POMPEII
Mount Vesuvius, a volcano near the Bay of Naples in Italy, is hundreds of thousands of years old and has erupted more than 50 times. Its most famous eruption took place in the year 79 A.D. When the volcano buried the city of Pompeii under a thick volcanic ash.
79 A.D.
Mount Vesuvius erupted again, sending ashes, pumice, other rocks and extremely hot volcanic gases so high into the sky that people could see it for hundreds of kilometres around.
Most people had enough time to get into safer places and flee Pompeii but some decided to stay. A lot of the ones who stayed behind, didn't exactly realise that conditions were getting worse.
More ash fell, clogging the air, making it extremely difficult to breathe. Buildings colapsed. At 100 kilometres, surges of superheated poison gas and rock poured down the side of the mountain and swallowed every single thing around it.
The next day when the eruption finally came to an end, Pompeii was completely buried under the volcanic matter.
Around 2 000 people died from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Rediscovering Pompeii
Pompeii remained practically untouched until 1748, when a group of explorers arrived in Campania searching for ancient artifacts began to dig. They found that the ashes had actually preserved everything underneath. It was close to exactly what it was 2 000 years before.
Its buildings were still standing. Skeletons were in tact right where they had fallen. Household items filled the streets. They were even able to find jars of preserved fruits and loaves of bread.
79 A.D.
Mount Vesuvius erupted again, sending ashes, pumice, other rocks and extremely hot volcanic gases so high into the sky that people could see it for hundreds of kilometres around.
Most people had enough time to get into safer places and flee Pompeii but some decided to stay. A lot of the ones who stayed behind, didn't exactly realise that conditions were getting worse.
More ash fell, clogging the air, making it extremely difficult to breathe. Buildings colapsed. At 100 kilometres, surges of superheated poison gas and rock poured down the side of the mountain and swallowed every single thing around it.
The next day when the eruption finally came to an end, Pompeii was completely buried under the volcanic matter.
Around 2 000 people died from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Rediscovering Pompeii
Pompeii remained practically untouched until 1748, when a group of explorers arrived in Campania searching for ancient artifacts began to dig. They found that the ashes had actually preserved everything underneath. It was close to exactly what it was 2 000 years before.
Its buildings were still standing. Skeletons were in tact right where they had fallen. Household items filled the streets. They were even able to find jars of preserved fruits and loaves of bread.