2-657-902 - Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images

Interior view of the Crater of Mount Vesuvius, as it was before the great eruption of 1767, Plate IX, from 'Campi Phlegraei: Observations on the Volcanoes of the Two Sicilies', by Sir William Hamilton (1730-1803), published 1776 (hand coloured engraving). shows very deep sea of lava formed by stream of lava from the little mountain, together with spectators viewing the spectacle from the edge of the old crater.