Mount Vesuvius & Pompeii: Facts & History Mount Vesuvius & Pompeii: Facts & History By Mary Bagley, Live Science Contributor | June 29, 2016 07:31pm ET MORE Credit: Klagyi | Shutterstock Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano on mainland Europe. It is best known because of the eruption in A.D. 79 that destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Mount Vesuvius is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to the large population of the city of Naples and the surrounding towns on the slopes nearby. The volcano is classed as a complex stratovolcano because its eruptions typically involve explosive eruptions as well as pyroclastic flows. Vesuvius and other Italian volcanoes, such as Campi Flegrei and Stromboli, are part of the Campanian volcanic arc. The Campanian arc sits on a tectonic boundary where the African plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian plate . Under Vesuvius, scientists have detected a tear in the African plate.

This “slab window” allows heat from the Earth’s mantle layer to melt the rock of the African plate building up pressure that causes violent explosive eruptions. In the past, Mount Vesuvius has had a roughly 20-year eruption cycle, but the last serious eruption was in 1944 . Vesuvius and Pompeii Mount Vesuvius destroyed the city of Pompeii in A.D. 79. Because the city was buried so quickly by volcanic ash, the site is a well-preserved snapshot of life in a Roman city. We even have a detailed account of the disaster recorded by Pliny the Younger, who interviewed survivors and recorded events in a letter to his friend Tacitus. [ Related: Pompeii 'Wall Posts' Reveal Ancient Social Networks ] Ruins at Herculaneum Credit: deepblue-photographer Shutterstock Pompeii was slowly recovering from a major earthquake that rocked the city in February of A.D. 62. The shallow quake, originating beneath Mount Vesuvius, had caused major damage to the springs and piping that provided the city’s water. Reconstruction was being carried out on several temples and public buildings.

Seneca, a historian, recorded that the quakes lasted for several days and also heavily damaged the town of Herculaneum and did minor damage to the city of Naples before subsiding. The major quake was followed by several minor shakes throughout the following years. [ Image Gallery: Pompeii's Toilets ] Because seismic activity was so common in the area, citizens paid little attention in early August of 79 when several quakes shook the earth beneath Herculaneum and Pompeii. People were unprepared for the explosion that took place shortly after noon on the 24th of August. Pliny, watching from the town of Misenum, approximately 13 miles (21 kilometers) from Pompeii, described the massive debris cloud. “It resembled a (Mediterranean) pine more than any other tree. Like a very high tree the cloud went high and expanded in different branches…. sometimes white, sometimes dark and stained by the sustained sand and ashes.” In Pompeii, ash blocked the sun by 1 p.m. and the people tried to clear heavy ash from rooftops as it fell at a rate of about 6 inches (15 centimeters) an hour.

[ Image Gallery: Preserved Pompeii — Photos Reveal City in Ash ] Bodies preserved in ash at Pompeii. Credit: Alessandro Colle Shutterstock Shortly after midnight, a wall of volcanic mud engulfed the town of Herculaneum, obliterating the town as its citizens fled toward Pompeii. About 6:30 a.m. on the following morning, a glowing cloud of volcanic gases and debris rolled down Vesuvius’ slopes and enveloped the city of Pompeii. Most victims died instantly as the superheated air burned their lungs and contracted their muscles, leaving the bodies in a semi-curled position to be quickly buried in ash and thus preserved in detail for hundreds of years. Far away in Misenum, Pliny the Younger and his mother joined other refugees escaping the earthquakes rocking their city. They observed, “…the sea retreating as if pushed by the earthquakes.” This was probably caused by a tsunami at the climax of the eruption, which gives us the time frame for historical record. Pliny writes of “black and horrible clouds, broken by sinuous shapes of flaming wind.” He describes people wheezing and gasping because of that wind; the same wind that doomed the people of Pompeii.

WWII eruption On March 18, 1944, a two-week-long eruption began with lava from the summit of Mount Vesuvius. Soldiers and airmen of the 340th Bomber Group were stationed at the Pompeii Airfield just a few miles from the base of the volcano. Diaries record the awesome sights and sounds they witnessed in this latest major eruption. Guards wore leather jackets and “steel pot” helmets to protect themselves from rains of hot ash and small rocks. Tents collapsed or caught fire when hot cinders were blown over them. On March 22, they were forced to evacuate, leaving behind 88 Allied aircraft. After the volcano subsided, they returned on the 30th to find the planes were a total loss. Engines were clogged by ash, control panels were useless tangles of fused wire, canopies had holes from flying rock or were etched to opacity by wind driven ash. One airman of the 489th Bomber Squadron complained in his diary when Axis Sally broadcast a radio show dedicated to the “survivors” of the Vesuvius eruption (actually the most severe human casualty was a wrist sprained during the evacuation).

She told all of Europe that “Colonel Vesuvius” had destroyed all of them. The diarist was justifiably proud of the work he did with his fellows in recovery. By April 15, the planes had been replaced and the 340th Bomber Group was back to full strength and ready to fly missions from their new base. “We are still the best damned Group there is. Hitler, you self styled ‘Great Rebuilder’ take note!” Current status Since 1944, there have been hundreds of minor earthquakes in the region around Mount Vesuvius. The most serious earthquake rocked Naples in October 1999. The magnitude-3.6 quake was felt as far as 15 miles (24 km) from the base of the volcano and was of the same magnitude as a quake that occurred 17 years prior to the last truly major explosion that devastated Naples in 1631. In 2016, excavations on the outskirts of Pompeii revealed more victims of the volcanic eruption.

