10 Facts about Pompeii, the city that was buried by the ash of Vesuvius

The tragic eruption and loss of Pompeii left a profound mark on modern history. For centuries after the deadly eruption, the site was buried and forgotten by mankind, but the remains of the city remained perfectly preserved and today offer us fascinating data about the ancient civilization of this incredible place and the secrets of Mount Vesuvius.

O awesome.club collected 10 surprising facts that will allow you to closely observe the tragic incident in Pompeii and discover more about the mysterious volcano Vesuvius.

The local people had no idea what they were facing. No one knew that Vesuvius was a volcano, as it had not erupted for over 1,800 years. Pompeii was prone to small earthquakes at the time, but locals didn’t attach much importance to these warning signs.

You would be wrong to assume that Pompeii was a Roman city, as perhaps many of us do. Scholars have discovered that it was originally founded by the Oscans between the 7th and 6th centuries BC Later, in the 3rd century BC, it was conquered by the Romans. After excavations in the area, certain objects of Greek culture were found that further demonstrated the fact that the Greeks lived in Pompeii.

It’s baffling how an entire city can be erased and forgotten by history, but no one can be blamed, as Pompeii lay buried in volcanic ash for centuries. It was not until 1599 that the site was accidentally rediscovered by the Italian architect Domenico Fontana, while digging a water tunnel.

However, it was not until 1748 that excavations began in Pompeii, directed by Karl Weber, a Swiss engineer. Although excavation of the site began more than three centuries ago, work continues to this day.

The townspeople were very unlucky. If the eruption had taken place the other day, they would probably have had a better chance of escaping. In Pompeii, the wind usually blows in a southwesterly direction during the summer, which would have carried the ash over the Bay of Naples. However, on that terrible day, the wind blew in a northwesterly direction, causing ash from the deadly eruption to be blown directly towards Pompeii.

Mount Vesuvius is believed to have erupted some 200 times in total. The volcano is very active and has erupted numerous times since the 18th century. There were 6 in the 18th century, 8 in the 19th century, one in 1906, one in 1929 and another in 1944. There have been no eruptions since then. Today, Mount Vesuvius is considered one of the deadliest volcanoes in the history of civilization.

The tragic incident is believed to have taken place on August 24, 79 BC, exactly one day after the religious festival of the god Vulcan. Mount Vesuvius erupted and spewed out giant masses of lava, gas and volcanic ash, as well as molten rock, at 1.5 million tons per second and at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

Twenty-five meters of a poisonous mixture of gas, lava and ash buried Pompeii, Stabia and Herculaneum. It is believed that the eruption of Vesuvius lasted 24 hours. In the end, it released 100,000 times the heat energy of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the eruption, the buried cities were forgotten in human history for over 1,500 years.

In 1748, the city was rediscovered and excavated, providing an unparalleled archaeological record of everyday life in Pompeii’s ancient civilization. Due to the thick layers of ash and pumice, as well as the lack of air and humidity, the artifacts found have been perfectly preserved.

The artifacts provided a detailed look at life in Pompeii, as they were found in the exact way they were struck by the tragic eruption. Its buildings remained intact and people were petrified right where they fell.

Before the tragic volcanic eruption, Pompeii was a thriving resort town near present-day Naples, inhabited by wealthy Romans and home to around 15,000 people.

It was considered a vacation spot where rich people spent their free time. It had a water system, a gym, a port, a stadium and an amphitheater.

Today, Pompeii has UNESCO World Heritage Site status and is one of Italy’s most popular tourist attractions. Approximately 2.6 million people visit it every year and during the summer there are more than 10,000 tourists every day. This number is increasing every year.

The last eruption of Vesuvius occurred in 1944 and killed 26 people. Today, Italian authorities constantly monitor the volcano’s activity, as they know it is the only active one in Europe.

There are emergency evacuation plans that were designed specifically for the area and the 3 million people who live within a 20-mile radius of the crater.

Which of these facts did you find most fascinating? Do you believe that Pompeii and Vesuvius hide even more intriguing secrets that we need to discover? Share your opinion with us in the comments section.