History of Pompeii
Pompeii has a very rich and exciting history that has been told over and over again through many generations.The disastrous eruption of Mt. Vesuvius buried approximately 65 hectares of land and killed all the 20,000 people that lived there, but this event is now one of the biggest told stories in Rome. Mt. Vesuvius erupted many
times before in the past 2,000 years, but the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on 24th
August 79 AD was extremely deadly and was one of the worst natural disasters
recorded in history.
When Mt. Vesuvius erupted, it blew out ash and debris into the air
up to 12 miles high (over double the size of Mt. Everest). The ash covered the
city up to 16 feet deep. The temperature of the ash of Mt. Vesuvius at that
time was higher than 704 degrees Celsius. The ash and debris rolled down Mt.
Vesuvius and into the city of Pompeii at a speed of 70 miles per hour.
Everything in its path was completely destroyed. All the people of Pompeii were
suffocated to death as the there was no time to escape and the poisonous gas
from the ash instantly suffocated all the victims in its path. This terrifying
event lasted for 24 hours and in that time, more than 2,000 Romans were
suffocated to death. This devastation covered over 518 square kilometers. Of course your visit will be well before this all happens.