A Little Pompeiian Fish Sauce Goes a Long Way

Fri Sep 20 2024

Today we follow a sleuth who has spent over a decade working to solve an epic mystery hiding in plain historical sight: did anyone survive the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD? Tired of hearing the conventional narrative that every Pompeiian perished without any evidence to back it up, Classicist Steven Tuck decides to look into it himself. Although he is nearly two millennia late to ground zero, he uses all the available evidence to reimagine the disaster from the perspective of the people on the ground. Could anyone have survived the volcano? If they did, could they have survived what came after that: earthquakes, tsunamis, pumice stones hurtling like missiles from the sky? If someone did survive, what happened to them after that??! To find out we have to think, feel and possibly even eat like Ancient Romans. An against-all-odds story of a disaster without warning, a mass disappearance without a trace, and oddly, a particularly stinky fish sauce, care of special guest Chef ...

Transcript

Latif Nasser (0:01)

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Summary

Radiolab Episode Summary: "A Little Pompeian Fish Sauce Goes a Long Way"

Podcast Information:

Title: Radiolab
Host/Author: WNYC Studios
Description: Radiolab explores deep, curious questions through investigative journalism, blending science, history, and human stories with innovative sound design. Hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser.
Episode: A Little Pompeian Fish Sauce Goes a Long Way

Introduction: Challenging the Pompeii Narrative

In a heartfelt opening, host Latif Nasser acknowledges the financial struggles of WNYC Studios, emphasizing the show's commitment to delivering "seamless, rich, immersive" storytelling despite limited resources. He introduces the episode's intriguing premise: examining the tragic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which famously buried the city of Pompeii.

Latif Nasser [00:01]: "The station has to cut costs... but that all is the way we want it. We want you to get this like seamless, rich, immersive, carefully told... fact checked story."

Steve Tuck: Unraveling the Pompeii Mystery

Latif introduces Steve Tuck, a historian at Miami University, who has dedicated the past decade to reexamining the fate of Pompeii. The conventional belief holds that approximately 50,000 inhabitants perished instantly with no survivors. Steve, however, suspects that some may have escaped, a notion unsupported by traditional archaeological findings.

Steve Tuck [05:00]: "I thought, okay, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe everyone... might have been trying to just grab whatever was grabbable and get out of there."

Revisiting the Eruption of Vesuvius

Steve walks listeners through the catastrophic events of August 24th, 79 AD. Late afternoon eruptions sent a colossal column of ash and gas 20 miles into the sky, a spectacle unimaginable to the ancient Pompeians who lacked any understanding of volcanoes. The eruption resulted in deadly ash rains and pyroclastic flows, devastating the densely populated city.

Latif Nasser [09:12]: "If you were taking maybe a midday break, having some fish, some wine with friends... you'd have seen the top of [Vesuvius] just explode."

The Garum Clue: A Link to Survivors

Amidst the chaos, archaeologists discovered that household shrines in Pompeian homes were empty, and valuable items like bronze statuettes and safes were missing—signs that residents may have fled in a desperate attempt to save their possessions. Steve's breakthrough came through analyzing Roman family names, particularly those associated with garum, a popular fish sauce in Pompeii.

Steve Tuck [25:35]: "It's like the Heinz ketchup of antiquity."

Garum, produced by Aulus umbricius Scaris, featured prominently in Pompeian commerce, and branded like a modern product with labels proclaiming "the flower of garum of Scaris." After the eruption, production ceased abruptly. Steve discovered that garum bottles reappeared in Puteoli, a neighboring city, suggesting that some garum producers survived and relocated, continuing the trade.

Steve Tuck [28:35]: "It's the same labeling formula. It says, the flower of Garum, of Puteolanus putiolanus."

This discovery led to the identification of several families who retained their Roman names, indicating their Pompeian origin and survival. Over ten years, Steve traced a few hundred individuals across twelve out of forty-eight communities, finding that some Pompeians had indeed survived and rebuilt their lives elsewhere.

Steve Tuck [31:13]: "I found survivors in 12 of the 48. So in total, a couple hundred named individuals."

Samin Nosrat and the Recreation of Garum

To bridge history with a sensory experience, host Latif collaborates with Samin Nosrat, a renowned chef and author, to recreate garum. This culinary segment serves as a metaphor for connecting with the past, allowing listeners to "time travel" through taste.

Samin Nosrat [34:28]: "I mean, this is time traveling... it's like having a sensory experience that people were having 2,000 years ago."

Together, they prepare garum, capturing its intense salty and umami flavors, reminiscent of ancient Roman cuisine. The process underscores the cultural significance of garum and its role in uniting communities even after such a devastating event.

Latif Nasser [36:42]: "It's very salty... it's a little, like, umami."

Reflections: The Human Story Behind the Tragedy

Steve reflects on the resilience of the Pompeian survivors, emphasizing the emotional and psychological aspects of their displacement. Drawing parallels to modern-day migrations and family separations, he highlights the enduring human spirit in the face of catastrophe.

Steve Tuck [32:33]: "I find it quite moving... people went through the dark, shouting their names at each other, as Pliny tells us in his letter, and they connected up, and only then did they flee."

Latif adds a personal dimension, sharing his own feelings of disconnection from ancestral histories and the poignant experience of recreating garum as a tangible link to the past.

Latif Nasser [34:34]: "We are time traveling... a sensory experience that people were having 2,000 years ago."

Conclusion: Preserving History Through Storytelling

The episode concludes by celebrating the meticulous research of Steve Tuck and the evocative storytelling that Radiolab is known for. Latif urges listeners to support the show to continue uncovering such fascinating historical insights.

Latif Nasser [40:48]: "Take a listen wherever you get your podcasts."

Notable Quotes:

Steve Tuck [27:05]: "It's like the Heinz ketchup of antiquity."
Samin Nosrat [34:28]: "I mean, this is time traveling... it's like having a sensory experience that people were having 2,000 years ago."
Pliny the Younger [16:17]: "Some lifting their hands to the gods, but the greater part convinced that there were now no gods at all..."

Supporting Content:

Guest: Samin Nosrat, chef and author.
Production Team: Annie McEwen, Akedi Foster Keys, Brendan Dalton, Jeremy Bloom, and others.
Special Mention: The episode includes a commendation for the Gastropod podcast, highlighting its focus on food history.

Final Thoughts: "A Little Pompeian Fish Sauce Goes a Long Way" masterfully blends historical investigation with culinary exploration, revealing that even in the shadow of tragedy, threads of continuity and resilience persist. Through Steve Tuck’s research and the engaging narrative, listeners gain a deeper appreciation for the complexities of ancient disasters and the enduring human connections that survive them.