Aug. 24, A.D. 79: Vesuvius Buries Pompeii | WIRED Aug. 24, A.D. 79: Vesuvius Buries Pompeii subscribe 6 months for $5 - plus a FREE Portable Phone Charger. Author: Randy Alfred. Randy Alfred Date of Publication: 08.24.09. Time of Publication: 12:00 am. 12:00 am Aug. 24, A.D. 79: Vesuvius Buries Pompeii A.D. 79: Mount Vesuvius erupts on the Bay of Naples, raining down fire and death from the skies. Thousands die, including one of Rome’s greatest scientists. The eruption buried the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae . Though the eruption came without warning, it lasted more than a week and did not kill all at once. Many people escaped, and many who could have evacuated the threatened cities stayed behind for one motive or another. Erupting Volcanoes Seen From Space Pliny the Elder was a Roman official in charge of the naval fleet in the bay. He was also a scholar of scientific matters — everything from astronomy to zoology.

He had compiled a digest of 2,000 ancient books by almost 500 writers into his own 37-volume encyclopedic magnum opus, Natural History. Pliny made some good calls and some bad calls in evaluating the work of his classical predecessors. He rejected the scientific possibility of immortality, but also tossed aside the theory that earthly tides were caused by the moon. Oh, well: Give him credit for accepting that the Earth is round . Despite this mixed bag, the book was an influential reference right up to the advent of the Renaissance, when actual scientific observation and experimentation replaced veneration of the classics, and began separating the wheat from the chaff. Whether Pliny stayed around the eruption too long because he wanted to observe it as a scientist, or simply out of bravado as a government official trying to calm the populace, you can judge for yourself. Here is an account in a letter a few years later to the historian Tacitus. It was written by Pliny’s nephew, Pliny the Younger , who was staying with him when Vesuvius erupted. 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. 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 favor, 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. 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.

Volcanic eruptions that send large columns of ash and gas into the stratosphere, like that of the Phillipines’ Mount Pinatubo in 1991, are classified by geologists today as Plinian eruptions . Vesuvius’ Plinian eruption of A.D. 79 lasted eight days, spewing pumice stone, hot blocks of lava, tons of ash, steam, poisonous gases and, finally, water that turned the huge ashfall into mud, then paste, then natural concrete. The buried cities, with up to 16,000 or 20,000 dead, were not found until 1748. Image: Vesuvius looms above the excavated amphitheater of Pompeii. GothPhil/Flickr 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 HD Volcano Mount Vesuvius destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii in AD 79 Volcanic Eruption - YouTube HD Volcano Mount Vesuvius destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii in AD 79 Volcanic Eruption 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. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Aug 30, 2013 Music Song "ARIA FROM ORCHESTRAL SUITE NO. 3" Mount Vesuvius (Italian: Monte Vesuvio, Latin: Mons Vesuvius) is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure. Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

That eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ash and fumes to a height of 20.5 miles, spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing. An estimated 16,000 people died due to hydrothermal pyroclastic flows. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus. Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards explosive (Plinian) eruptions. It is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world. Vesuvius has a long historic and literary tradition.

It was considered a divinity of the Genius type at the time of the eruption of 79 AD: it appears under the inscribed name Vesuvius as a serpent in the decorative frescos of many lararia, or household shrines, surviving from Pompeii. An inscription from Capua[5] to IOVI VESVVIO indicates that he was worshipped as a power of Jupiter; that is, Jupiter Vesuvius. The historian Diodorus Siculus relates a tradition that Hercules, in the performance of his labors, passed through the country of nearby Cumae on his way to Sicily and found there a place called "the Phlegraean Plain" (phlegraion pedion, "plain of fire"), "from a hill which anciently vomited out fire ... now called Vesuvius." It was inhabited by bandits, "the sons of the Earth," who were giants. With the assistance of the gods he pacified the region and went on. The facts behind the tradition, if any, remain unknown, as does whether Herculaneum was named after it.

