The last days of Pompeii.

I want to start with this macabre picture:

You are watching the remainders of people who lived (and died) in Pompeii. What did it happen? Why are their body shapes transformed into sculptures? In this report I will tell you about one of the most tragic and famous facts on ancient times: Vesuvius eruption and later destruction of Pompeii.


Setting definition:

Pompeii was a beautiful Roman city in the south of Italy. It was rich, full of great houses, theatres, wide streets, gardens, squares, markets... People lived happy there, celebrating festivals, working and enjoying the life. They couldn't imagine what was comming on.

The disaster.

On 24 August AD 79, at 8 o'clock in the morning (this is almost 2000 years ago) the Vesuvius started an eruption. In accordance with scientists, there were some different stages:

1. In the morning: small earthquakes and some smoke on the mountain. People were still not affraid because they didn't know anything about volcanoes and how dangerous they could be.
2. Midday: the Vesuvius spits a great cloud of superheated ash, getting the sky dark as if it were night time. In the afternoon the great ash cloud starts to drop pumice stones. These stones collapse the roofs of houses, burying alive people inside.
3. In the evening: The stone rain continues. Many people run away from Pompeii; but many others resist inside their houses, because they wanted to protect their possessions from thiefs and robbers.
4. At night: Vesuvius deals his final stroke. It spits a blazing ash cloud towards Pompeii, killing to everyone.

Consequences.

Pompeii was completely buried under six meters of stone and ashes. People forget the story, and also the city. But in 1748 Carlo di Borbone started to excavate the city, discovering all these remainders that you can see today.