Archaeologists discovered the remains of four people , including one teenage girl, in the ruins of a shop, according to a statement from the Soprintendenza Pompei , the Italian authority in charge of managing the ancient site. Editor's Recommendations Pompeii - Ancient History - HISTORY.com Google Life in Pompeii Ever since the ancient Greeks settled in the area in the 8th century B.C., the region around Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples attracted wealthy vacationers who wanted to soak up the sun and the scenery. By the turn of the first century A.D., the town of Pompeii, located about five miles from the mountain, was a flourishing resort for Rome’s most distinguished citizens. Elegant houses and elaborate villas lined the paved streets. Tourists, townspeople and slaves bustled in and out of small factories and artisans’ shops, taverns and cafes, and brothels and bathhouses. People gathered in the 20,000-seat arena and lounged in the open-air squares and marketplaces. On the eve of that fateful eruption in 79 A.D., scholars estimate that there were about 20,000 people living in Pompeii and the surrounding region. Did You Know?

Mount Vesuvius has not erupted since 1944, but it is still one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. Experts believe that another Plinean eruption is due any day--an almost unfathomable catastrophe, since almost 3 million people live within 20 miles of the volcano’s crater. Mount Vesuvius The Vesuvius volcano did not form overnight, of course. In fact, scholars say that the mountain is hundreds of thousands of years old and had been erupting for generations. In about 1780 B.C., for example, an unusually violent eruption (known today as the “Avellino eruption”) shot millions of tons of superheated lava, ash and rocks about 22 miles into the sky. That prehistoric catastrophe destroyed almost every village, house and farm within 15 miles of the mountain. But it was easy to overlook the mountain’s bad temper in such a pleasant, sunny spot. Even after a massive earthquake struck the Campania region in 63 A.D.–a quake that, scientists now understand, offered a warning rumble of the disaster to come–people still flocked to the shores of the Bay of Naples.

Pompeii grew more crowded every year. 79 A.D. Sixteen years after that telltale earthquake, in August 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted again. The blast sent a plume of ashes, pumice and other rocks, and scorching-hot volcanic gases so high into the sky that people could see it for hundreds of miles around. (The writer Pliny the Younger, who watched the eruption from across the bay, compared this “cloud of unusual size and appearance” to a pine tree that “rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches”; today, geologists refer to this type of volcano as a “Plinean eruption.”) As it cooled, this tower of debris drifted to earth: first the fine-grained ash, then the lightweight chunks of pumice and other rocks. It was terrifying–“I believed I was perishing with the world,” Pliny wrote, “and the world with me”–but not yet lethal: Most Pompeiians had plenty of time to flee. For those who stayed behind, however, conditions soon grew worse. As more and more ash fell, it clogged the air, making it difficult to breathe.

Buildings collapsed. Then, a “pyroclastic surge”–a 100-miles-per-hour surge of superheated poison gas and pulverized rock–poured down the side of the mountain and swallowed everything and everyone in its path. By the time the Vesuvius eruption sputtered to an end the next day, Pompeii was buried under millions of tons of volcanic ash. About 2,000 people were dead. Some people drifted back to town in search of lost relatives or belongings, but there was not much left to find. Pompeii, along with the smaller neighboring towns of Stabiae and Herculaneum, was abandoned for centuries. Rediscovering Pompeii Pompeii remained mostly untouched until 1748, when a group of explorers looking for ancient artifacts arrived in Campania and began to dig. They found that the ashes had acted as a marvelous preservative: Underneath all that dust, Pompeii was almost exactly as it had been 2,000 years before. Its buildings were intact. Skeletons were frozen right where they’d fallen. Everyday objects and household goods littered the streets.

Later archaeologists even uncovered jars of preserved fruit and loaves of bread! Many scholars say that the excavation of Pompeii played a major role in the neo-Classical revival of the 18th century. Europe’s wealthiest and most fashionable families displayed art and reproductions of objects from the ruins, and drawings of Pompeii’s buildings helped shape the architectural trends of the era. For example, wealthy British families often built “Etruscan rooms” that mimicked those in Pompeiian villas. Today, the excavation of Pompeii has been going on for almost three centuries, and scholars and tourists remain just as fascinated by the city’s eerie ruins as they were in the 18th century. Tags Plymouth, Montserrat: The City that was Destroyed by a Volcano | Urban Ghosts Plymouth, Montserrat: The City that was Destroyed by a Volcano 16 March 2010 Image via R.B. Hoblitt One fateful day a pleasant city sitting beneath a dormant volcano was completely destroyed when the volatile peak rumbled to life. Sound familiar? Everyone knows the story of Pompeii in Italy, destroyed in AD 79 by Mount Vesuvius. But this was the city of Plymouth , Montserrat.