An epigram by the poet Martial in 88 AD suggests that both Venus, patroness of Pompeii, and Hercules were worshipped in the region devastated by the eruption of 79. Whether Hercules was ever considered some sort of patron of the volcano itself is debatable.[citation needed] In the year of 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted in one of the most catastrophic and famous eruptions of all time. Historians have learned about the eruption from the eyewitness account of Pliny the Younger, a Roman administrator and poet. Mount Vesuvius spawned a deadly cloud of stones, ash and fumes to a height of 20.5 miles, spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing. The towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed by pyroclastic flows and the ruins buried under dozens of feet of tephra. An estimated 16,000 people died from the eruption.

The 79 AD eruption was preceded by a powerful earthquake seventeen years beforehand on February 5, AD 62, which caused widespread destruction around the Bay of Naples, and particularly to Pompeii.Some of the damage had still not been repaired when the volcano erupted. The deaths of 600 sheep from "tainted air" in the vicinity of Pompeii indicates that the earthquake of 62 may have been related to new activity by Vesuvius[35] The Romans grew accustomed to minor earth tremors in the region; the writer Pliny the Younger even wrote that they "were not particularly alarming because they are frequent in Campania". Small earthquakes started taking place on August 20, 79[34] becoming more frequent over the next four days, but the warnings were not recognised.[36] Mount Vesuvius has erupted many times. The famous eruption in 79 AD was preceded by numerous others in prehistory, including at least three significantly larger ones, the best known being the Avellino eruption around 1800 BC which engulfed several Bronze Age settlements.

Since 79 AD, the volcano has also erupted repeatedly, in 172, 203, 222, possibly 303, 379, 472, 512, 536, 685, 787, around 860, around 900, 968, 991, 999, 1006, 1037, 1049, around 1073, 1139, 1150, and there may have been eruptions in 1270, 1347, and 1500.[17] The volcano erupted again in 1631, six times in the 18th century, eight times in the 19th century (notably in 1872), and in 1906, 1929, and 1944.

Category 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 Mt Vesuvius Eruption 79 AD | John Seach Mt Vesuvius Eruption 79 AD | John Seach 5th February 62 AD Large earthquake destroyed many buildings in Pompeii. Aftershocks occurred for several days. 64 AD Earthquake destroys buildings in Naples. 24th August 79 AD Noisy explosions came from Mt Vesuvius and fine ash rained on the slopes of the volcano.ï¿½ Ash and gas Plinian column rose 33 km high.

Hot ash and pumice were falling on Pompeii at a rate of 12-15 cm/hr. After 8 pm the eruption became more violent. Falling ash and pumice were burying Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae. Total darkness appeared at 1 pm. 25th August 79 AD At 6:30 am a nuee ardente reached Pompeii. Large earthquakes hit Pompeii and 2.4 m of hot ash lay in the streets. At 7:30 am the largest nuee ardents swept through the streets of Pompeii. In two minutes the destruction was complete. 26th August 79 AD The eruption waned in the morning. Effects of the eruption. 8 cubic km of pumice and ash covered 300 sq km of land. Pompeii remained buried until excavations began in 1748.

HD Volcano Mount Vesuvius destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii in AD 79 Volcanic Eruption / ViewPure HD Volcano Mount Vesuvius destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii in AD 79 Volcanic Eruption Music Song "ARIA FROM ORCHESTRAL SUITE NO. 3" Mount Vesuvius (Italian: Monte Vesuvio, Latin: Mons Vesuvius) is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure. Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

That eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ash and fumes to a height of 20.5 miles, spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing. An estimated 16,000 people died due to hydrothermal pyroclastic flows. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus. Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards explosive (Plinian) eruptions. It is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world. Vesuvius has a long historic and literary tradition.

