanic eruption in modern times has uncovered a lost kingdom.
More than 100,000 people died when Mount Tambora erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa in 1815.

Remains of a house with two occupants buried under ash have been unearthed for the first time in a discovery hailed the "Pompeii of the East".

Scientists say bronze bowls, ceramic pots and other recovered artefacts shed light on an old Indonesian culture.

"There's potential that Tambora could be the Pompeii of the East, and it could be of great cultural interest," said Professor Haraldur Sigurdsson, of the University of Rhode Island, US, who has been researching the area for 20 years.


"All the people, their houses and culture are still encapsulated there as they were in 1815. It's important that we keep that capsule intact and open it very carefully." ..cont'd

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4748902.stm

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Lost civilization unearthed in Indonesia
Settlement buried by ash, Pompeii-style, in volcanic eruption of 1815

By Ray Henry

Updated: 8:01 p.m. ET Feb. 27, 2006
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. - Scientists have found what they believe are traces of the lost Indonesian civilization of Tambora, which was wiped out in 1815 by the biggest volcanic eruption in recorded history.

Mount Tambora’s cataclysmic eruption on April 10, 1815, buried the inhabitants of Sumbawa Island under searing ash, gas and rock and is blamed for an estimated 88,000 deaths. The eruption was at least four times more powerful than Mount Krakatoa’s in 1883.

Guided by ground-penetrating radar, U.S. and Indonesian researchers recently dug in a gully where locals had found ceramics and bones. They unearthed the remains of a thatch house, pottery, bronze and the carbonized bones of two people, all in a layer of sediment dating to the eruption

cont'd

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11594274/

I just can't get excited.

They showed two images of recovered Chinese porcelain. These porcelain items date to the 16th century Ming dynasty rather than early 19th century. Just a little nit picking....from the point of view of a collector as well as scholar of Chinese ceramics.

seeing it on the Discovery Channel. The eruption had a global impact on weather of course which had other consequences. Some noted here: http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/earth/year_without_summer/facts/index.shtml