The year: 1995. Images by Mike Schinkel You can explore ancient Pompeii in our photo essay below. But for the moment let’s stick with Plymouth, the capital of Montserrat, a British overseas territory in a chain of islands known as the Lesser Antilles. Image by Mike Schinkel / CC BY 2.0 Less than two decades ago, the Georgian-era capital of Plymouth was a pleasant place to live – a little British outpost complete with traditional red telephone boxes and a far more agreeable climate than the homeland. Originally named by Christopher Columbus on a visit to the island in 1493, Montserrat is known as the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean due to its similarity to coastal Ireland and the Irish descent of its inhabitants. Their capital may have been destroyed, but the good people of Montserrat still celebrate St Patrick’s Day in style – join them here . Image by Xb-70 ( Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 ) The good life along the shores of the Caribbean Sea came to an end on July 18, 1995.

On that fateful day, Soufriere Hills volcano – which had lain dormant thoughout recorded history – exploded in an eruption of titanic proportions that consumed Plymouth under 12 metres of mud and rendered the southern half of Montserrat uninhabitable. Image by Wailunip ( Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic ) The eruption forced over half Montserrat’s population to flee abroad due to economic disruption and lack of housing. Two years later, in 1997, 19 people died after being overtaken by a pyroclastic flow following another eruption. Since then, the volcano’s activities have been confined to venting ash into the uninhabited southern region. But this occasionally spreads to northern settlements. Buried cars and houses visible only by their roofs are a common site amid the ruins of Plymouth. Images by UWI Seismic Research Centre / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Soufriere Hills volcano erupted again on January 18, 2010, when pyroclastic flows – fast-moving currents of gas and molten rock travelling at up to 450 mph – reached the sea via Aymers Ghaut (above).

Then, on February 5, 2010 another relentless explosion sent flows down several sides of the mountain, while on February 11, 2010 a partial collapse of the lava dome belched ash clouds over neighbouring islands Guadeloupe and Antigua. Ironically, the inhabited northern region of Montserrat remains largely undisturbed by the ash. Top image via NASA; bottom image via Google Earth Today the lush green vegetation comprising most of Montserrat is a stark contrast to the ash ravaged badlands around Plymouth and the volcano itself (see top satelite image). A new airport in the north opened in 2008 to replace the original one buried in the 1995 eruption. While Plymouth was once the only port of entry to Montserrat, a dock has been built at Little Bay, where the island’s new capital is being constructed. The people of Montserrat were granted full UK citizenship in 2002. A Photo Tour of Ancient Pompeii Image by Crew Creative (Image released into public domain – more information here ) The image above depicts the terrifying day in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted near Pompeii.

The result: an ancient city completely destroyed, buried by more than 60 feet of ash and pumice and lost to civilisation for more than 1,500 years. Now, after its accidental discovery in 1592, Pompeii has become a world heritage site , excavated by archeologists to reveal many of the treasures of its ancient Roman heritage. This photo essay shows Pompeii as it is today, with Vesuvius lurking menacingly in the background. Image by Morn the Gorn ( Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported ) Images by TyB Ancient Rome for Kids: The City of Pompeii History >> Ancient Rome The city of Pompeii was a major resort city during the times of Ancient Rome. However, in 79 AD, disaster struck the city when it was buried under 20 feet of ash and debris from the eruption of the nearby volcano , Mount Vesuvius. Mount Vesuvius by McLeod History Pompeii was originally settled around the 7th century BC by the Oscan peoples. The port city was in a prime location for trade as well as farming.

The rich volcanic soil from earlier eruptions of Vesuvius created prime farmland for grapes and olive trees. In the 5th century the city was conquered by the Samnites and was later taken over by the Romans. It became an official Roman colony in 80 BC called the Colonia Veneria Cornelia Pompeii. The City The city of Pompeii was a popular vacation destination for the Romans. It is estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 people lived in the city. Many wealthy Romans had summer homes in Pompeii and would live there during the hot summer months. Pompeii was a typical Roman city. On one side of the city was the forum. It was here that much of the business of the city was carried out. There were also temples to Venus, Jupiter, and Apollo near the forum. An aqueduct carried water into the city to be used in the public baths and fountains. The rich even had running water in their homes. The people of Pompeii enjoyed their entertainment. There was a large amphitheater that could seat around 20,000 people for gladiator games.

There were also a number of theatres for plays, religious celebrations, and musical concerts. Earthquakes The area around Pompeii experienced frequent earthquakes . In 62 AD there was a huge earthquake that destroyed many of the buildings of Pompeii. The city was still rebuilding seventeen years later when disaster struck. The Volcano Erupts On August 24, 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted. Scientists estimate that 1.5 million tons of ash and rock shot out of the volcano every second. The ash cloud likely towered over 20 miles high above the mountain. Some people managed to escape, but most didn't. It is estimated that 16,000 people died. Did they know what was coming? The days prior to the eruption were recorded by a Roman administrator named Pliny the Younger. Pliny wrote that there had been several earth tremors in the days leading up to the eruption, but Roman science didn't know that earthquakes could signal the start of a volcano erupting. Even when they first saw smoke rising from the top of the mountain, they were merely curious. They had no idea what was coming until it was too late.

A Great Archeologists Find The city of Pompeii was buried and gone. People eventually forgot about it. It wasn't discovered again until the 1700s when archeologists began to uncover the city. They found something amazing. Much of the city was preserved under the ashes. Buildings, paintings, houses, and workshops that would never have survived all these years remained intact. As a result, much of what we know about everyday life in the Roman Empire comes from Pompeii. Interesting Facts about the City of Pompeii The eruption occurred one day after the religious festival to Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. The amount of energy released by the eruption was roughly one hundred thousands times the thermal energy released by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The nearby city of Herculaneum was also destroyed. Archeologists found holes in the ashes that were once the bodies of people that were buried in the eruption. By pouring plaster into these holes, scientists have been able to make detailed casts of many of the citizens of Pompeii. The recovered city of Pompeii is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy . The city was located around 5 miles from Mount Vesuvius. Take a ten question quiz about this page.

