The Lost City of Pompeii: Frozen in Time by GhAyAl 2013/09/05 21:15
The Lost City of Pompeii:, Frozen in Time
In the year 79 AD, Italy's Mt. Vesuvius erupted with superheated ash that rained fiery death on several Roman cities nearby. But none was hit harder than vacation town Pompeii, which was buried in a thick layer of broiling ash in a matter of seconds.
That ash killed over 1,000 people instantly and buried the town, which was eventually forgotten. But 1,800 years later, explorers and archaeologists discovered Pompeii again. The disaster that had wiped out this bustling town also preserved it like an insect in amber. Beneath layers of muddy ash was a snapshot of everyday life in a Roman town,
The most famous aspect of Pompeii's ruins is no doubt the hundreds of plaster casts that archeologists have made of the volcano's victims. When the ash poured down over the city, people were killed instantly, in the exact poses they struck when they noticed their impending doom. As their bodies decomposed, they left perfectly-formed hollows in the ash. Historians can inject these hollows with plaster, recreating the positions of the bodies, and sometimes their terrified facial expressions.
The Lost City of Pompeii:, Frozen in Time
In the year 79 AD, Italy's Mt. Vesuvius erupted with superheated ash that rained fiery death on several Roman cities nearby. But none was hit harder than vacation town Pompeii, which was buried in a thick layer of broiling ash in a matter of seconds.
That ash killed over 1,000 people instantly and buried the town, which was eventually forgotten. But 1,800 years later, explorers and archaeologists discovered Pompeii again. The disaster that had wiped out this bustling town also preserved it like an insect in amber. Beneath layers of muddy ash was a snapshot of everyday life in a Roman town,
The most famous aspect of Pompeii's ruins is no doubt the hundreds of plaster casts that archeologists have made of the volcano's victims. When the ash poured down over the city, people were killed instantly, in the exact poses they struck when they noticed their impending doom. As their bodies decomposed, they left perfectly-formed hollows in the ash. Historians can inject these hollows with plaster, recreating the positions of the bodies, and sometimes their terrified facial expressions.
GhAyAl 2013/09/05 21:16
Contrary to popular belief, Pompeii wasn't hit without warning. The volcano had been erupting for almost a day before the deadly ash rushed into the city on winds that some scientists estimate to have been 900 degrees. By that time, thousands had already fled. Those who remained were the holdouts, the unlucky, and probably many people who were too poor to travel elsewhere. Indeed, the city had been emptying out for nearly two decades after a devastating earthquake (also caused by Mt. Vesuvius) hit it in 62 AD. That quake had reduced a lot of the city to rubble. Many homes were still in ruins at the time the ash hit, which indicates that a lot of residents left after the earthquake and never came back.
Contrary to popular belief, Pompeii wasn't hit without warning. The volcano had been erupting for almost a day before the deadly ash rushed into the city on winds that some scientists estimate to have been 900 degrees. By that time, thousands had already fled. Those who remained were the holdouts, the unlucky, and probably many people who were too poor to travel elsewhere. Indeed, the city had been emptying out for nearly two decades after a devastating earthquake (also caused by Mt. Vesuvius) hit it in 62 AD. That quake had reduced a lot of the city to rubble. Many homes were still in ruins at the time the ash hit, which indicates that a lot of residents left after the earthquake and never came back.
HandsomeDon 2013/09/06 00:46
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