What happened?
Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, burying the towns of Pompeii, Oplontis and Stabiae in ash and rock fragments, and the town of Herculaneum was buried in a mudflow.
Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano on the European mainland and is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.
All residents died instantly when the southern Italian town was hit by a pyroclastic heat wave with temperatures of 500°C.
Pyroclastic flows are a dense collection of hot gases and volcanic materials that flow at high speed down the side of an erupting volcano.
They are more dangerous than lava because they move faster, at a speed of about 700 km/h and a temperature of 1000°C.
A governor and poet named Pliny the Younger witnessed the disaster from a distance.
In the 16th century, letters were found in which he described what he saw.
His writings indicate that the inhabitants of Pompeii were surprised by 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, turning 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 continued for hours.
The eruption lasted about 24 hours, but the first pyroclastic waves started around midnight, causing the volcanic column to collapse.
An avalanche of hot ash, rock and toxic gas rushed down the volcano at 124 mph (199 km/h), burying victims and the remains of everyday life.
Hundreds of refugees who took shelter in the vaulted arcades on the seafront of Herculaneum, with their jewelry and money in their hands, were killed instantly.
The Orto dei fuggiaschi (The Garden of the Refugees) shows the 13 bodies of victims who were buried under the ash as they tried to flee Pompeii during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
As people fled Pompeii or hid in their homes, their bodies were covered in blankets from the flood.
Although Pliny did not estimate the number of people killed, the event is considered ‘exceptional’. The number of dead is estimated at over 10,000.
What did they find?
This event marked the end of the cities’ life, but at the same time ensured that they were preserved until archaeologists rediscovered them almost 1,700 years later.
The excavations of Pompeii, the industrial centre of the region, and Herculaneum, a small seaside resort, have provided an unparalleled insight into Roman life.
Archaeologists are discovering more and more traces of the ash-covered city.
In May, archaeologists discovered an alley of stately homes, whose balconies have remained largely intact and still retain their original colors.
A plaster cast of a dog, from the House of Orpheus, Pompeii, 79 AD. Around 30,000 people are believed to have died in the chaos, and bodies are still being found to this day.
Some balconies even contained amphorae, the conical terracotta vases used in ancient Roman times to store wine and oil.
The discovery is being seen as a “complete novelty” and the Italian Ministry of Culture hopes the buildings can be restored and opened to the public.
Rarely have upper floors been found among the ruins of the ancient city, which was destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius and buried under a layer of ash and volcanic debris up to six metres high.
It is believed that around 30,000 people died in the chaos, and bodies are still being found to this day.