For more about Ancient Rome: Overview and History Mount Vesuvius, Italy: Map, Facts, Eruption Pictures, Pompeii Article by Jessica Ball Mount Vesuvius Introduction Vesuvius is the only active volcano in mainland Europe, and has produced some of the continent's largest volcanic eruptions. Located on Italy's west coast, it overlooks the Bay and City of Naples and sits in the crater of the ancient Somma volcano. Vesuvius is most famous for the 79 AD eruption which destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Though the volcano's last eruption was in 1944, it still represents a great danger to the cities that surround it, especially the busy metropolis of Naples. Map: Where is Vesuvius? Map showing the location of Mount Vesuvius on the west coast of Italy. Map by Geology.com and MapResources. Nearby Volcanoes: Etna Stromboli Mount Vesuvius: Plate Tectonic Setting Vesuvius is part of the Campanian volcanic arc, a line of volcanoes that formed over a subduction zone created by the convergence of the African and Eurasian plates.

This subduction zone stretches the length of the Italian peninsula, and is also the source of other volcanoes like Mount Etna , the Phlegraean Fields (Campi Flegrei), Vulcano, and Stromboli. Under Vesuvius, the lower part of the subducting slab has torn and detached from the upper part to form what is called a "slab window". This makes Vesuvius' rocks slightly different chemically from the rocks erupted from the other Campanian volcanoes. Simplified plate tectonics cross section (A to B) Simplified plate tectonics cross-section showing how Mount Vesuvius is located above a subduction zone formed where the African plate descends beneath Italy. Magma produced from the melting African plate creates the large, violently explosive volcanoes of the Italian Peninsula. Mount Vesuvius: Eruption History Mount Vesuvius has experienced eight major eruptions in the last 17,000 years. The 79 AD eruption is one of the most well known ancient eruptions in the world, and may have killed more than 16,000 people.

Ash, mud and rocks from this eruption buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Pompeii is famous for the casts the hot ash formed around victims of the eruptions. The unfortunate people suffocated on ash in the air, which then covered them and preserved amazing details of their clothing and faces. Starting in 1631, Vesuvius entered a period of steady volcanic activity, including lava flows and eruptions of ash and mud. Violent eruptions in the late 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s created more fissures, lava flows, and ash-and-gas explosions. These damaged or destroyed many towns around the volcano, and sometimes killed people; the eruption of 1906 had more than 100 casualties. The most recent eruption was in 1944 during World War II. It caused major problems for the newly-arrived Allied forces in Italy when ash and rocks from the eruption destroyed planes and forced evacuations at a nearby airbase. Vesuvius eruption (1944) A view of Naples at the height of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1944.

A Melvin C. Shaffer photograph used with permission from Southern Methodist University CUL Digital Collections . Did You Know? The 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius is why volcanologists use "Plinian" to describe large volcanic eruption clouds. Pliny the Younger, a Roman historian who witnessed the 79 AD eruption, wrote the oldest surviving description of the tall, tree-shaped cloud that rose above the volcano. Modern volcanologists use the term to describe large-volume, violent eruptions that produce quickly-expanding clouds of rock, ash and gases which rise many miles into the atmosphere. Some more recent examples of Plinian eruptions include Mount St. Helens in 1980 and Pinatubo in 1990. Here is Pliny's description... "On 24 August, in the early afternoon, my mother drew [my uncle's] attention to a cloud of unusual size and appearance.

its general appearance can be best expressed as being like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches, I imagine because it was thrust upwards by the first blast and then left unsupported as the pressure subsided, or else it was borne down by its own weight so that it spread out and gradually dispersed. Sometimes it looked white, sometimes blotched and dirty, according to the amount of soil and ashes it carried with it." About the Author Jessica Ball is a graduate student in the Department of Geology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her concentration is in volcanology, and she is currently researching lava dome collapses and pyroclastic flows. Jessica earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the College of William and Mary, and worked for a year at the American Geological Institute in the Education/Outreach Program. She also writes the Magma Cum Laude blog , and in what spare time she has left, she enjoys rock climbing and playing various stringed instruments. Find it on Geology.com More from Geology.com Deepest Lake in the World: Lake Baikal in southern Russia is the deepest lake in the World.

Sliding Rocks Mystery: What causes these rocks to slide across a Death Valley playa? Titanite - also known as sphene, this mineral is a minor source of titanium and a minor gem. Strontium Titanate is a man- made diamond simulant with a fire much stronger than diamond. Shale Gas is natural gas trapped within shale. It is a growing source of US supply. Gold - An important metal for thousands of years - uses, prospecting, mining, production. Land Below Sea Level: Did you know that dozens of land locations are below sea level? Fancy Sapphires are gem corundums of any color other than red, blue or colorless. Picture of Mount Vesuvius and Naples Bay A panorama of the Gulf of Naples, Italy, showing the high population density and commerce. Mt. Vesuvius rests quietly in the background. Image © iStockphoto / Danilo Ascione. Facts About Mount Vesuvius Etna Stromboli Google Satellite Image of Mount Vesuvius Google Maps satellite image of Vesuvius. In this view you can clearly see the caldera, radial drainage on the volcano's flanks, the city of Naples and a portion of the Gulf of Naples.

