Welcome to Pompeii here you will find many interesting artifacts, including the bodies of dead people that have been preserved from the eruption in 79 AD. I hope you enjoy this dive into one of Italy’s most fascinating touring sites, so let’s go in.
The results to Mt. Vesuvius’s eruption was death and destruction all over the place. It is speculated that over 16,000 people died in the eruption. They were buried in ash and pumice that was 19-23 feet deep, it helped preserve them from being looted and from destructive weather. Through CAT scans, archaeologists have discovered that the people did not die from suffocation, but from falling buildings. The buildings fell because of the pumice, which is usually light; but when it built up, it became heavy , so the buildings fell under its weight. They also have discovered that the people’s teeth were perfect, which means that they had a low sugar diet, and also had lots of fluoride in the water. There are no cavities in the teeth, which is actually amazing.
Some of the different artifacts found in Pompeii included a preserved loaf of bread, bodies plaster casts of human bodies. Nearly 2,000 bodies that were preserved were discovered.
They also found mold-made oil lamps that were preserved from the volcano. One is in the shape of an eagle, and another one had a fighting Roman warrior on it.
Now I want to cover some of the different things that happened before the volcano erupted. There were many little earthquakes before the volcano erupted. Archaeologists have said that they should have known what these signs meant, but they just went on living as usual... until that fateful day when they were all buried. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted, the lava was 1,292 degrees F, and it flowed as fast as 68 MPH. The people were doomed, God was making sure that there was no way that they could escape. He was judging them for everything that they had done. Another interesting fact, is that 1.5 million tons of pumice and stone were spewing out of the volcano every second. There is another fact that proves God’s judgment upon them: the wind usually blew in the opposite direction of Pompeii, so it would have blown all the pumice and stone away, but this time it was blowing towards Pompeii, so the Pumice and stone were blown directly over Pompeii. God definitely orchestrated everything to be the way it was. This was the most feared kind of volcano ever, it was called the “Plinian” volcano. This kind does not have lava, but it contains super-heated gas, magma, and ash. Together, these elements form a huge column that towers up to the sky. Pulverized rock would flow down the mountain bringing destruction to anyone or anything in its path. Vesuvius erupted the day after the festival of Vulcan, who is the “god of fire.”
They also named it “volcano after their “god” of fire. Here is an eyewitness account of the volcano it was written by a boy by the name of Pliny the younger:
“...broad sheets of flame were coming out of Mount Vesuvius. Night had fallen so these flames could be seen more clearly than they would have been during the day. In order to calm his friend, my uncle told Pomponianus that they were just flames from burning villages on the slope of the mountain. After this everyone went to bed at Pomponianus's house. They had slept only a short time, but the ash and stones were falling so thickly that they were rapidly filling the courtyard. If they stayed any longer, they would not be able to get out of the house. My uncle was a sound sleeper and had to be awakened. My uncle and his friends debated whether it would be better to stay in the house or go out into the open fields. There they might be hit by the stones and rocks that were being thrown out of the depths of the mountain.
They decided to go into the fields. It was now time for day, but everywhere around them it looked like darkest night. They went down to the sea to see if it was safe to set sail, but the ocean was still very rough. My uncle found some sail cloth and lay down on the shore. He called for some cold water. As he was drinking it, flames surged out of the volcano, and with them came a strong smell of sulfur. Everyone began to run, but my uncle had not taken two steps when he was overcome by the sulfur fumes and died.The darkness during the daytime lasted for another day. On the third day there was light again…”
The archaeologists plastered the bodies in such a way, that you can see the position they were in, the clothing, and the hairstyles, and also facial expressions that they had when they died. Archaeologists have discovered many things just by the plaster of the body.There was a male, female, boy, and girl together, which they supposed to be a family. They have discovered many other interesting things, which would take all day to talk about.
This was definitely a judgment from God, because of their wickedness. What lesson can we get from Pompeii today? Well, it shows us how powerful God is, but it also shows us that God does not take sin lightly; he takes it very seriously.