It was considered a divinity of the Genius type at the time of the eruption of 79 AD: it appears under the inscribed name Vesuvius as a serpent in the decorative frescos of many lararia, or household shrines, surviving from Pompeii. An inscription from Capua[5] to IOVI VESVVIO indicates that he was worshipped as a power of Jupiter; that is, Jupiter Vesuvius. The historian Diodorus Siculus relates a tradition that Hercules, in the performance of his labors, passed through the country of nearby Cumae on his way to Sicily and found there a place called "the Phlegraean Plain" (phlegraion pedion, "plain of fire"), "from a hill which anciently vomited out fire ... now called Vesuvius." It was inhabited by bandits, "the sons of the Earth," who were giants. With the assistance of the gods he pacified the region and went on. The facts behind the tradition, if any, remain unknown, as does whether Herculaneum was named after it.

An epigram by the poet Martial in 88 AD suggests that both Venus, patroness of Pompeii, and Hercules were worshipped in the region devastated by the eruption of 79. Whether Hercules was ever considered some sort of patron of the volcano itself is debatable.[citation needed] In the year of 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted in one of the most catastrophic and famous eruptions of all time. Historians have learned about the eruption from the eyewitness account of Pliny the Younger, a Roman administrator and poet. Mount Vesuvius spawned a deadly cloud of stones, ash and fumes to a height of 20.5 miles, spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing. The towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed by pyroclastic flows and the ruins buried under dozens of feet of tephra. An estimated 16,000 people died from the eruption.

The 79 AD eruption was preceded by a powerful earthquake seventeen years beforehand on February 5, AD 62, which caused widespread destruction around the Bay of Naples, and particularly to Pompeii.Some of the damage had still not been repaired when the volcano erupted. The deaths of 600 sheep from "tainted air" in the vicinity of Pompeii indicates that the earthquake of 62 may have been related to new activity by Vesuvius[35] The Romans grew accustomed to minor earth tremors in the region; the writer Pliny the Younger even wrote that they "were not particularly alarming because they are frequent in Campania". Small earthquakes started taking place on August 20, 79[34] becoming more frequent over the next four days, but the warnings were not recognised.[36] Mount Vesuvius has erupted many times. The famous eruption in 79 AD was preceded by numerous others in prehistory, including at least three significantly larger ones, the best known being the Avellino eruption around 1800 BC which engulfed several Bronze Age settlements.

Since 79 AD, the volcano has also erupted repeatedly, in 172, 203, 222, possibly 303, 379, 472, 512, 536, 685, 787, around 860, around 900, 968, 991, 999, 1006, 1037, 1049, around 1073, 1139, 1150, and there may have been eruptions in 1270, 1347, and 1500.[17] The volcano erupted again in 1631, six times in the 18th century, eight times in the 19th century (notably in 1872), and in 1906, 1929, and 1944.

5,773 views Eruption of Mount Vesuvius begins - Aug 24, 79 - HISTORY.com It was nearly wiped out during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. What is left of this ancient city and will Vesuvius erupt again? Uncover the lost city of Pompeii. Disaster Eruption of Mount Vesuvius begins Share this: Eruption of Mount Vesuvius begins Author Eruption of Mount Vesuvius begins URL Publisher A+E Networks Mount Vesuvius near Pompeii, Italy, begins to erupt on this day in the year 79; within the next 25 hours, it wipes out the entire town. Hundreds of years later, archaeologists excavated Pompeii and found everything and everyone that had been there that day perfectly preserved by the volcano’s ash. Pompeii, about 90 miles south of Rome, was established in 600 B.C.E. in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, which stood approximately 6,500 feet high. Apparently, no one was aware that Vesuvius was an active volcano, even after an earthquake in February of the year 63.

The preserved remains of Pompeii are not the only evidence of the disaster. Two authors who witnessed the eruption also recorded their observations. Pliny the Elder was across the bay from Vesuvius on the morning of August 24 when a large cloud was noticed emanating from the volcano. He dispatched several ships to the coastal town of Resina to investigate, but the ships could not land because they were pelted by flaming rocks from the volcano. Pliny the Elder headed toward the town of Stabiae, where ash continued to fall through the night. By the following morning, the ash even obscured the sun from view. On August 25, Pliny the Elder died, apparently overtaken by sulfur gases released from the volcano. Pliny the Younger, just 18 years old at the time, was also a witness to the eruption. He reported people climbing through waves of ash to escape. His account of the tons of pumice, rock and ash that Vesuvius pumped out over a 25-hour period, combined with the evidence left in Pompeii, indicates that about 2,000 residents of Pompeii survived the initial eruption of Vesuvius on August 24.

