The Eruption Of Mount Vesuvius In 79 A.D.
One of the most well known ancient volcanic eruptions in European history is the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. This catastrophic eruption took place in southern Italy, and completely devastated the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing thousands of people. What was most memorable about this infamous disaster was how Pompeii and Herculaneum became frozen in time from the Volcano’s eruption. The cities and their inhabitants became buried under thick layers of volcanic material, ash, and mud, and were never rebuilt. Mount Vesuvius remains the only active volcano in mainland Europe, and has produced some of the continent’s largest volcanic eruptions. “Vesuvius is part of …show more content…
lasted 48 hours and had two alternating phases. The first phase was the “Plinian eruption”, a huge explosion that created a large-volume cloud and a violent eruption with columns of gas and ash. The energy used to fuel the eruption came from “seawater seeping over time into the deep faults of the region, which then came into interaction with magma and heat (Wikipedia, 2015).” This in turn caused the escape of steam superheated by magma, producing the humongous cloud. This portion lasted 18-20 hours, and left huge amounts of volcanic ash and rock in the air, blanketing the sun and turning day into night. As the cloud collapsed, it triggered the second phase- the Peléan phase, where pyroclastic flows of andesite rock, and molten lava engulfed Pompeii, and Herculaneum. These cities were buried in fine ash, pumice, and pyroclastic deposits, while a toxic cloud of gas descended upon Pompeii (History.com staff, 2009). Around 2,000 died from the eruption, either from suffocation on toxic gas, burning and asphyxiation of their lungs from the super-heated air, or were smashed by collapsing roofs and buildings from the flood of volcanic rock, ash, and mud that buried the city (Wallace-Hadrill, 2011). As a result of the all different forms of destruction, the cities and their inhabitants remained preserved in hardened ash and frozen in time, allowing archaeologists to unearth human and artifact remains that were able to give them a glimpse of what life
One of the most well known ancient volcanic eruptions in European history is the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. This catastrophic eruption took place in southern Italy, and completely devastated the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing thousands of people. What was most memorable about this infamous disaster was how Pompeii and Herculaneum became frozen in time from the Volcano’s eruption. The cities and their inhabitants became buried under thick layers of volcanic material, ash, and mud, and were never rebuilt. Mount Vesuvius remains the only active volcano in mainland Europe, and has produced some of the continent’s largest volcanic eruptions. “Vesuvius is part of …show more content…
lasted 48 hours and had two alternating phases. The first phase was the “Plinian eruption”, a huge explosion that created a large-volume cloud and a violent eruption with columns of gas and ash. The energy used to fuel the eruption came from “seawater seeping over time into the deep faults of the region, which then came into interaction with magma and heat (Wikipedia, 2015).” This in turn caused the escape of steam superheated by magma, producing the humongous cloud. This portion lasted 18-20 hours, and left huge amounts of volcanic ash and rock in the air, blanketing the sun and turning day into night. As the cloud collapsed, it triggered the second phase- the Peléan phase, where pyroclastic flows of andesite rock, and molten lava engulfed Pompeii, and Herculaneum. These cities were buried in fine ash, pumice, and pyroclastic deposits, while a toxic cloud of gas descended upon Pompeii (History.com staff, 2009). Around 2,000 died from the eruption, either from suffocation on toxic gas, burning and asphyxiation of their lungs from the super-heated air, or were smashed by collapsing roofs and buildings from the flood of volcanic rock, ash, and mud that buried the city (Wallace-Hadrill, 2011). As a result of the all different forms of destruction, the cities and their inhabitants remained preserved in hardened ash and frozen in time, allowing archaeologists to unearth human and artifact remains that were able to give them a glimpse of what life