In 79 AD the Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed. How? By a volcano named Mount Vesuvius. It would become known as the largest recorded volcanic eruption in that part of Europe, and it killed thousands of people.
The city was close to modern day Naples. It had 20,000 people living in, it and it was used as a vacation spot by wealthy Romans. It was also a bad place to live as it had a bad culture.
When Mount Vesuvius erupted the heat was so intense within could kill any thing instantly in 6 miles. The heat was at 482 F ( that’s almost 5 times hotter then summer in Tennessee and more than a oven usually has to go to). There was also a land slide of volcanic ash that buried the city.
We also have a eye witness account from Pliny the Younger who was on a ship that was in the Bay of Naples at the time, so he had a good view of the eruption. Later in his live he wrote down what he saw so that later generations could read what had happened.
The lifestyle of the Romans, even their food, was preserved at Pompeii. Since the volcanic ash came so quickly it preserved everything: humans, animals, and food. So it gives us a very good view of what life was like back in that time period.
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