Destruction Of Pompeii : Mount Vesuvius

On August 24th in 79 AD at approximately 1300 a cloud appeared over the Roman city of Pompeii. This was all the warning the residents had before the nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted. Huge quantities of scalding hot ash, pumice and lava pebbles were thrown into the sky. This then cascaded down across an extensive area. Pompeii was buried under 14 to 17 feet of ash and pumice, and the nearby seacoast was drastically changed. Herculaneum was buried under more than 60 feet of mud and volcanic material. Some residents of Pompeii later returned to dig out their destroyed homes and salvage their valuables, but many treasures were left and then forgotten. The remains of 2,000 men, women, and children were found at Pompeii. After perishing

Mount Vesuvius, like most volcanoes was created through the interactions between continental plates. Mount Vesuvius was formed 17,000 years ago through the convergence of two tectonic plates, the African plate and the Eurasian plate. Vesuvius is located above a subduction zone in which the African plate is being subducted by the Eurasian plate (Ball). The African plate has been subducted at a rate of about one inch every year. This type of interaction between converging plates is responsible for creating volcanoes (Figure 1). This created a submerged deep ocean volcano in the Bay of Naples. Later, Mount Vesuvius emerged from the ocean as an island. However, over time it was connected to the mainland due to buildup of deposits from its eruptions.

Over 2,000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius chose the city of Pompeii to be its next victim. August 79 A.D was the fateful day that would destroy thousands of lives, and their beloved homes. When Mount Vesuvius erupted it sent ashes, rocks, and volcanic gases to rain over Pompeii and cause complete chaos. After Mount Vesuvius’ first attack on Pompeii, a tower of debris drifted to earth. Buildings collapsed and ash clogged the air. Then a surge of poison gas and rock poured down the side of the mountain, destroying everything that laid in its path. Pompeii was done for.

This is not true, for Vesuvius is one of the smallest active volcanoes in the world (Barnes, 42). In fact, the eruption in 79 was not even Mount Vesuvius’s most colossal eruption. Vesuvius was an active volcano both before and after it demolished Pompeii. There have been over 70 eruptions in the last 17,000 years, notably altering the recovery of the historical site (Brilliant, 31). Eight of these major eruptions are alleged as even more severe than the one that demolished the Pompeii. The reason that the 79 AD eruption is acknowledged so highly is the fact that it created a natural time-capsule of the Roman Empire, allowing archaeologists a glimpse into the

Located in southern Italy, the city of Pompeii suffered from one of the most devastating disasters of all time. On August 24, 79 AD, a volcano, known as Mt. Vesuvius, erupted and struck the entire city of Pompeii. As a result, many citizens of Pompeii suffocated to death from the ash and the entire city was left dry and still. The volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and the aftermath it left on the city of Pompeii left a positive influence on my academic upbringing.

Mount Vesuvius is one of history’s most recognizable Volcanoes, as each of its eruptions have gone down as a significant event in geologic history. The events that transpired during and after these eruptions have shaped the way scientists and people view the sheer power that these volcanoes possessed. This report will take a look at Vesuvius’ most prolific eruption in 79 AD. The geologic setting of the mountain, precursor activity, and the impact the eruption had on the surrounding populations and towns will all be detailed. Along with these details, this report will also look at the further history of Vesuvius’s explosive past by detailing its eruption cycle. Finally, the current state of Vesuvius and the possible danger

The people of Pompeii were suddenly rocked by a Plinan Eruption from Mt. Vesuvius. The volcano spewed plumes of ash up to 45 kilo metres into the stratosphere. This caused many problems for the unsuspecting people in Pompeii. The plumes of ash were not the source of destruction for the people of Pompeii but also lahars (mud flows) and pyroclastic flows. With the pyroclastic flow made up of hot ash, pumice, rock fragments and deadly gases, moving across the ground it was impossible for anyone to survive even if they hadn’t already died from the pumice shooting out of the volcano’s mouth. “Some of the cloud was white, in other parts there were dark patches of dirt and

According to Kieron Connolly “At the height of the eruption, 1.5 million tons of molten rock and pumice were blasted out of the volcano every second.” Mt vesuvius has erupted three dozen times since 79 A.D. Most recently from 1913-1944. The 1913-1944 eruption is thought to be the end of an eruptive cycle. That began erupting in 1631. It has not erupted since then, but Vesuvius is an active volcano , will it erupt

Our new subject in World History was on the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Mount vesuvius was located in Pompeii, Rome, now located in the Gulf of Naples Campania, Italy. It was a very destructive volcano that erupted 79 AD, August 24. I was very excited to see this Volcano and the the only way I could go there was with my time traveling machine. In my backpack I put some clothes, textbooks , and tools. I couldn’t wait any longer from excitement so I entered in and clicked the commencement button to start my spectacular trip.

