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Eruption of Mount Vesuvius and Destruction of Pompeii
On August 24, 79 CE (traditional date), Mount Vesuvius erupted violently, burying Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other coastal towns under ash and hot gas…
Timeline
- 79Pompeii · PompeiiThe eruption of Vesuvius released enormous quantities of ash and pumice; Pompeii was buried several meters deep within days. Most residents had no time to evacuate, and the city's buildings, objects, and body casts were perfectly preserved beneath the ash.
- 79Herculaneum · HerculaneumHerculaneum, closer to the volcano, was struck by hot pyroclastic flows; wooden buildings were carbonized and residents killed. Stabiae, Oplontis, and other towns were also heavily damaged, and the prosperous resort towns along the Bay of Naples suffered devastating blows.
Sources
- Letters, Book VI, 16 & 20 (to Tacitus) — Pliny the Younger https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Younger/letters.html
- Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town — Mary Beard (2008)