It was the following morning when another, more powerful eruption killed everyone in an instant. When rain mixed with the ash, it formed a sort of concrete, preserving the city. The town of Herculaneum was also buried on August 25, but by a mudslide set off by the eruption and accompanying tremors. It is estimated that 13,000 people in total died from the eruption. It was not until 1595, during the construction of an aqueduct, that Pompeii was rediscovered. Unfortunately, what can be viewed today is only a small fraction of what was found then, as looting and pillaging over the years has greatly reduced the archaeological value of the site. Some scientists believe that there may still be other villages buried by Vesuvius that have yet to be discovered. Related Videos 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.

Mount Vesuvius Places Menu Mount Vesuvius has become familiar to many people from the time that archaeologists began to search for the world that had been buried during the eruption of 79 AD. Yet it is one of the smallest active volcanoes in the world and the only active volcano on the European continent. The name, Vesuvius or Vesbius means 'unextinguished'. When a volcano is active, there are usually several calm years between eruptions. During calm times people settled near the mountain. People still choose to settle near Vesuvius as well as around Mt. Etna in Sicily because the volcanic ash provides rich soil suitable for producing excellent wine grapes. The wine produced from the grapes around Vesuvius today is called 'Lacrima Christi'. People feel secure because tranquil times can last up to 2000 years; stories of eruptions become folk tales. People feel safe. However, as long as the volcano is active, they are living atop a live bomb. Today there are over 2 million people living in the vicinity of Mount Vesuvius, a volcano that has erupted more than 50 times since 79 A.D.

For the residents in and around the Bay of Naples, there was a calm of 100 years prior to the activity that prompted the eruption of 79. One can assume that there had been some tremors during this 'calm' period, so it is understandable that the residents were not concerned when the mountain began to rumble. I lived in Tokyo many years ago; there were frequent earthquake tremors which we took as calmly as if a large truck had passed by causing dishes to rattle. One gets used to the ordinary. However the ordinary sometimes becomes extraordinary. Seneca reported that a large scale earthquake occurred on 5 February 62 (according to Tacitus) or perhaps 63 AD. This earthquake caused significant damage to both Pompeii and Herculaneum with minor damage in Naples where the emperor Nero happened to be performing in the theatre. Seneca wrote that the earthquakes continued for several days, probably referring to aftershocks. He wrote that the earthquakes became gradually less severe but nonetheless caused considerable damage. Repairs from the earthquakes of 62 were still being made in Pompeii and Herculaneum seventeen years later when the earth began to shake again. There were many shocks.

Dio Cassius (150-235 AD) wrote that several days before the eruptions of 79 there were earthquakes; the ground was groaning and 'giants' were roaming the earth. I imagine that several who had homes elsewhere left but, while the earthquake of 62 might have been fresh in their minds, an eruption had not happened for over 100 years. No one forsaw the disaster that would strike. The eruption began the morning of 24 August, one day after the annual celebration of Volcanalia, the festival for the god of fire and forge, Vulcan. A cloud of ash and pumice 12 miles high shot from the central cone as if from a canon. Midday became like midnight as the city of Pompeii, just 5 miles from the volcano, was covered with six inches of ash and pumice within one hour. Herculaneum was even closer to the mountain but being upwind of the volcano it was covered with a light coating of ash.

