What happened?
Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis and Stabiae under ash and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow.
Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano in mainland Europe and is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.
Every resident died immediately when the southern Italian city was hit by a pyroclastic hot wave of 500°C.
Pyroclastic flows are a dense collection of hot gas and volcanic material that flow at high speed down the side of an erupting volcano.
They are more dangerous than lava because they travel faster, at speeds of about 700 km/h and at temperatures of 1000 °C.
An administrator and poet named Pliny the Younger saw the disaster happen from a distance.
In the 16th century, letters describing what he saw were found.
His writings show that the inhabitants of Pompeii were unaware of the eruption.
Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis and Stabiae under ash and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow.
He said a column of smoke “like an umbrella pine” rose from the volcano, making the towns around it as black as night.
People ran for their lives with torches, screaming and some crying as the rain of ash and pumice fell for hours.
While the eruption lasted about 24 hours, the first pyroclastic waves began at midnight, causing the volcano’s column to collapse.
An avalanche of hot ash, rock and poisonous gas flowed down the side of the volcano at 120 miles per hour, burying victims and remnants of everyday life.
Hundreds of refugees sheltering in the vaulted arcades on the coast of Herculaneum, with their jewelry and money in hand, were killed instantly.
The Orto dei fuggiaschi (The Garden of the Fugitives) shows the 13 bodies of victims who were buried by the ash as they attempted to flee Pompeii during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius volcano in 79 AD
As people fled Pompeii or hid in their homes, their bodies were covered by blankets from the gulf.
Although Pliny did not estimate how many people were killed, the event was called “exceptional” and the number of deaths is believed to have exceeded 10,000.
What did they find?
This event put an end to the life of the cities, but at the same time preserved them until they were rediscovered by archaeologists almost 1,700 years later.
The excavations of Pompeii, the industrial center of the region, and Herculaneum, a small seaside resort, have provided an unparalleled insight into Roman life.
Archaeologists are continually discovering more of the ash-covered city.
In May, archaeologists discovered an alley lined with large houses, their balconies largely intact and in their original hues.
A plaster cast of a dog, from the House of Orpheus, Pompeii, 79 AD. It is believed that around 30,000 people died in the chaos, and bodies continue to be discovered to this day
Some balconies even had amphorae: the conical terracotta vases used in ancient Roman times to store wine and oil.
The discovery has been hailed as a ‘complete novelty’ and the Italian Ministry of Culture hopes they can be restored and opened to the public.
Upper shops are rarely found among the ruins of the ancient city, which was destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius volcano and buried under as much as six meters of ash and volcanic debris.
It is believed that around 30,000 people died in the chaos, and bodies continue to be discovered to this day.