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⭐ In the context of Nea Kameni’s formation, which Roman official’s consulship is most closely linked to the initial recorded observation of a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, even if the specific island described differs from Nea Kameni itself?

Pliny the Elder specifically noted the island's emergence during the consulship of Marcus Junius Silanus and Decimus Laelius Balbus, establishing a historical timeframe for the initial observation of a volcanic island in the region.

⭐ Core Definition: Decimus Laelius Balbus (consul 46)

Decimus Laelius Balbus was a Roman senator and delator or informer, active during the Principate. He was suffect consul in the nundinium of July-August 46 as the colleague of Marcus Junius Silanus.

His father has been identified as Decimus Laelius Balbus, consul in 6 BC. Balbus himself first enters history when in AD 37 he accused Acutia, the former wife of Publius Vitellius, of maiestas. Following her conviction, when the Senate voted on his reward, the plebeian tribune Junius Otho interposed with his veto. According to Tacitus, this gave rise to a feud between Vitellius and Otho which ended in Otho's banishment. That same year, Balbus was accused along with Albucilla, "notorious for the number of her lovers", was deprived of his rank as senator and exiled to an island, which was received "with intense satisfaction, as Balbus was noted for his savage eloquence and his eagerness to assail the innocent."

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👉 Decimus Laelius Balbus (consul 46) in the context of Nea Kameni

Nea Kameni is a small, uninhabited Greek island of volcanic origin located in the Aegean Sea, within the flooded Santorini caldera. Nea Kameni (new burnt) and the neighbouring small island Palea Kameni (old burnt) have formed over the past two millennia through repeated eruptions of dacite lava and ash. The Roman historian Cassius Dio records in the year 47 CE "This year a small islet, hitherto unknown, made an appearance close to the island of Thera." Cassius' report may refer to Palaia Kameni. Pliny the Elder reported the emergence of a new island on July 8, in the year of the consulship of M. Junius Silanus and L. Balbus, thus 19 CE.

Major eruptions over the past 300 years took place in 1707–1712, 1866–1870, 1925–1928, and 1939–1941. The last small eruption happened in 1950 and involved lava dome extrusion.

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