You can use the control buttons in the upper left corner to zoom out for a broader view or in for more detail. This view clearly shows the density of vulnerable cultural and industrial development that surrounds Vesuvius. You can also use the "terrain" button in the upper right corner of the image to switch to a topographic map. View Larger Map Mount Vesuvius Geology and Hazards The cone known as Mount Vesuvius began growing in the caldera of the Mount Somma volcano, which last erupted about 17,000 years ago. Most rocks erupted from Vesuvius are andesite , an intermediate volcanic rock (about 53-63% silica). Andesite lava creates explosive eruptions on a variety of scales, which makes Vesuvius an especially dangerous and unpredictable volcano. Strombolian eruptions (explosions of magma from a pool in the volcano’s conduit) and lava flows from the summit and flank fissures are relatively small. Plinian eruptions (huge explosions that create columns of gas, ash and rock which can rise dozens of kilometers into the atmosphere) have a much greater reach, and have destroyed entire ancient cities near Vesuvius with huge ash falls and pyroclastic flows .

Vesuvius is currently quiet, with only minor seismic (earthquake) activity and outgassing from fumaroles in its summit crater, but more violent activity could resume in the future. Plaster casts: Victims of the 79 A.D. eruption Plaster casts of people who died in the city of Pompeii during the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius. They were buried by the ashfall. Image: Garden of the Fugitives, This photo was taken by Lancevortex and is distributed under a GNU Free Documentation License . Ruins at the ancient city of Pompeii Brick columns stand among ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii. Image © iStockphoto / Evgeny Bortnikov. More Vesuvius Information The Destruction of Pompeii, 79 AD The Destruction of Pompeii, 79 AD On August 24, 79 Mount Vesuvius literally blew its top, spewing tons of molten ash, pumice and sulfuric gas miles into Vesuvius erupts, 1944 the atmosphere.

A "firestorm" of poisonous vapors and molten debris engulfed the surrounding area suffocating the inhabitants of the neighboring Roman resort cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae. Tons of falling debris filled the streets until nothing remained to be seen of the once thriving communities. The cities remained buried and undiscovered for almost 1700 years until excavation began in 1748. These excavations continue today and provide insight into life during the Roman Empire. An ancient voice reaches out from the past to tell us of the disaster. This voice belongs to Pliny the Younger whose letters describe his experience during the eruption while he was staying in the home of his Uncle, Pliny the Elder. The elder Pliny was an official in the Roman Court, in charge of the fleet in the area of the Bay of Naples and a naturalist. Pliny the Younger's letters were discovered in the 16th century. Wrath of the Gods A few years after the event, Pliny wrote a friend, Cornelius Tacitus, describing the happenings of late August 79 AD when the eruption of Vesuvius obliterated Pompeii, killed his Uncle and almost destroyed his family.

At the time, Pliney was eighteen and living at his Uncle's villa in the town of Misenum. We pick up his story as he describes the warning raised by his mother: "My uncle was stationed at Misenum, in active command of the fleet. On 24 August, in the early afternoon, my mother drew his attention to a cloud of unusual size and appearance. He had been out in the sun, had taken a cold bath, and lunched while lying down, and was then working at his books. He called for his shoes and climbed up to a place which would give him the best view of the phenomenon. It was not clear at that distance from which mountain the cloud was rising (it was afterwards known to be Vesuvius); its general appearance can best be expressed as being like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches, I imagine because it was thrust upwards by the first blast and then left unsupported as the pressure subsided, or else it was borne down by its own weight so that it spread out and gradually dispersed. In places it looked white, elsewhere blotched and dirty, according to the amount of soil and ashes it carried with it.

ADVERTISMENT My uncle's scholarly acumen saw at once that it was important enough for a closer inspection, and he ordered a boat to be made ready, telling me I could come with him if I wished. I replied that I preferred to go on with my studies, and as it happened he had himself given me some writing to do. As he was leaving the house he was handed a message from Rectina, wife of Tascus whose house was at the foot of the mountain, so that escape was impossible except by boat. She was terrified by the danger threatening her and implored him to rescue her from her fate. He changed his plans, and what he had begun in a spirit of inquiry he completed as a hero. He gave orders for the warships to be launched and went on board himself with the intention of bringing help to many more people besides Rectina, for this lovely stretch of coast was thickly populated. He hurried to the place which everyone else was hastily leaving, steering his course straight for the danger zone. He was entirely fearless, describing each new movement and phase of the portent to be noted down exactly as he observed them.

Ashes were already falling, hotter and thicker as the ships drew near, followed by bits of pumice and blackened stones, charred and cracked by the flames: then suddenly they were in shallow water, and the shore was blocked by the debris from the mountain. For a moment my uncle wondered whether to turn back, but when the helmsman advised this he refused, telling him that Fortune stood by the courageous and they must make for Pomponianus at Stabiae. He was cut off there by the breadth of the bay (for the shore gradually curves round a basin filled by the sea) so that he was not as yet in danger, though it was clear that this would come nearer as it spread. Pomponianus had therefore already put his belongings on board ship, intending to escape if the contrary wind fell. This wind was of course full in my uncle's favour, and he was able to bring his ship in. He embraced his terrified friend, cheered and encouraged him, and thinking he could calm his fears by showing his own composure, gave orders that he was to be carried to the bathroom.

