Pliny the Younger

Roman author and eyewitness to the 79 CE eruption

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Pompeii eruption gives scientists a sharper clock for Earth's past

As of October 2026: His letters provide the historical benchmark used in the study

A team of geochronologists used the historically documented eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE to sharpen argon-argon dating, one of geology's most versatile clocks. The method now dates the eruption to within 13 years of the day Pliny the Younger recorded nearly 2,000 years ago.

Updated Oct 2