Very cool stuff. But why was he even there with a fleet? How did a fleet have time to sail there to witness the eruption? Clearly there was cause for concern,

Very cool stuff. But why was he even there with a fleet? How did a fleet have time to sail there to witness the eruption? Clearly there was cause for concern, even if written sources don't mention it. And of course the final detail is the number of bodies found, much lower than the number of expected inhabitants. Many houses were being remodeled from previous tremors, the owners probably long gone and left the laborers to their fate.