Mt Vesuvius Eruption
Background/ Facts/ Eruption
Mt Vesuvius a volcano roughly 4300 feet high, a deadly volcano is located in Italy near the bay of Naples, in the region of Campania. Just after midday an unusual cloud appeared above some mountain which was later established to be Mt Vesuvius. Pliny viewing it from Misenum was quite a distance away. It erupted on August the 24th A.D 79, burying the towns and 100’s of residents of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum. Pompeii was buried 10 inches deep, whereas Herculaneum was buried under 7.5 inches of ash, destroying theses cities as well as Stabiae. Pompeii and Herculaneum remained buried until the 18th century. This volcanic eruption was the first to be described in detail. Pliny the younger at the time was not in Pompeii but was positioned about 18 miles away in Misenum from which vantage point could see the eruption and feel the preceding earthquakes. His uncle, Pliny the elder unfortunately died from rescuing residents. In addition to Pliny’s reporting the sights and sounds of the first volcano to be described in detail, the volcanic covering of Pompeii and Herculaneum provided an amazing opportunity for future historians. Mt Vesuvius had erupted before but the A.D. 79 eruption is the first volcanic eruption described in detail by a witness Pliny the Younger.
Pompeii was an ancient Roman city, buried by a volcanic eruption. 2000 years later, archaeologists uncovered the city. The people in ancient Pompeii
did not have a chance to escape. The city had been quickly buried by volcanic ash. When archaeologists dug out the city, two thousand years later, they found petrified bread still in the ovens that had been baking that day. Archaeologists learned a great deal from the ruins of this ancient city because it had been so well preserved.
Mt Vesuvius a volcano roughly 4300 feet high, a deadly volcano is located in Italy near the bay of Naples, in the region of Campania. Just after midday an unusual cloud appeared above some mountain which was later established to be Mt Vesuvius. Pliny viewing it from Misenum was quite a distance away. It erupted on August the 24th A.D 79, burying the towns and 100’s of residents of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum. Pompeii was buried 10 inches deep, whereas Herculaneum was buried under 7.5 inches of ash, destroying theses cities as well as Stabiae. Pompeii and Herculaneum remained buried until the 18th century. This volcanic eruption was the first to be described in detail. Pliny the younger at the time was not in Pompeii but was positioned about 18 miles away in Misenum from which vantage point could see the eruption and feel the preceding earthquakes. His uncle, Pliny the elder unfortunately died from rescuing residents. In addition to Pliny’s reporting the sights and sounds of the first volcano to be described in detail, the volcanic covering of Pompeii and Herculaneum provided an amazing opportunity for future historians. Mt Vesuvius had erupted before but the A.D. 79 eruption is the first volcanic eruption described in detail by a witness Pliny the Younger.
Pompeii was an ancient Roman city, buried by a volcanic eruption. 2000 years later, archaeologists uncovered the city. The people in ancient Pompeii
did not have a chance to escape. The city had been quickly buried by volcanic ash. When archaeologists dug out the city, two thousand years later, they found petrified bread still in the ovens that had been baking that day. Archaeologists learned a great deal from the ruins of this ancient city because it had been so well preserved.