Pompeii

(Name (School (Course (Date

Pompeii : Life and Death

It took only 19 hours , not even a full day . That was all the time it needed on August 24 , 70 A .D . to bury Pompeii (Rosella Lorenzi . Mount Vesuvius , south of Pompeii and the cities of Herculaneum and Stabiae (Encarta ) erupted , releasing tons of volcanic debris , pumice , ash , and sulfuric gas reaching several miles into the air (Eyewitness to History . The ensuing firestorm ' of lethal gases and red hot volcanic debris overwhelmed the neighboring communities that suffocated the residents of the cities beside

Pompeii , namely Herculaneum and Stabiae (Eyewitness . Tons of debris falling from the skies began to fill the streets (Eyewitness

The eruption of Vesuvius effectively annihilated the town (Mummy Tombs . The volcanic ash and debris rained on the town for 18 or so hours , reaching heights of 8 to 10 feet (Mummy Tombs . After the explosion and the rain of debris , the event was followed by nuee ardente , extremely hot gas that engulfed Pompeii in six deadly waves (Mummy Tombs . What happened to Pompeii and the neighboring towns

History of Pompeii

Pompeii was situated in the mouth of the present-day Sarno River (Encarta . Oscans in 600 BC , who were later conqured by the Samnites (Encarta . Lucius Cornelius Sulla , the Roman dictator , made Pompeii into a Roman colony in the year 80 BC (Encarta . Pompeii later developed into a resort town for the enjoyment of wealthy Romans (Encarta . Romans belonging to the upper echelons of the Roman government enjoyed the pleasures of the resort town nestled in their villas surrounding the Bay of Naples (Smatch . At the beginning of the Christian period in history Pompeii reached a population of about 20 ,000 people (Encarta

Aside from the wealthy and middle class Romans who enjoyed the worldly pleasures of the city , there was a larger than usual number of slaves and freemen (Smatch . They were the ones who took care of the needs of the vacationing Romans and other travellers , tourists and others who would indulge in the pleasures that the city had to offer (Smatch Aside from the pleasures that the city rolled out for the travellers and tourists , the city was also an important trade destination and route (Encarta . The region 's natural resources had allowed Campania to develop its trade and raise their living standards (Minnesota State University Mankato

The shoreline surrounding the Gulf of Naples soon became the address of the country residences of members of the aristocracy of the Roman Empire (Minnesota . As the city became more wealthy , they developed their luxury service sector , enhanced their trade with other states , and enhanced their agriculture (Minnesota . It would look as if Pompeii was firmly established in the life of the Roman Empire (Minnesota . Or was it just the window to disaster

Signs of the impending disaster

The citizens of Pompeii had no idea that Vesuvius carried with it the death of the town (Professor Andrew Wadrice-Hadrill . The Romans had an extreme interest in the prediction of the...