After his bath he lay down and dined; he was quite cheerful, or at any rate he pretended he was, which was no less courageous. Vesuvius from space Meanwhile on Mount Vesuvius broad sheets of fire and leaping flames blazed at several points, their bright glare emphasized by the darkness of night. My uncle tried to allay the fears of his companions by repeatedly declaring that these were nothing but bonfires left by the peasants in their terror, or else empty houses on fire in the districts they had abandoned. Then he went to rest and certainly slept, for as he was a stout man his breathing was rather loud and heavy and could be heard by people coming and going outside his door. By this time the courtyard giving access to his room was full of ashes mixed with pumice stones, so that its level had risen, and if he had stayed in the room any longer he would never have got out. He was wakened, came out and joined Pomponianus and the rest of the household who had sat up all night.

They debated whether to stay indoors or take their chance in the open, for the buildings were now shaking with violent shocks, and seemed to be swaying to and fro as if they were torn from their foundations. Outside, on the other hand, there was the danger of failing pumice stones, even though these were light and porous; however, after comparing the risks they chose the latter. In my uncle's case one reason outweighed the other, but for the others it was a choice of fears. As a protection against falling objects they put pillows on their heads tied down with cloths. Elsewhere there was daylight by this time, but they were still in darkness, blacker and denser than any ordinary night, which they relieved by lighting torches and various kinds of lamp. My uncle decided to go down to the shore and investigate on the spot the possibility of any escape by sea, but he found the waves still wild and dangerous. A sheet was spread on the ground for him to lie down, and he repeatedly asked for cold water to drink. Then the flames and smell of sulphur which gave warning of the approaching fire drove the others to take flight and roused him to stand up.

He stood leaning on two slaves and then suddenly collapsed, I imagine because the dense, fumes choked his breathing by blocking his windpipe which was constitutionally weak and narrow and often inflamed. When daylight returned on the 26th - two days after the last day he had been seen - his body was found intact and uninjured, still fully clothed and looking more like sleep than death. Shrieks of the People In a second letter to Tacitus, Pliny describes what happened to him and to his mother during the second day of the disaster: Portrait of a young girl. From a mural on the wall of a Pompeii home. Ashes were already falling, not as yet very thickly. I looked round: a dense black cloud was coming up behind us, spreading over the earth like a flood.'Let us leave the road while we can still see,'I said,'or we shall be knocked down and trampled underfoot in the dark by the crowd behind.'We had scarcely sat down to rest when darkness fell, not the dark of a moonless or cloudy night, but as if the lamp had been put out in a closed room.

You could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men; some were calling their parents, others their children or their wives, trying to recognize them by their voices. People bewailed their own fate or that of their relatives, and there were some who prayed for death in their terror of dying. Many besought the aid of the gods, but still more imagined there were no gods left, and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness for evermore. There were people, too, who added to the real perils by inventing fictitious dangers: some reported that part of Misenum had collapsed or another part was on fire, and though their tales were false they found others to believe them. A gleam of light returned, but we took this to be a warning of the approaching flames rather than daylight. However, the flames remained some distance off; then darkness came on once more and ashes began to fall again, this time in heavy showers. We rose from time to time and shook them off, otherwise we should have been buried and crushed beneath their weight.

I could boast that not a groan or cry of fear escaped me in these perils, but I admit that I derived some poor consolation in my mortal lot from the belief that the whole world was dying with me and I with it." References: Allen, G.B. (editor), Selected Letters of Pliny, (1915); Maiuri, Amedeo, Pompeian Wall Paintings (1960); Radice, Betty (translator), The Letters of The Younger Pliny (1969). How To Cite This Article: "The Destruction of Pompeii, 79 AD," EyeWitness to History, (1999). At the time of its destruction, Pompeii is estimated to have had a population of 20,000. Pliny became a lawyer at age 19 and did quite well. He owned a number of villas in Northern Italy and Rome. Pliny became a confidant of the Emperor Trajan and was made Governor of Bithynia in what is now Turkey. Pliny died there in 113 at the age of 52 or 53.

The Lost City of Pompeii - YouTube The Lost City of Pompeii Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Sep 23, 2012 Adventurer and Angry Planet TV show host, George Kourounis visits the ancient city of Pompeii in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. The city was buried in volcanic ash after a huge eruption of the volcano in 79 A.D. Produced by: The Destruction of Pompeii—God’s Revenge? - Biblical Archaeology Society The Destruction of Pompeii—God’s Revenge? Read the full article as it appeared in the July/August 2010 Biblical Archaeology Review Hershel Shanks • 08/24/2016 Read Hershel Shanks’s article “The Destruction of Pompeii—God’s Revenge?” as it originally appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August 2010.

The article was first republished in Bible History Daily in 2014.—Ed. “ONE LAST UNENDING NIGHT FOR THE WORLD.” Overcome by the fumes and falling ash, the famed Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder and his companion collapse in view of the 79 C.E. eruption of Mt. Vesuvius while buildings crumble nearby, as depicted in this 1813 painting Vesuvius Erupting by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes. First-century accounts of the eruption by his nephew Pliny the Younger and Dio Cassius describe the terror and confusion as the affluent cities of the Bay of Naples, including Pompeii and Herculaneum, were destroyed by the violent volcano. Was this disaster, which occurred almost exactly nine years after Roman troops destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, seen as God’s revenge on the conquerors of the holy city? AKG-Images Nine years, almost to the day, after Roman legionaries destroyed God’s house in Jerusalem, God destroyed the luxurious watering holes of the Roman elite. Was this God’s revenge? That’s not exactly the question I want to raise, however. Rather, did anyone at the time see it that way?

