Pompeii was founded in the year 600 B.C. It was a middle class Roman city. Due to its location right on the Mediterranean Sea it became a central port to the rest of the country. On an average day the streets were lined with shops and vendors. It was estimated that approximately 20,000 people lived in the city.
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| Mt. Vesuvius |
Then at about noon on August 24th everything changed. Mt. Vesuvius, a nearby volcano, started smoking and spewing hot ash. Up until this point the people of Pompeii had thought it was a harmless mountain. The eruption lasted two days and buried the entire town under 30 feet of hot volcanic ash. While the majority of people were able to escape, about 2,000 people were killed by the hot temperatures and gases spewing out of Vesuvius.
the Forum
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| Unfinished Columns |
The city wasn't rediscovered until the 1600s. Excavations began in 1748, almost 1700 years after Vesuvius erupted. Since the ancient Romans didn't have the technology we have now, few people realized that Pompeii existed. It was basically forgotten under the debris. Today excavations are still happening. Most artifacts that are found in Pompeii get placed in the Archaeological Museum in the nearby town of Naples.
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| Cast of a Person Who Lived in Pompeii |
Pompeii gives us a unique look at what life was like during the first century because everything was preserved under the hardened ash.
While digging, archeologists found spaces under the ash where people's bodies had decomposed. In order to see what these people looked like they poured cement into the holes and created casts of the people.
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| a Cast of a Dog |
Nobody lives in Pompeii today, except for the occasional stray dog, but it is one of the most visited tourist sights in all of Italy. Some people even have the courage to take a bus to the top of Vesuvius. These brave tourists get a view of Pompeii and the Bay of Naples from 4,000 feet in the air. Scientists believe that Vesuvius is safe for visitors. The last eruption was in 1944.
More Pictures
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| the Basillica |
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| a Street in Pompeii |
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| Porta Marina |
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| Destroyed Homes |
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| Pottery |
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| Stepping Stones |
