аÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û

Pompeji_Forum by Matthias Süßen from

Top 10 Facts about the Destruction of Pompeii

One of the most famous archaeological sites in the world is Pompeii, which lies close to Italy’s Bay of Naples. It draws more than 10,000 people per day on tours from Rome to Pompeii as well as from other neighbouring cities like Naples and Sorrento, and it certainly captures the imagination of those who see it.

If you’re in the neighbourhood, you must definitely visit the sight because it is totally unique. You’ll enjoy learning about these ten fascinating facts about Pompeii, whether you’re planning a day trip from Rome to this city frozen in time or you’re just interested in the volcano that wiped it out.

1. At the foot of Mount Vesuvius is where Pompeii is located

Vesuvius by Pastorius from

This is the volcano that erupted, obliterating the entire city and burying it in a thick coating of pumice and ash to preserve it for all time. In 79 A.D., it erupted, killing a large portion of the populace. Those who survived fled to neighbouring towns and cities, taking whatever they could carry. An evacuation plan is always in place in case of any warning indications because the volcano is classified as a stratovolcano and could erupt at any time; nobody knows when.

2. It all started as tiny earthquakes that people ignored

Pompeii by Vyacheslav Argenberg from

In either August or October of 79 A.D., sixteen years after that infamous earthquake, a succession of minor earthquakes shook the area around Pompeii. As temblors “were not very scary because they occur regularly in Campania,” said author and eyewitness Pliny the Younger, the locals ignored them.

Mount Vesuvius exploded once more shortly after noon on that terrible day. It was visible for hundreds of kilometres around thanks to the blast’s high-altitude plume of volcanic gases, ash, and rock.

This “cloud of exceptional size and look” was likened by Pliny the Younger to a pine tree that “rose to a considerable height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches” as he observed the eruption from across the Bay of Naples. The term “Plinian eruption” is now used by geologists to describe this kind of volcanic explosion.

This tower of debris, first the light pieces of pumice and other pebbles, then the fine-grained ash, drifted to earth as it cooled. Despite being terrifying—”I believed I was perishing with the world,” Pliny wrote, “and the world with me”—it was nonetheless not fatal because the majority of Pompeiians had plenty of time to evacuate, which they did in large numbers.

3. Currently, Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The designation of Pompeii as a World Heritage Site was made official in 1997. It is a very significant location since it offers such a thorough illustration of Roman life, architecture, community, and history.

History, science, and sociology have all benefited greatly from the discoveries made during the Pompeii excavations. If you are in Italy, you must definitely go there, and a Pompeii trip from Rome is the ideal way to achieve it.

4. Pompeii was abandoned for centuries

Pompeii by Luigi Bazzani from

Conditions quickly deteriorated for those who remained in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and neighbouring cities. Ash continued to fall, filling the air and making it impossible to breathe. Even though the city was now coated in several feet of ash, some residents continued to live there despite the collapse of buildings due to overloaded roofs. Then, early the next morning, a “pyroclastic flow”—a 100-mile-per-hour jet of superheated gas and crushed rock—poured down the slope of the mountain, vaporising everything and everyone in its path.

Pompeii was covered in millions of tonnes of volcanic ash by the time the Vesuvius explosion sputtered to an end on the second day of the eruption. There wasn’t much left to find when some people drifted back to the town in quest of missing family or possessions. Along with the nearby town of Herculaneum and several other villas, Pompeii was left in ruins for many years.

5. About 2,000 Pompeiians died in the city

Up to 16,000 people may have perished at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other nearby towns and villages as a result of the eruption, which killed about 2,000 locals in the city. Bodies of men, women, children, and animals were found frozen in place exactly where they had fallen; many of the bodies eventually discovered were still holding priceless household items that the deceased had planned to transfer safely out of the city. Some of the victims were discovered with their arms touchingly encircling children or other loved ones.

Even jars of preserved fruit and bread were later discovered by archaeologists. Most of the city’s structures were still standing, while home items and common items were still scattered around the streets. It had turned out to be a very effective preservative, the fine volcanic ash that covered Pompeii.

6. Pompeii remained mostly untouched for a while

Pompeji by Matthias Süßen from

When a group of explorers searching for antiquity relics arrived in Campania in 1748 and started to dig, Pompeii was still largely unexplored. Under all that dust, they discovered that Pompeii was practically exactly as it had been almost 2,000 years earlier, proving that the ashes had served as an excellent preservative.

The 18th-century neo-Classical renaissance is credited by several academics with having been influenced by the Pompeii excavation. The most affluent and stylish families in Europe displayed artwork and replicas of artefacts discovered in the ruins, and designs of Pompeii’s structures influenced the era’s architectural styles.

7. Greeks used to live there

Pompeii was initially thought to have belonged to, and had been ruled and inhabited by, the ancient Greeks, according to researchers. Pompeii was afterwards a Roman town.

There exist pieces of a Greek Doric Temple in Pompeii, while it is impossible to pinpoint the precise years the area was inhabited by the Greeks. On a day excursion from Rome, you may visit this temple, which was built in the sixth century BC, up close.

8. The wind may have caused the destruction 

Mount Vesuvius by Pietro Fabris from

As obvious as it may seem, the wind was blowing from the northwest, which is why Vesuvius erupted, killing a great number of people and burying an entire city for hundreds of years. The wind would have often been coming from the southwest, according to study.

The debris would not have covered the city as it did, but rather would have been blown away from it. A well-preserved Roman city was left in the wake of such a seemingly insignificant event, which is astounding to think about considering how much death and ruin it wrought.

9. It was all over in 24 hours

A blast during the initial eruption stage launched pumice stones thousands of feet into the air. Then, like rain, these stones descended upon the neighbouring villages, gradually burying them for around five hours. For the next few hours, the falling rocks caused buildings and other structures to collapse as they expanded in size and continued to fall.

About 17 hours after the first stage of the eruption, a fierce pyroclastic flow erupted from the volcano, quickly engulfing Pompeii and Herculaneum in a thick blanket of smouldering rubble. After a day of constant volcanic bombardment, the dust that covered the towns and cities started to settle.

10. One day it will erupt

Mount Vesuvius by Snapshots Of The Past from

One of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world is Mount Vesuvius. Both geologists and volcanologists concur that when the next volcanic eruption does occur, it will be large. A substantial 154 square miles of magma make up the layer that underlies Vesuvius; that’s a lot of magma.

When the volcano finally erupts, it might be a huge disaster that wipes out Naples and affects nearly 3 million people. This may seem terrifying, but since scientists are constantly keeping an eye on the volcano’s activities, there will be plenty of time to alert surrounding communities and get them to safety.