What happened to the city and people of Pompeii?
Most of the Roman occupants of Herculaneum were doomed the moment Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E. Within hours, a cloud of hot volcanic ash swept down the side of the famous Italian volcano, raced over the countryside, and smothered the town, along with nearby Pompeii. Hundreds died.
What happened to the city of Pompeii in 72 AD?
Ancient Rome The blast sent a plume of ashes, pumice and other rocks, and scorching-hot volcanic gases so high into the sky that people could see it for hundreds of miles around. By the time the Vesuvius eruption sputtered to an end the next day, Pompeii was buried under millions of tons of volcanic ash.
Why did so many people die in the Pompeii eruption?
Seated six miles away from the volcano, Pompeii was initially hit by falling volcanic debris, causing houses to collapse and suffocate those inside. The city was then hit by a particularly gassy pyroclastic surge, which was responsible for the greatest number of fatalities.
Where was the ancient city of Pompeii buried?
Adventurer and Angry Planet TV show host, George Kourounis visits the ancient city of Pompeii in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. The city was buried in volcanic ash after a huge eruption of the volcano in 79 A.D.
How did the Lost City of Pompeii get rediscovered?
Pompeii was basically lost and forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1748. Thanks to excavations, which are still going on today, scientists have been able to figure out almost exactly what happened on that terrible day. After the volcano first erupted shortly after noon, the thick ash turned everything black—people couldn’t even see the sun.
How did the people of Pompeii start to panic?
It was not until the massive explosion of a large cloud of smoke, reaching 19 kilometres high, did the Pompeii people start to panic. Eventually, the large cloud started raining down debris and ash onto the city, with continuous waves of ash, named ‘pyroclastic flows’ swept across the area.