Shall I tell Pliny the Elder what I have just found out? That there has been some debate recently about the date of the eruption of Vesuvius that finished him off?
Pliny the Younger, his nephew, says it was August 24th, 79AD, but a coin has been found at the site that was minted in October 79AD, although it is in poor condition and therefore not good dating evidence.
Fish sauce has recently helped to confirm the date given by Pliny the Younger. It seems a batch of fish sauce that had just been left to macerate was frozen in time by the ash. The fish it was made of ( called bogues ) are abundant in July and early August. Roman recipes recommend leaving the fish sauce mixture to macerate no longer than a month.
Pliny would love the fishy evidence. He would not like that his nephew's word was doubted. Nor would he like to be reminded of his final day.
He has a tummy ache today, too.
I'm not going to tell him.
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