Bill Linnane: My son visited Pompeii on a school trip – but the only thing he learned about the ancient world was how to use a landline

Bill Linnane: My son visited Pompeii on a school trip – but the only thing he learned about the ancient world was how to use a landline

Pliny the Younger was just 17 years old when he witnessed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Watching from across the bay, he saw the ash cloud sweep down and lay waste to Herculaneum, and its more famous sister city, Pompeii.