Pompeii, the Forgotten City
| Pompeii joined the
Roman Empire in A.D. 310 with defeat of the Samnites. Despite centuries of political
upheaval, Pompeii did become an important industrial and trading center. In
A.D. 62 a terrible earthquake left Pompeii devastated. Those who survived the first
disaster were rebuilding and in the process of completing its temples when the second and
final disaster hit... the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. |
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| In A.D. 79, shortly after midday, flames from the volcano
shot into the sky, and an immense black cloud covered the sun. For three days, volcanic
matter, lapilli and red-hot scoriae rained down on Pompeii making a blanket fifteen to
twenty feet deep over the entire area. Artifacts and people were basically encased in the
ash as it cooled. The survivors who may have first escaped the eruption were soon killed
by poisonous gas. |
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