Pompeii before year AD-79
In antiquity, Pompeii was a prosperous and significant city located about ten kilometers south of Vesuvius on a small plateau. The location offered residents a charming view of the Gulf of Naples. The city was surrounded by a fortified wall that provided protection. The harbor was an important trading hub, regularly receiving ships from various regions such as Greece, Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East.
Pompeii covered an area of about 60 hectares. Security was a high priority, but luxury also played a significant role in the lives of Pompeii’s inhabitants.
For the wealthier citizens, there were various facilities for entertainment and relaxation. The many Roman basilicas served as both a stock exchange and a courthouse, making it an important center of urban life. Nearby was the Forum, the central square of the city, which also housed the Temple of Jupiter.
The city also boasted a large sports complex. Here, athletes could cool off in a swimming pool after training. Overall, Pompeii reflected a wealthy and well-organized city that played a significant role both economically and culturally.
The volcano Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano. It is located on the Gulf of Naples in the Italian region of Campania, ten kilometers from the city of Naples. The mountain is currently 1,281 meters high. It used to be much higher. Monte Somma is the peak that collapsed into a caldera during its eruption in AD 79. Within the collapsed basin, a new cone, the “actual” Vesuvius, has formed.
Volcanic activity in the Vesuvius area began at least 400,000 years ago during the Pleistocene.
Since then, many eruptions have characterized the activity, interrupted by periods of dormancy. Around 18,300 ± 180 years ago, an eruption known as the Pomici di Base occurred. It produced a 20 km high eruption column, and its pyroclastic deposits still reach a thickness of 6.5 meters at a distance of 10 km. After a series of smaller effusive eruptions, the Plinian eruption epoch ended around 16,130 ± 110 years ago.
After the longest period of dormancy, a Plinian eruption around 6000 BC, known as the Pomici di Mercato or Ottaviano eruption, initiated another phase of activity. Its deposits are still up to 50 cm thick at a distance of 30 km.
Vesuvius is listed as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.
The day of Pompeii’s destruction
It was a calm summer morning on August 24, 79, when the ground in Pompeii shook again. The thunder of a huge explosion suddenly shook the citizens out of their everyday lives. Startled, they looked in the direction of Mount Vesuvius, and saw that the mountain had blown away its summit.
In its place was a crater from which columns of fire were shooting out. A gray, pine-shaped cloud of dust and rock debris darkened the sky within minutes, turning day into night. The distraught people feared the wrath of the gods. Torches were lit, prayers were said, but it didn’t help: half an hour later, volcanic ash, dust, lapilli (small pebble sized rocks) and foamy pieces of pumice poured down on Pompeii.
At the summit of Mount Vesuvius, ten kilometers away, an inferno was raging. Under high pressure, the volcano spewed out fragmented lava. Glowing chunks and debris of ancient rock tumbled down into the valley and scorched the vegetation on the volcanic slope.
The eruption cloud had now reached the stratosphere. The town had the misfortune that the wind was blowing from the direction of Vesuvius and drove the cloud towards it. Stones hailed down from the cloud. The deposits in Pompeii grew at a rate of 20 centimetres per hour.
People panicked, many gathered their belongings and tried to flee. Others sought shelter in their houses. However, the open construction of the atrium houses offered insufficient protection. Toxic gases seeped into the rooms and the roofs groaned under their stony weight. By the afternoon, some of the roof trusses had already given way and collapsed.
The first phase of the eruption lasted twelve hours. Towards midnight, the bombardment of volcanic products subsided. The inhabitants of Pompeii thought they had survived the worst, but the respite was short-lived.
As the pressure from the crater subsided, the rising eruption cloud collapsed, generating pyroclastic flows. However, the first pyroclastic clouds did not reach Pompeii, but destroyed the neighboring city of Herculaneum. Herculaneum was much closer to Vesuvius than Pompeii, but had been largely spared from the eruption up to this point. People died an agonizing death in the pyroclastic flows. Even those who had found shelter in a house burned to death in the 800°C hot gases, on which a stream of ash and rocks moved, crushing everything that the gases had not destroyed.
In the early hours of August 25th, four pyroclastic flows reached Pompeii and killed everyone still alive in the city. Pompeii was now completely buried. During the course of the day, two more pyroclastic flows occurred, which eventually covered the former city area.
Pompeii was now buried under a twelve meter thick shroud. In Herculaneum, which was only six kilometers away from the crater, the volcanic deposits piled up to a height of 20 meters. The sunken cities fell into oblivion. If the technical possibilities that exist today had been available at that time, the sinking of Pompeii and Herculaneum could probably not have been prevented, but the cities would have been evacuated and the events would have been documented in detail. As a result, apart from the ruins, there are only a few written eyewitness accounts of the natural disaster.
Up to 16,000 people died that day, 2,000 of those bodies were recovered. Only 4,000 of Pompeii’s inhabitants were able to flee in time.
The rediscovery of the lost city
The sunken cities were legends from a bygone era when a few pieces of marble and coins were accidentally found on their territory towards the end of the 16th century. Gradually, looting for the ancient treasures began. They were plundered and stolen. Many treasures ended up in the hands of dubious collectors during this time. It was not until the 18th century that systematic excavations began. To date, a good four-fifths of the old city area has been uncovered.
Due to weather, the element and tourists the condition of the ruins worsens a lot. Multiple buildings have collapsed of the years. That’s why some researchers call for burring the city a second time, to preserve this unique and extremely important archaeological sight.
What follows are the plaster casts of the hollow voids the bodies of the people and animals left in the thick deposit layer:
Other great discoveries:
Some mosaics and paintings
Actual bread they found in perfect shape
A bowl of eggs, an oven and a kitchen
The dangers of Vesuvius today
To this day Vesuvius is highly dangerous. Up to 3 Million people live in the potential danger zone around the volcano. The residents might have only three days to evacuate the area, since Vesuvius is notorious for having sudden and devastating eruptions.