Did anyone connect the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 C.E. with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70? First the dates: The Romans destroyed the Second Temple (Herod’s Temple) on the same date that the Babylonians had destroyed the First Temple (Solomon’s Temple) in 586 B.C.E. But the exact date of the Babylonian destruction is uncertain. Two different dates are given in the Hebrew Bible for the destruction of the First Temple. In 2 Kings 25:8 the date is the 7th of the Hebrew month of Av; Jeremiah 52:12 says it occurred on the 10th of Av. The rabbis compromised and chose the 9th of Av (Tisha b’Av). That is the date on which observant Jews, sitting on the floor of their synagogues, still mourn the destruction of the First Temple, Solomon’s Temple, in 586 B.C.E. and the Second Temple, Herod’s Temple, in 70 C.E. The exact corresponding date in the Gregorian calendar is also a bit uncertain.

According to the translator of the authoritative translation of Josephus , the ancient historian who gives us our most detailed (if sometimes unreliable; see sidebar) account of the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., it occurred on August 29 or 30. 1 Others place it earlier in the month. The earliest existing picture of a scene from the Bible–portraying the judgment of King Solomon–comes from Pompeii. The oldest Biblical painting includes some surprising onlookers. Read the full article “ Solomon, Socrates and Aristotle ” by Theodore Feder online for free. The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabia and other nearby sites occurred, according to most commentators, on August 24 or 25 in 79 C.E. According to Seneca, the quakes lasted for several days. But the dates are close enough to raise the question: Were these two catastrophic events connected, at least in the mind of some observers? THE SILVER LINING. Buried by burning hot ash, Pompeii was completely destroyed in a matter of hours by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (seen in the background of this photo of Pompeii’s ruins).

The manner of its demise also protected it, however. The city remained amazingly preserved for almost two millennia. When it began to be excavated in the late 19th century, the archaeologists revealed a first-century Roman city frozen in time—from the vivid frescoes on the walls of spacious villas to the loaves of bread left baking in the oven. © istockphoto.com/dhuss The volcanic eruption of Vesuvius has been graphically described by Dio Cassius in his Roman History: The whole plain round about [Vesuvius] seethed and the summits leaped into the air. There were frequent rumblings, some of them subterranean, that resembled thunder, and some on the surface, that sounded like bellowings; the sea also joined in the roar and the sky re-echoed it. Then suddenly a portentous crash was heard, as if the mountains were tumbling in ruins; and first huge stones were hurled aloft, rising as high as the very summits, then came a great quantity of fire and endless smoke, so that the whole atmosphere was obscured and the sun was entirely hidden, as if eclipsed.

Thus day was turned into night and light into darkness … [Some] believed that the whole universe was being resolved into chaos or fire .… While this was going on, an inconceivable quantity of ashes was blown out, which covered both sea and land and filled all the air … It buried two entire cities, Herculaneum and Pompeii … Indeed, the amount of dust, taken all together was so great that some of it reached Africa and Syria and Egypt, and it also reached Rome, filling the air overhead and darkening the sun. There, too, no little fear was occasioned, that lasted for several days, since the people did not know and could not imagine what had happened, but, like those close at hand, believed that the whole world was being turned upside down, that the sun was disappearing into the earth and that the earth was being lifted to the sky. 2 The tone is plainly apocalyptic. And indeed Dio seems to have had this in mind. In the next paragraph he notes that the eruption consumed the temples of Serapis and Isis and Neptune and Jupiter Capitolinus, among others. It is almost as if some supreme God was at work.

Seventeen-year-old Pliny the Younger was an eyewitness to the eruption and described it in terms similar to Dio’s. In two surviving letters to Tacitus, Pliny also gives an account of the death of his famous uncle Pliny the Elder, author of the renowned Historia Naturalis. Pliny the Elder was at Misenum in his capacity as commander of the Roman fleet when the eruption began. He set sail to save some boatloads of people nearer Vesuvius and headed toward Stabia—to no avail. All perished, including Pliny, as his nephew recounts: Ash was falling onto the ships, darker and denser the closer they went. Now it rains bits of pumice, and rocks that were burned and shattered by the fire … Broad sheets of flame were lighting up many parts of Vesuvius; their light and brightness were the more vivid for the darkness of the night … Buildings were being rocked by a series of strong tremors and appeared to have come loose from their foundations and to be sliding this way and that.

Outside, however, there was danger from the rocks that were coming down … It was daylight now elsewhere in the world, but there the darkness was darker and thicker than any night … Then came the smell of sulfur, announcing the flames, and the flames themselves …onto the ships, darker and denser the closer they went. Now it rains bits of pumice, and rocks that were burned and shattered by the fire … Broad sheets of flame were lighting up many parts of Vesuvius; their light and brightness were the more vivid for the darkness of the night … Buildings were being rocked by a series of strong tremors and appeared to have come loose from their foundations and to be sliding this way and that. Outside, however, there was danger from the rocks that were coming down … [Then] came the dust, though still lightly. I looked back [from his flight from Misenum] … We had scarcely sat down when a darkness came that was not like a moonless or cloudy night, but more like the black of closed and unlighted rooms. You could hear women lamenting, children crying, men shouting. 3 Then comes the same apocalyptic tone that we saw in Dio: There were some so afraid of death that they prayed for death.

