A Brief History of Pompeii

A Brief History:

Pompeii was a resort town in the Roman Empire, located South of Naples on the western coast of Italy. Many wealthy Romans had "country homes" there. At it's height Pompeii had a population of nearly 20,000 people (1).This happens to be a highly active volcanic area, and on August 24, 79 A.D. the city was buried by the eruption of nearby Mt. Vesuvius. Most people fled the eruption at the start, but an estimated 2000 people (2) opted to stay and were buried in the eruption along with the city. The bulk of the material covering Pompeii was lapilli (a small, lightweight pebbly material) and ash. Most died from a blast of poisonous gasses. The eruption lasted for nearly a day, the end result being Pompeii buried under some 25 feet of volcanic material, and Herculaneum (Pompeii's neighbor to the north) with as much as 65 feet (3).

While the two cities remained in peoples memories, as time passed the exact locations were lost. They were rediscovered in the 1700's. Excavation was started, but mostly amounted to looting by various owners at that time. It wasn't until the mid 1800's that careful recording of discoveries began (4). The lapilli and ash had done an amazing job of preserving the city. We have been able to gather much information from Pompeii not available elsewhere, much of it detailing the residents personal lives. Though walls and ceilings had collapsed, peoples belongings were left as they were when disaster struck. Many took their gold and jewels but left everything else behind. These little tidbits show us how much like them we still are today. It is sometimes suprising how little things change over the course of centuries!

We have an eyewitness account of the eruption, from Pliny the Younger. He observed the eruption from the town of Misenum across the bay, roughly 20 miles away. He was seventeen at the time. His uncle, the elder Pliny, was a scholar and naval commander who died while attempting a rescue mission to Pompeii. Pliny the Younger later wrote an account of what he saw, at the request of Tacitus (7). To read the account click here. Vesuvius is shown at left. (9)