Crater inside the 'little mountain' cone, Mount Vesuvius, Kingdom of Naples, c 1761.

Hand-coloured etching by Peter Fabris (active 1768-1779). Illustrated plate from William Hamilton's (1730-1803) study of Italian volcanoes, 'Campi Phlegraei' published in Naples in 1776. The view of the crater inside the cone of the 'little mountain' on Mount Vesuvius, which Hamilton claims was over 200 Neopolitan palms (166 feet) deep. The (1) hillock is composed of cinders, lava and other volcanic matter. Hamilton's book is a seminal work on the nature and effects of volcanic explosions.