Mt.Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius, a volcano, located
in Campania, near Naples, Italy, has
experienced eight major eruptions
in the last 17,000 years.
Maps
Vesuvius from space
Before Vesuvius Erupted
On August 23, 79 AD, Pompeii, a city at the base of Mt.
Vesuvius, looked like any other busy, prosperous Roman
city. People were moving about, trading goods, news, and
friendly talk.
Three days later, on August 26, all of these sounds had
fallen silent, and the place itself had vanished. Almost
nothing was seen of Pompeii for more than 1500 years.
Timeline of Vesuvius’ Eruptions
The August 24th 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 was
buried 10' deep, while Herculaneum was buried
under 75' of ash.
Look into a Volcano
Vesuvius is a Stratovolcano
To learn more about
volcanoes click on the
volcano pictures
Plinian Volcanoes
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.
The 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius is why
volcanologists use “Plinian” to describe large
volcanic eruption clouds.
Modern volcanologists use the term”Plinian” to
describe large-volume, violent eruptions that
produce quickly-expanding clouds of rock, ash and
gases which rise many miles into the atmosphere.
The Eruption-August 24 79 AD
Beginning around noon on August 24, Vesuvius
began its assault, and the streets of Pompeii and the
surrounding region began accumulating lapilli, or
small pieces of solidified lava.
Residents of the towns began to flee—some
further inland, and many towards the sea, which
was too turbulent to navigate.
By dawn of the following morning, the eruption
had poured an avalanche of ash onto Herculaneum,
Oplontis, and finally Pompeii.
Because of the prolonged nature of the eruption, many fugitives had
time to prepare for their flight.
The remains of victims were found alongside many possessions they
held dear to them and hoped to save in their flight from the ashes.
These pieces proved extremely valuable in identifying the victims, and
help archeologists to reconstruct details of daily life: doctors carried with
them their surgical tools in hopes of helping others; the do; minas, or
women of the house, held their precious jewels and heirlooms and slaves
were found with iron rings around their ankles.
Watch a video
Frozen in Time
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.
At the time Mount Vesuvius erupted, Pompeii was a
wealthy Roman trading town, famous for its fish
sauce and grand villas. It was international and
cosmopolitan.
Pompeians poured their savings into their houses.
Wealthy people enriched their homes with elegant
courtyard gardens decorated with frescoes of plants
and flowers and an abundance of modern
conveniences. Each room was heated by hot air
running through cavity walls and spaces under the
floors, while sophisticated hydraulic pumps
provided running water.
Learn More
• Visit a museum exhibit in Australia
Since 79 AD
1856
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 Today
Nearly 2,000 years after Mount Vesuvius buried
Pompeii under pumice and steaming volcanic ash,
some 2.6 million tourists tramp annually through
this archaeological site, which is on UNESCO’s
World Heritage list.
Frescoes in the ancient Roman city, one of Italy’s
most popular attractions, fade under the blistering
sun or are chipped at by souvenir hunters. Floor
mosaics endure the tens of thousands of shuffling
feet. Teetering columns and walls are propped up by
wooden and steel scaffolding.
The site at Pompeii, 109-acre, is about an
eighth the size of Central Park.(50 more
acres or so are underground)
Click on the picture to take a
short tour of the ruins today.
Visitors now have access to 35 % of the ruins.
Mount Vesuvius is considered dangerous
because, today, nearly three million people
live in the direct path of a potential future
eruption.
Bibliography
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/understanding-volcanoes-images-frompompeii.html
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/understanding-volcanoes-lava-flow.html
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/pompeii/
http://kids.discovery.com/games/pompeii/pompeii.html
http://kids.discovery.com/games/pompeii/pompeii.html
http://kids.discovery.com/games/pompeii/pompeii.html
http://www.archaeologychannel.org/content/video/pompdest.html
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/pompeii/pmpMain.html