Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, destroying the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Pliny the Younger, a historian who witnessed the eruption, provided the earliest surviving description of the tall, mushroom-shaped eruption column. The cities were buried under ash and lava, preserving structures and remains intact for nearly 1,700 years until excavations began. Today, Pompeii is a well-preserved archaeological site that provides insight into Roman life, with remnants of buildings, artifacts, and even victims' bodies found after being entombed for centuries.

1. THE ERUPTION OF
MOUNT VESUVIUS
By Oscar Flores and Cristina Pereira

2. LOCATION

3. POMPEII BEFORE
DISASTER
There were actually two cities that were destroyed by the
eruption of Mt. Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum
20,000 residents
Indoor running water, large market place, amphitheater, public
baths, cobblestone streets, sidewalks, and private shops. It also
had a port.
Some of the richer people owned beautiful works of art, mostly
frescos

5. THE ERUPTION
People were rebuilding their cities after some earth quakes
the summer of 79 a.d.
August 24, 79 a.d.
Hot ashes, stones, and cinders rained down on pompeii, the
air was then filled with poisonous gas and fumes

6. Pliny the Younger, a Roman historian
who witnessed the 79 AD eruption
“On 24 August, in the early afternoon, my mother drew [my uncle’s] attention to a cloud of unusual size and
appearance… its general appearance can be best expressed as being like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a
great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches, I imagine because it was thrust upwards by
the first blast and then left unsupported as the pressure subsided, or else it was borne down by its own
weight so that it spread out and gradually dispersed. Sometimes it looked white, sometimes blotched and
dirty, according to the amount of soil and ashes it carried with it. The buildings were now shaking with
violent shocks. and seems to be swaying to and fro as if they were torn from their foundations. Outside on
the other hand there was a danger of falling pumice stone, even though these were light and
porous...elsewhere there was daylight [but around vesuvius, people] were still in darkness, blacker and
denser than any night that ever was... when daylight returned on the 26th -- two days after the last day [my
uncle] had been seen -- his body was found intact and uninjured, and still fully clothed and looking more like
sleep than death ”
Pliny the Younger, a Roman historian who witnessed the 79 AD eruption wrote the oldest surviving description of the tall, tree-shaped cloud that rose above the
volcano. Modern volcanologists use the term to describe large-volume, violent eruptions that produce quickly-expanding clouds of rock, ash and gases which rise
many miles into the atmosphere

7. 1,700 YEARS LATER
The ruins of the eruption where left undisturbed for nearly
1,700 years before they were first explored
What was not destroyed was covered in lava, ash, and
plastered
Things that were found include a lot of preserved buildings
and bodies

9. POMPEII TODAY
Today people can go visit Pompeii and see the many things it
has preserved for so many years
Including: the public baths, theater, public amphitheater,
painted bedrooms and statute filled gardens, and the tombs
outside the city walls.
Pompeii is now known as the living city of the dead