Around midnight, the column from the volcano collapsed and the mountainside was filled with a glowing avalanche of boiling gases, pumice and rocks which flowed over Herculaneum burying the city under 65 feet of hot volcanic matter. The town was sealed as if a layer of concrete had been poured over it. The following morning, a fourth avalanche sent hot gases and more ash to bury Pompeii and its inhabitants to a depth of 12 feet. Other areas in the region such as Stabia and Oplontis were also buried in the ash and pumice. Pliny the Elder wrote, 'this district was on fire and had craters of fire and then because the fuel gave out, was quenched.' Geography V.4. Two more surges followed, the sixth and last, causing Pliny the Younger to flee Misenum as he and the other residents watched 'a fearful black cloud...rent by forded and quivering bursts of flame' move across the bay. The earthquake stirred up huge waves in the bay and fallout from the eruption covered the area with what looked like heavy dust. Misenum itself was not damaged. Since that fateful day there have been subsequent eruptions that have reshaped the mountain.

They occurred about every 100 years until 1037. During the following six hundred years there was relative calm during which the mountain was reforested. However, on 16 Dec. 1631, a major eruption destroyed all the towns that had grown at the foot of the mountain (remember the soil is rich and there had been little or no activity from the volcano for a very long time). Over the next 300 years there were 23 eruptions of various degrees. The last known eruption was in 1944 when the Allied forces were atttacking Italy. The volcano bubbles and smokes yet today. With modern technology, the people living in the area should be given adequate warning prior to any future eruption. Property will be damaged but lives can be saved. Joan Jahnige, January 2004 BBC - History - Pompeii: Portents of Disaster Pompeii: Portents of Disaster By Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill Last updated 2011-03-29 The people of Pompeii were quite unprepared for the eruption of Vesuvius - getting on with their busy lives, in total ignorance of what was to come.

The signs of impending disaster, though, were there - why did no-one pick up on them? On this page Print this page The unexpected catastrophe It is certain that when the eruption of Vesuvius started on the morning of 24 August, AD 79, it caught the local population utterly unprepared. Although at the same time, as we now know in retrospect, all the tell-tale signs were there to warn them. ... the sighting of a column of smoke ... triggered a response more of curiosity than of alarm It is mainly thanks to the vivid eye-witness account of the younger Pliny (a Roman administrator and poet, whose many vivid letters have been preserved), that we have some understanding of what happened. And it is through him that we can gain insight into the reactions and feelings of the people caught up in the drama of this natural catastrophe. Pliny's account leaves no doubt that everyone was caught unprepared. His uncle, known as Pliny the Elder, was stationed in command of the imperial naval base at Misenum, on the north-west extremity of the Bay of Naples. He was not only the senior military officer in the district, but possibly the most well informed living Roman on matters of natural science.

His 37-volume Natural History is the longest work on science in Latin that has survived from antiquity. But for all his science and his seniority, his nephew tells us that the elder Pliny was relaxing, after a bath and lunch, when Vesuvius started to erupt. And the sighting of a column of smoke 'like an umbrella pine' on the far side of the Bay triggered a response more of curiosity than of alarm in him. He and his companions were evidently not anticipating such an event. The same account reveals, however, that the signs were there. Pliny's casual reference to earth tremors 'which were not particularly alarming because they are frequent in Campania' reveals the Roman's comprehensive ignorance of the link between seismic activity (earth tremors) and volcanic activity. The volcanologists of today constantly monitor any changes in levels of seismic activity from the observatory on Vesuvius, because they know that the same increase of activity in the deep reservoir of magma (molten or partially molten rock beneath the Earth's surface) causes both earth tremors and volcanic eruptions. Through measuring seismic activity, these scientists expect to predict an approaching eruption months in advance.

They also know that the activity of Vesuvius is recurrent, and that the longer the intervals between one eruption and another, the greater the eventual explosion will be. The frequent but low-level activity of Vesuvius in recent centuries has relieved the build-up of pressure in the magma chamber. The catastrophic magnitude of the eruption of AD 79 was connected with the extended period of inactivity that preceded it. A long interval combined with mounting seismic activity is a sure sign of impending disaster. Of course, the Romans could not know this, and our own knowledge owes much to the care of Pliny's description. The long inactivity of the volcano naturally lulled the people of the region into a false sense of security, though they were aware of the signs of burning at the peak of the mountain. They were not the first to be so lulled: recent excavations at the site of the new NATO base at Gricignano, on the north of the Bay, have revealed two catastrophic eruptions that preceded that of 79, and wiped out the populations of a densely occupied territory.

