INTRODUCTION
Mt Vesuvius Eruption 79ADAlmost 2000 years ago, a small town in the Bay of Naples was buried beneath six metres of ash for years before its accidental rediscovery. Pompeii and Herculaneum were towns located beneath the deadly and active volcano that awoke after 1000 years causing catastrophic damage to the town. Covering Pompeii in 3m of Volcanic material and Herculaneum in 13m for years to come.
It was a sunny day on the 24th of August 79AD at 10am, when the deadly volcano Mt Vesuvius, located in the Bay of Naples above the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, erupted causing a plinian eruption which resulted in widespread damage and destruction to the thriving towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum located below this active and destructive volcano. As many as 16000 lives were lost in the process wiping these towns off the face of existence for centuries to come. The eruption lasted for numerous hours resulting in the mass of lives lost due to the toxic gas that came out of the volcano, burying men and women on the spot. These bodies can still be found in Pompeii today.
The Mt Vesuvius eruption is one of the most fascinating eruptions that occurred throughout time for historians, as it tells us that people were unaware of the effects this volcano would have on this town until it was too late. Most of the citizens who were unable to get away would have believed the tremors were just the signs of an earthquake, such as the massive earthquake in 62AD which caused widespread damage. This details how unaware this civilisation was of the effects this volcano could have.
This eruption was a hugely important event in the classical period because it not only preserved a town during the height of the Roman Empire, but it gives archaeologists and historians a 'snapshot' view of what life was like in the classical period in Ancient Rome in Pompeii and Herculaneum for the people, their architecture and their culture through the numerous excavations that have taken place over the last few centuries giving an insight to what life was like for those men and women living in Pompeii and Herculaneum during the time of the Mt Vesuvius Eruption in 79AD. The rediscovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum also has shaped the way many people treat this fascinating period in time and how it has shaped the world.
It was a sunny day on the 24th of August 79AD at 10am, when the deadly volcano Mt Vesuvius, located in the Bay of Naples above the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, erupted causing a plinian eruption which resulted in widespread damage and destruction to the thriving towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum located below this active and destructive volcano. As many as 16000 lives were lost in the process wiping these towns off the face of existence for centuries to come. The eruption lasted for numerous hours resulting in the mass of lives lost due to the toxic gas that came out of the volcano, burying men and women on the spot. These bodies can still be found in Pompeii today.
The Mt Vesuvius eruption is one of the most fascinating eruptions that occurred throughout time for historians, as it tells us that people were unaware of the effects this volcano would have on this town until it was too late. Most of the citizens who were unable to get away would have believed the tremors were just the signs of an earthquake, such as the massive earthquake in 62AD which caused widespread damage. This details how unaware this civilisation was of the effects this volcano could have.
This eruption was a hugely important event in the classical period because it not only preserved a town during the height of the Roman Empire, but it gives archaeologists and historians a 'snapshot' view of what life was like in the classical period in Ancient Rome in Pompeii and Herculaneum for the people, their architecture and their culture through the numerous excavations that have taken place over the last few centuries giving an insight to what life was like for those men and women living in Pompeii and Herculaneum during the time of the Mt Vesuvius Eruption in 79AD. The rediscovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum also has shaped the way many people treat this fascinating period in time and how it has shaped the world.