Where was the big volcano in 1258 AD?

Over the last few weeks, we've seen a number of high-profile studies come out looking at global climate that refer to a mystery. According to ice core and sediment core records from many places on the globe, there was a very large volcanic eruption in 1258 A.D. read more

Anak is the Indonesian word for ‘child of’ (as seen with Anak Krakatoa, child of the volcano that blew itself to pieces in 1883.) That was a big clue. There was once something big there. When samples of volcanic ash were taken from the site it matched the samples found at the poles. read more

In the medieval chronicles of Europe, the summer of 1258 was described as unseasonably cold, resulting in poor harvests that were devastated by heavy floods. That summer thousands of people were buried in mass graves in London, possibly a result of the bad weather and the lack of food. read more

The observed effects of an eruption of the Indonesian volcano Mount Rinjani, in late 1257, include the following anecdotal accounts: dry fog in France; lunar eclipses in England; severe winter in Europe; a "harsh" spring in northern Iceland; famine in England, western Germany, France, and northern Italy; and pestilence in London, parts of France, Austria, Iraq, Syria, and southeast Turkey. read more