Almost everyone has heard of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that left the city of Pompeii buried for nearly two centuries but what really happened there and why did no one seem to know what was going on?
Pompeii was once a thriving Roman city famous for it's grand villas. With a population of nearly 20,000 people, half of which were children, it is amazing to consider that no one escaped. In the past decade several discoveries have helped scientists better determine what exactly happened in Pompeii. For example, scientists used to think that the people died of suffocation from all the volcanic ash but careful studies on the bodies that were preserved by the volcanic ash helped helped them determine the actual cause of death.
When Vesuvius erupted in AD 79 no one had a clue what was going on. When the volcano started spewing many people made their way to the beach thinking the water would keep them safe.Most people carried belongings with them, waiting for the volcano to stop erupting. After several hours on the beach people felt a shock and seconds later a 900 degree fahrenheit cloud came billowing towards them, instantly causing death due to thermal shock.
So why didn't anyone know what was happening?...
Well, back in AD 79, while the Roman empire had many advances in the field of science, no one knew that seismic activity related to volcanic pressure. Today we know that the two are closely related and are therefore able to predict volcanic eruptions months in advance. Unfortunately for the citizens of Pompeii, the tremors they felt in the months before the eruption were nothing more than tremors. They also didn't know about dormant stages in volcanoes and that the longer the volcano is dormant, the larger the explosion will be. Due to their lack of understanding they stood absolutely no chance against the eruption. This is why scientists have uncovered many bodies of people bathing in their house and performing everyday activities.
Pompeii was once a thriving Roman city famous for it's grand villas. With a population of nearly 20,000 people, half of which were children, it is amazing to consider that no one escaped. In the past decade several discoveries have helped scientists better determine what exactly happened in Pompeii. For example, scientists used to think that the people died of suffocation from all the volcanic ash but careful studies on the bodies that were preserved by the volcanic ash helped helped them determine the actual cause of death.
When Vesuvius erupted in AD 79 no one had a clue what was going on. When the volcano started spewing many people made their way to the beach thinking the water would keep them safe.Most people carried belongings with them, waiting for the volcano to stop erupting. After several hours on the beach people felt a shock and seconds later a 900 degree fahrenheit cloud came billowing towards them, instantly causing death due to thermal shock.
So why didn't anyone know what was happening?...
Well, back in AD 79, while the Roman empire had many advances in the field of science, no one knew that seismic activity related to volcanic pressure. Today we know that the two are closely related and are therefore able to predict volcanic eruptions months in advance. Unfortunately for the citizens of Pompeii, the tremors they felt in the months before the eruption were nothing more than tremors. They also didn't know about dormant stages in volcanoes and that the longer the volcano is dormant, the larger the explosion will be. Due to their lack of understanding they stood absolutely no chance against the eruption. This is why scientists have uncovered many bodies of people bathing in their house and performing everyday activities.
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| Archaeologists digging through the ash |
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| Area of land affected by the eruption |
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