The most important earlier eruption, known as that of the 'Avellino pumice' occurred around 1800 BC; several sites, especially one near Nola, reveal the destruction of Bronze Age settlements, with their huts and pots and pans and livestock. But of this the Romans knew nothing. Top Signs and portents The irony of this is that the Romans were extremely interested in predicting the future, and they had a range of ways to detect what they saw as the approaching wrath of the gods. They were adept, for example, at observing 'portents' in the shape of strange sights and sounds, or unusual births. ... there were warnings of the eruption of Vesuvius. Even in these terms, there were warnings of the eruption of Vesuvius. Earthquakes in themselves counted as portentous, and the historian Cassius Dio, writing over a century later, reports repeated sightings of giants roaming the land. This was a bad portent indeed, given that one standard explanation for the volcanoes of south Italy was that, when the gods defeated the rebellious giants and brought peace to the universe, they buried them beneath the mountains, and that it was their stirrings that caused the eruptions.

But while the ancient imagination doubtless conjured up giants in plumes of gas from fumaroles (vents from which volcanic gas escapes into the atmosphere), the earthquakes that Pliny described so casually were more than just portents. Current thinking, however, had not yet caught up with their significance. We know this because, by an extraordinary coincidence, the philosopher Seneca, advisor to the emperor Nero, wrote a discussion of the scientific causes of earthquakes only a few years before the eruption. Seneca's treatise on the causes of natural phenomena included an entire book on earthquakes, and at the time he was writing, the news was coming in freshly of the catastrophic earthquakes in Campania of AD 63, which caused extensive damage to both Pompeii and Herculaneum. Seneca writes that he regarded it as likely that earthquakes in different parts of the world were interconnected, and even that they were linked to stormy weather, but he draws no link with volcanic activity. Indeed, he goes so far as to reproach the landowners who were deserting Campania for fear of further earthquakes.

Top Response to earthquakes Caldarium of the Thermae © The earthquake of AD 63 caused extensive damage to both Pompeii and Herculaneum, as we can see from repairs made to the buildings. Some areas seem to have been worse affected than others - there are cases where entire houses were demolished and reduced to agricultural land. Upper floors would have been particularly badly affected - and indeed some buildings do have blocked-up doors at the top, indicating that the higher floors had been abandoned. But more impressive than the signs of damage are the signs of the resilience of the local population. Damaged houses were being extensively repaired and redecorated at the time of the AD 79 eruption, and there was a comprehensive programme of restructuring of public buildings in the Forum of Pompeii. ... tenaciously repairing their city, and trying to carry on with life as usual. The evidence points to a continuous process of repairs and rebuilding from AD 63 onwards. It used to be assumed that the earthquake described by Seneca was the only cause of damage, and that signs of incomplete work suggested that it took the cities a long time to recover from the first catastrophe.

But we now know from volcanological research that a series of seismic episodes immediately preceded the eruption, causing further damage to structures that had already been repaired. So, in the house of the Chaste Lovers at Pompeii, archaeologists discovered that the oven of a bakery had suffered major cracking; it had been repaired and plastered over, but had then been damaged again - and building work was already in progress to mend this new damage. In the same block, three cesspits in the street, which linked to latrines in the houses, had been dug out immediately before the eruption, presumably to restore them to full functionality. Outside in the main street, an open trench was found, cutting the entire length of the walkway as far as a water-tower at the crossroads: seismic activity had interrupted the water supply, but people had been hard at work repairing it. A frequent sight in the excavated houses of Pompeii is that of heaps of plaster, which must have been brought in ready for new decoration. Sometimes even the pots and compasses of the decorators are in position.