Many raised their hands to the gods, and even more believed that there were no gods any longer and that this was the one last unending night for the world … I believed that I was perishing with the world, and the world with me, which was a great consolation for death. 4 Did anyone connect all this to the Jewish God? To the Roman destruction of the Jerusalem Temple? In a conversation with Harvard’s Shaye Cohen about something else, I offhandedly asked him if he knew of any ancient source that made the connection between the Vesuvius eruption and the destruction of the Temple. I had already asked this of several other scholars, but none had any sources for me, although they said there must be some. Shaye, however, immediately replied, “Try Book 4 of the Sibylline Oracles.” He was right on. The free eBook Life in the Ancient World guides you through craft centers in ancient Jerusalem, family structure across Israel and articles on ancient practices—from dining to makeup—across the Mediterranean world.

Book 4 of the Sibylline Oracles is thought to be mostly Jewish oracles by a so-called sibyl ( in Greek legend an aged woman who uttered ecstatic prophecies ) that were composed shortly after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79. The oracles were preserved by Christians who believed they gave pagan testimony to the true religion and to Christ. 5 Although composed after the event, it is written as a prediction: An evil storm of war will also come upon Jerusalem from Italy, and it will sack the great Temple of God … A leader of Rome [Titus] will come … who will burn the Temple of Jerusalem with fire [and] at the same time slaughter many men and destroy the great land of the Jews. … a. Theodore H. Feder, “Solomon, Socrates and Aristotle,” BAR 34:05. 1. Jewish War, 6.244, 250, notes, tr. H. St. J. Thackeray. 2. Dio Cassius, Roman History, 66.22.3–23.5. 3.

Pliny the Younger, Letters, 6.16, 6.20. 4. Pliny the Younger, Letters, 6.20. 5. See John J. Collins, “Sibylline Oracles,” Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992). 6. [vv. 115–116, 125–127, 130–135] John J. Collins, “Sibylline Oracles—A New Translation and Introduction,” in James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (New York: Doubleday, 1983), p. 387. Collins makes explicit in a footnote the clearly implied connection between the two events. 7. See Carlo Giordano and Isidoro Kahn, The Jews in Pompeii Heculaneum, Stabiae and in the Cities of Campania Felix 3rd ed., Wilhelmina F. Jashemski, trans. (Rome: Bardi Editore, 2003), pp. 75–76. 8.

Another more ambiguous inscription was also found in the destruction of Pompeii, in Region 9, Insula 11, House 14, reading in Latin letters “Poinium Cherem.” Cherem could mean “excommunication” or “destruction” if the first letter is a het in Hebrew. But even cherem with a het could also mean consecrated to God, or holy. If the first meaning of cherem with a het was intended, this inscription, too, could refer to the destruction of Pompeii as God’s absolute condemnation of Pompeii for the prior Roman destruction of his Temple. The preceding Poinium presents a problem, however.

Poinium could be the Latin form of a Greek noun ending in -nion, that is, poimnion, meaning “flock.” And the ch in cherem could also be a Latin transcription of Hebrew chaf as well as het, in which case cherem would mean “vineyard.” The writer of the inscription may have been using the imagery of the prophet Isaiah: Israel is “the flock of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:11); similarly, “the vineyard (cherem) of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel” (Isaiah 5:7). “In this sense the cherem of the inscription could be understood as the name of the Jewish community at Pompeii …” (Giordano and Kahn, The Jews in Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and in the Cities of Campania Felix, p. 99). On the other hand, poinium could also be understood as Greek poine, similar in meaning to the Latin poena; that is, punishment, which would fit nicely with the meaning of cherem as “destruction” or “excommunication.” See Giordano and Kahn, pp.

89–103, for an extended discussion of these issues. 9. Natural History, Book XXXI, pp. 931ff. 10. I am indebted to Philip King for these translations from the Latin. 11. Mary Beard, The Fires of Vesuvius (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, 2008), p. 24. See also p. 302. 12. Masada II, The Latin and Greek Documents, (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1989), p. 166. 13. We have posted the full text of Professor Curtis’s response to me online at 14. Professor Cotton also cites in support of her contention J.B. Frey, “Les Juifs a Pompei,” Revue Biblique 32 (1933), p. 365. Frey makes similar arguments to that of Curtis. Moreover, he is unwilling even to admit that there were Jews in Pompeii or even that the quotation from Pliny demonstrates that the Jews had a special kosher garum.

His argument decisif is that “aucune garantie donee par des paiens n’aurait suffi a des Juifs, car en pareille matiere la parole des Gentils ne pouvait faire foi” (at p. 373). Permalink: Pompeii - Ancient City at the Foot of Mount Vesuvius Pompeii - Ancient City at the Foot of Mount Vesuvius Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters Thanks, You're in! There was an error. Please try again. Please select a newsletter. Please enter a valid email address. Did you mean ?

Question: What volcano destroyed the city of Pompeii?
Answer: Mount Vesuvius