"Possible Discovery of Pliny the Elder's Villa Near Mount Vesuvius"
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Livescience.com
The remains of a luxurious villa near Mount Vesuvius, believed to be where the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder witnessed the catastrophic eruption in A.D. 79, have been discovered at Punta Sarparella in Bacoli, Italy. The villa, possibly belonging to Pliny, offers a prominent view of the volcano and the entire Gulf. Pliny, a Roman naval fleet commander, famously perished while attempting to rescue people during the eruption. The excavation also revealed that the villa's walls were built from diamond-shaped blocks of soft limestone, and further exploration is expected to uncover more about the villa and the ancient port city of Misenum.