Pompeii and mt Vesuvius

Vesuvius is a very well known volcano located near the town of Pompeii in modern day Italy. This town and the town of Herculaneum where awfully effected by the first known eruption in 79 A.D. This upsurge of the volcano was written about by the eyewitness of Pliny the Younger which gave us a very detailed account with great insight. This town is also said to be in great danger of another eruption. source(Roberts)




The eruption of Vesuvius started years before its actual explosion date. It started on February 5, 62 A.D. with a huge and roaring earthquake that went on for a whole day in unpredictable intervals. When 17 years came around the corner the people near the vicinities of MT. Vesuvius did not connect the two together so therefore did not know that the earthquake was a form of a warning. Another warning occurred about a little less than a month before the explosion is was when many of the wells dried up and there were more earthquakes but they were more insignificant. When the eruption of Vesuvius took place an eyewitness took an account of what he saw over 18 miles away across the bay, this eyewitness was Pliny the Younger. Although Pliny the Older thought that he should explore what was happening closer Pliny the Younger stayed back and watch the whole thing happen. His account of this volcanic eruption was the first account of a volcanic explosion. The account was two letters that were extremely descriptive in what he saw. Part of what he said while looking at the eruption take place was: source (Roberts)



“Its general appearance can best be expressed as being like a pine tree. It rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches. I imagine it was thrust upwards by the first blast . . . Broad sheets of fire and leaping flames blazed at several points. . . . The buildings were now shaking with violent shocks and seemed to be swaying to and fro as if they were torn from their foundations”. source


The result of the explosion was extreme. The city of Pompeii was hit the hardest because it was directly downwind of the volcano, Vesuvius which means that the majority of ash-cloud fell on Pompeii. Although the explosion contained great amounts of ash, rock, burning stones, flames, and mud the greater desolation that affect most the lives were the mephitic vapors that accompanied the debris. The vapors would first cause deliriousness and then would cause suffocation. Some people were able to escape the tragedy but others were not which did help the death numbers because some did leave. The approximate deaths were 3,600. The city of Pompeii itself was covered in debris more than 30 feet tall. The neighboring town of Herculaneum was also covered buy debris of about 17 feet tall. This was a shocking and terrifying experience for these people and so the people started to rebuild the city. source (Kaplan)


Today MT. Vesuvius is obviously still there and has been silent since 1944 but many researchers agree that it is not a matter of if it will erupt like the explosion in 79 A.D. but more of a matter of when. Now there are about 3 million people that live near the volcano so having it explode and kill all the people would not be good, this is why the Italian government offered 30,000 euros to who ever will move out of the area. Another explosion like the first would be catastrophic in the eyes of the government. source


Vesuvius’ explosion in 79 A.D. was a huge one that included the destruction of two towns and it included many deaths. Not knowing about the first explosion would cause us to not think much about the volcano of to be worried but because of the account given to us by Pliny the Younger we are able to know what we are to expect. This would cause many problems for the future. This leads us to believe that the History of an event affects the future. source (Kaplan)


Book sources:


Roberts, Russell. Mt. Vesuvius and the Destruction of Pompeii, A.D. 79. Mitchell Lane Publishers: U.S.A.; 2006.
Kaplan, Sarah Pitt. Pompeii: City Of Ashes. Children’s Press: New York; 2005.