The Pompeians in August 79, far from abandoning their city, or fretting about earthquakes as portents of future destruction, were thus tenaciously repairing their city, and trying to carry on with life as usual. There was every reason to: the economy of the Bay was booming, with the great port of Puteoli as one of the biggest nodes of Mediterranean trade, and the holiday villas of the rich bringing constant investment. Top The eruption A CGI image showing Vesuvius erupting © Taken unawares by the eruption, the population of the towns and villas that circled the Bay could only respond with panic. Pliny depicts his uncle as a model of Stoic fortitude: calmly sailing directly into the danger zone (where he subsequently died), and taking a bath, dinner and sleep while the catastrophe unfolded. But all around him is panic - Rectina in her villa, Pomponianus in his. The young Pliny too stays calm, but his mother weeps and implores, and by the time they set out to flee northwards, a dense black cloud of ash has blotted out the light, and the crowds of screaming people fleeing around them are in terror.

The skeletons found in Pompeii and Herculaneum give us an equally eloquent testimony of panic and uncertainty. The eruption lasted for more than 24 hours ... The eruption lasted for more than 24 hours from its start on the morning of 24 August. Those who fled at once, unburdened by possessions, had a chance of survival, for the rain of ash and pumice, mixed with lithics, that descended for several hours was not necessarily lethal. It is clear that many, like the elder Pliny, thought their best chance was to take shelter and weather the storm. It was not until around midnight that the first pyroclastic surges and flows occurred, caused by the progressive collapse of the eruptive column, and these meant certain death for the people of the region.

(A pyroclastic flow is a ground-hugging avalanche of hot ash, pumice, rock fragments and volcanic gas, which rushes down the side of a volcano as fast as 100 km/hour or more.) The hundreds of refugees sheltering in the vaulted arcades at the seaside in Herculaneum, clutching their jewellery and money, met their end swiftly - from the intense heat of the first surge that reached the city. Subsequent waves reached Pompeii, asphyxiating those who had survived the fall of 3m (10ft) of pumice, and were fleeing across the open in the dark, or hiding beneath roofs. The waves that followed smashed flat the upper floors of houses, and left the corpses encased in successive blankets of gaseous surge and pumice fall. It is impossible to tell what proportion of the inhabitants died, but the Romans were accustomed to losses mounting to tens of thousands in battle, and even they regarded this catastrophe as exceptional. The corpses found by archaeologists in Pompeii or Herculaneum should be regarded as only a small sample: the destruction encompassed the entire landscape south of Vesuvius to the Sorrentine peninsular.

As many died in the countryside or at sea as in the cities. Even as far north as Misenum, the ash lay deep in drifts. Top After the eruption Plaster cast of a victim killed by the Mount Vesuvius eruption © The effect of the eruption was evidently totally traumatic, as is shown by the failure to reoccupy the sites of the cities destroyed. It was normal practice to rebuild the cities of this region after even the most massive earthquakes; but neither Herculaneum nor Pompeii was reoccupied. Instead, the site of Pompeii was riddled with tunnels by explorers, not by modern explorers as is often imagined, but by the Romans themselves after the eruption. Room after room of the city's buildings had holes hacked through the walls by tunnellers, and though Pompeii has richer finds than any other Roman site, it is a city already extensively sacked by looters. The Bay of Naples ... never again regained the massive levels of popularity of the two centuries before the disaster ... The cities on the north of the Bay swiftly recovered, and Puteoli continued to be a significant commercial centre.

The Bay of Naples continued to attract rich holidaymakers, but never again regained the massive levels of popularity of the two centuries before the disaster, the time when it had been the playground of many rich senators and emperors. It was not until the 18th century, when Naples flourished under the Bourbon kings, that the villas of the rich courtiers and ambassadors of that time brought a new flowering to the region. It was at this period that the aristocrats of Europe, as they progressed on their Grand Tours, made the Bay of Naples and its hidden Roman treasures a focus of international fascination.

Question: Which volcano erupted in 79 AD burying Pompeii
Answer: Vesuvius