Archaeologists have discovered remains of a lost Indonesian civilization buried under the debris of the largest volcanic eruption in modern history.
Eruption of Mount Tambora took place on April 10th during the year 1815. The result was the flooding of villages located on the island of Sumbawa, with pumice, ash and rocks. The withdrawal of around 90, 000 people lives was the resulting devastation.
The volcanic mount has thrown more than 30 cubic meters of magma and drove about 400 tons of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere, which has led to global cooling by almost one degree Celsius, creating what they called "year without summer." Debris and ash from the eruption led to the destruction of crops, located in North America, France and Germany.
With a local guide, scientists working on the island, dug Tambora village. Along with sediment dating from the time of the outbreak of the volcano, they found pottery, bronze goblets and the carbonized remains of a house with two inhabitants.
In the kitchen they found a woman. The house, standing on wooden rods with bamboo walls and a thatch roof was burned by the burning of coal and ash, whose degrees was believed to be more than 500 Celsius.
The remains of the second person were found outside the house where they suspected the front door to be.
Haraldur Sigardsan, a Volcanology of the University of Rhode Island, which led the excavation Said that the whole village, its inhabitants and their culture are buried under the ruins.
The ruins reveal how around 10 000 inhabitants were swept away by the time the lava had broken out of the hot volcanic ash, rocks and gases.
"We know that this eruption in the year 1815, spread in all directions at a distance of at least 40 km and that life in this area just died, " says Professor Sigardsan. The force was six times stronger than that of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo mountain in the year 1991.
The Lost Civilization of the Island Sumbawa has intrigued researchers ever since in 1800. Danish and British explorers visited it and was surprised to discover that the language spoken there is not anything like in the other languages in Indonesia. Some scientists believe that this language sounds more like that used in Indochina, however not to far away they visit the West of Tambora and the language disappears.
There are suggestions that the residents of Tambora had trade relations with Indochina, as they discovered pottery, that was often found in Vietnam. Excavations will help to predict the potential hazards of volcanoes which are still active. Drawing details of Tambora and adjusting them to the computer models can aid in identifying the lethal factors that may cause these volcanoes.
History
• According to the University of North Dakota, in recent months there are 16 active volcanoes in the world. Kilauea in Hawaii was virtually a constant eruption since 1983.
• Indonesia has 76 active volcano in its history, more than any other country. The year 1171 bought an eruption that was exceeded only by Japans, 1274 volcanic explosion.
• Researchers believe that the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 has helped to cool the Earth and slow the rise in sea level.
