Pompeii, once a Great Roman City, Now a Tourist Site Frozen in Time by the Ashes of Mount

         Pompeii

                Pompeii, once a great roman city, now a tourist site frozen in time by the ashes of mount

Vesuvius. The fate of Pompeii was sealed in a matter of days. It began with the eruption of mount  

 Vesuvius on late August of 79 AD. This was followed up by 1.5 million tons of volcanic ash and rocks per second which piled up on top of the city and killed thousands. Now Pompeii is a time capsule. Covered in ashes, holding the memories of its former glory.

                Pompeii was Originally settled around the 7th century BC. Due to the earlier eruptions of mount Vesuvius there was lots of rich volcanic soil and this let the people grow lots of crops. Pompeii was a large trading center and it attracted people from many regions. Although Pompeii was a great city filled with good agricultural uses it was also a living bomb. The people of Pompeii were not aware of the active volcano near Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius. Even though mount Vesuvius released smoke and fumes the inhabitants of Pompeii did not pay attention to it because they were not aware that volcano's existed. It is certain that when the eruption of Vesuvius started, it caught the local population utterly unprepared (Andrew 2011). Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24 of 79 AD and it lasted for 24 hours.  Rocks and volcanic ash filled the sky turning day into night ( Caitlin 2015). The citizens of Pompeii were taken by surprised and had no time to evacuate. Some garbed there belongings while others garbed their family members and ran for their lives.          

                Mount Vesuvius spewed out molten rocks and pumice at a rate of 1.5 million tons per second        . This covered the city in 2.7 meters of ashes in less than a few hours. Many people died on this day but the exact number of casualties is still not known. The estimated amount is around 13,000 people. It is also estimated that very little of the population died from breathing in the toxins from the volcanic ash. Many people died from roofs collapsing on them due to the weight of the ash piling on top. People did not have the time to relocate or run for their lives so they hide inside their homes and accepted their fate. Within hours the whole city was covered in ashes and The citizens were turned into living casts. There facial expressions were captured along with their bodies. Some are seen clinging onto their loved ones while others hiding in terror. “About three quarter of the victims are frozen suspended in actions” (Maria, 2010, para.9). Although most of the citizens were covered and preserved in ash, many were burned to death due to the intense heatwaves released from the eruption. “Until now it's been widely assumed that most of the victims were asphyxiated by volcanic ash and gas. But a recent study says most died instantly of extreme heat, with many casualties shocked into a sort of instant rigor mortise” (Maria, 2010, para.2). The temperatures had reached to a point where it would take seconds for the bodies to burn. “It reached temperatures as high as 900 degrees Fahrenheit”(Cristen, 2011, para.2).