The archipelago of Vanuatu located in the southwest Pacific lies directly on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” a zone of intense seismic and volcanic activity. There are currently nine active volcanoes throughout the archipelago and many others have been active over the last 3000 years of human settlement. Despite these challenges people have survived and thrived amongst the sometimes cataclysmic activity. One of the most destructive volcanic eruptions of the region is thought to be Kuwae, a large island that split following a massive series of eruptions in c. 1452 AD. Some researchers have suggested it influenced the global climate and led to socio-political change, yet limited detailed research has been carried out at or near the source. Here the results of excavations undertaken on neighbouring islands are a focus, and they suggest the impacts nearby were more limited.