1. The Day the World Went Dark
The Eruption of Mount Vesiuvius and the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum

2. Focus Questions
Why were the People of Pompeii “blissfully unaware” of the destruction that was to befall them?
What two warnings happened ahead of time that
either weren’t heeded or weren’t understood?
What type of explosion was the one that destroyed
the two Roman Cities?
How many people died in
Pompeii and Herculaneum?
Describe the process of being Frozen in time?
What does it mean? How did it happen?
And who came up with the process that allows us to know
about this today?

3. When did this event occur in Time???
509 B.C
476 AD
79 A.D.
44 B.C

4. Herculaneum

5. Herculaneum – about 5,000 people
What happened to Pompeii in 79 A.D.?
Vesuvius erupted, totally destroying Pompeii and Herculaneum – both prosperous Roman towns.
Pompeii – about 16,000 people
Herculaneum – about 5,000 people

6. Pompeii, A well planned city

7. Pompeii before the Eruption

8. Blissfully Unaware
Romans did not realize Vesuvius (6,000 ft) was a volcano! Last erupted about 3,500 B.C.

9. Warning Signs A major earthquake struck in 62 B.C.
A minor eruption on Aug 23rd

10. The Sky Goes Dark! August 24th 1:00 AM
Ash falls
depositing about 2.5 m.
on Pompeii.
By 5:30 a.m. roofs begin
to collapse in Pompeii.
Some people killed, but
most people flee south.
No ash falls on
Herculaneum.

11. six pyroclastic surges and flows devastate Pompeii and Herculaneum
August 25th - KABOOM!!!
Vesuvius blows her top!
six pyroclastic surges and flows devastate Pompeii and Herculaneum
Surge 1 - 1:00 a.m.
destroys Herculaneum
Surge 2 – 2:00 a.m.
Surge 3 – 6:30 a.m.
reaches outskirts of Pompeii
Surge 5 – 7:30 a.m.
devastates Pompeii
Surge 6 – 8:00 a.m.
the largest of all
Pyroclastic Flow - Coroner's Report

12. Pompeii Video from History Channel
How bad did it get???
Herculaneum - destroyed and buried under ft. of
surge deposits.
Herculaneum – totally destroyed and the entire population
wiped out. About 5,000 dead
Pompeii - buried under 8 ft. of ash and about ft of surge deposits.
Pompeii – totally destroyed and buried. Most people
escaped, about 2-3,000 died.
Pompeii Video from History Channel

13. “Last Day of Pompeii” by
Karl Briullov

14. Frozen in Time!
Pompeii Images

16. Excavating Pompeii Giuseppe Fiorelli
His Innovations
Divide the city into nine regions
Realized that once a body had decayed it left an empty space in the layers of solidified ashes

17. Images of excavated Pompeii

18. Excavations continued... Nature’s necessities… Community bath rooms
A metal forging shop

19. Excavations Continued...
An Amphitheater

20. The Story Continues Today
The tale of death and destruction frozen in time on that fateful day in 79 AD is a story that captivates the world today. Two beautiful towns destroyed in a hiccup of time leaves many of us with the feeling of our own mortality and fragility. But like all things in life there was a silver lining in this tragedy. The eruption preserved a moment in history that allows us to see that even out of disaster, life continues on.
With that in mind take a moment to remember the people of Japan and the devastation endured during the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 as well as Haiti and the large earthquake that hit there in 2012.

21. Check your Answers
They didn’t know that Mt. Vesuvius was a volcano… The last eruption happened thousands of years ago.
An earthquake in 62 b.c. and a minor eruption the day before that blew a little ash away from both towns.
A pyroclastic explosion destroyed the two cities
Herculaneum (over 5,000); Pompeii (2-3,000)
The ash covered people quickly and they died “frozen” in fear. We know about it today because of Fiorelli’s plaster cast methods.

22. Bibliography “Fiorelli, Giuseppe.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2002
“Eruption at Pompeii.” Harcourt School Assistant. Online
December 15, 2003.
“Pompeii.” Encyclopedia Britannica