Pompeii: The Volcanic Eruption that Rocked the Roman World

In the autumn of 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius on the coast of Campania in Italy erupted releasing gases, molten rock, pumice and ash at 1.5 million tons per second. This has become known as one of the deadliest eruptions in history, releasing 100,000 times the thermal energy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The event destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum amongst others. Pompeii was buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of volcanic ash and pumice as a result of the eruption. The ruins of this remarkable city, for the most part preserved under ash, offer a unique and invaluable insight into Roman life. The drama of Pompeii’s end has been handed down by Roman writers, its paintings and mosaics have astonished visitors since their discovery, and its houses and public buildings still present a vivid picture of life, disaster and death in a Roman town. In contemporary tourism, Pompeii is among the most popular attractions in Italy, with approximately 2.5 million visitors to the site annually. Pompeii offers a compact, insightful photographic history of one of the most famous Roman towns and archaeological sites in the world, its excavation and ongoing discoveries.