Mount Vesuvius is located on the southern coast of Italy, 1,281 metres above the Bay of Naples on the plain of Campania between the Apennine Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Mount Vesuvius is part of the Romana volcanic belt which covers about 450km from Mount Amatia, 130km from north-west Rome and 110km from East Naples. The Romana volcanic belt is made up of two parallel volcanic scars. Mount Vesuvius is on the Western arc. This zone is highly fractured which allows magma to rise up into the magma chamber beneath Mount Vesuvius. This chamber is thought to be approximately 5km below the volcano and almost 2km high with a diameter of around 1km. The volcano is situated where two faults in the Earth’s crust converge. (De Boer and Sanders, 2002)

Herculaneum, a small town to the northwest of Pompeii, on the other side of Mount Vesuvius, underwent the same fate as Pompeii, but in a different manner. At the beginning of the eruption, the town was not greatly affected. An immediate gust of hot ash and poisonous gas engulfed the city, killing all its inhabitants. After the initial deaths, volcanic debris, mud, and rock flowed over the city, effectively burying it. Because of the flash like killing of the Herculeans, their lives were well preserved for archaeologists to later discover in the 1700s. The evidence found and studied at the different sites destroyed by Vesuvius helps give us a glimpse into the lives of wealthy Romans-both the physical world they lived in and what they valued. Paul Roberts, the British Museum’s senior curator

However, scientists have discovered that there is a tear underneath Vesuvius. The lower part of the subducting African plate is torn and detached from the upper plate, forming a “slab window.” Vesuvius rest right above that slab window. This makes the rocks of Vesuvius chemically different from the other volcanoes in the Campanian arc (Ball). The tear allows heat from the Earth’s mantle to melt the plate, which builds up pressure and causes more violent and explosive eruptions (Bagley). Stratovolcanos like Vesuvius are usually formed from alternating layers of pyroclastic debris and lava flows. The magma present at Mount Vesuvius is andesitic, making it an intermediate composition (Sabatino). The force of the eruption was almost 100,000 times greater than the force of the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima (Cartwright). Because of the magma composition, the gases present in volcanoes could not escape. As more gas was trapped, it eventually leads to the deadly eruption when the volcano could no longer contain the amount of gas in the mountain. The volcano has erupted more than 50 times since the eruption of 79 C.E. Originally, Vesuvius was thought to have a 20-year eruption cycle. However, the last explosion was in 1944, making another catastrophic eruption long overdue (Bagley).

When the volcano erupted, it buried the city of Pompeii in burning ashes, killing almost two thousand people (Bagley 1). The city of Pompeii disappeared underneath a blanket of ash until around 1748 when it was discovered by explorers and archeologists (Owens 1). Underneath the layers of ash archeologists discovered buildings, skeletons, and artifacts from the ancient world. Although many buildings were destroyed by the volcanic ash, the ruins were well preserved and the people looked like statues. This amazing discovery provided people with new information on ancient roman civilizations and the tragic event that destroyed a once prosperous

he city of Pompeii was recovering from an earthquake in 63 AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted killing nearly 2,000 people initially and nearly 10,000 more in the 25 hour darkness that ensured. The city was rebuilding and from the view of Pliny the Younger the plume of smoke looked like a Mediterranean pine tree that was miles high and wide Pliny’s uncle Pliny the Elder was killed by volcanic rock while trying to save people from Pompeii. The volcano is considered the most dangerous one in the world even though people still build around the volcano and unlike those that suffered Pompeii was never rebuilt it is a very big tourist attraction though. The buildings and items were preserved very well because of the ash and pumice.

In 79 CE the ancient city of Pompeii was subjected to the famous catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The city was mostly destroyed and buried under a deep layer of volcanic ash in the aftermath of the eruption. Although a tragic event, the site has become an unprecedented archaeological goldmine in the sense that many significant artifacts were very well preserved. The preservation of the city has provided archaeologists and historians a greater insight of the everyday life of an ancient civilization. One person in particular found immense excitement in her journey through the site of Pompeii.