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Destruction of Pompeii<br />
Stepping stones in a Pompeii street with gaps for chariot wheels.<br />
Mount Vesuvius, about 1.5 km from Pompeii, erupted<br />
on 24 August in 79 AD. It destroyed the ancient<br />
trading town of Pompeii and nearby towns, Stabiae and<br />
Herculaneum. The eruption carried ash to the African coast<br />
about 1 000 km away. An eyewitness account has been<br />
preserved in letters by Pliny the Younger to the Roman<br />
historian, Tacitus. Pliny wrote that he and his mother were<br />
‘enveloped in night ... only the shrill cries of women, the<br />
wailing of children, the shouting of men could be heard’.<br />
Pompeii was covered with small fragments of volcanic rock<br />
(lapilli) and ash to a depth of 7 metres. This covering sealed<br />
the town and preserved a remarkable and most important<br />
archaeological site. About 17 years earlier, Pompeii and<br />
Herculaneum had suffered a strong earthquake but the<br />
inhabitants had returned to rebuild their homes.<br />
Many residents of Pompeii died because they inhaled poisonous sulphur fumes. Organic matter was often turned<br />
into carbon by the intense heat. In a temple built to the goddess Isis, a partly eaten meal of eggs, fish and nuts<br />
was still lying on a table where it had been left by priests fleeing from the destruction.<br />
In time, survivors returned to the devastated site to dig out valuables and other personal possessions. About 2 000<br />
victims from Pompeii’s population of approximately 20 000 have been unearthed since excavations began in<br />
1748.<br />
The town of Pompeii has been buried under the hardened ash for 1 700 years. More human and animal remains<br />
and artefacts are expected to be discovered as excavations continue today.<br />
Activity Box<br />
Answer these questions on the passage above.<br />
1. Pompeii suffered an earthquake around<br />
2. Why is Pompeii an important<br />
archaeological site?<br />
3. What percentage of Pompeii’s population<br />
has been unearthed?<br />
4. Which phrase tells us that Pliny was there<br />
at the time?<br />
.<br />
6. Apart from ash and rocks, what else killed<br />
Pompeii’s citizens?<br />
7. How many years since the Pompeii eruption<br />
of Mt Vesuvius?<br />
8. Give synonyms from the passage for these<br />
words:<br />
Viewing Sample<br />
(a) residents<br />
(b) high-pitched<br />
5. Why did survivors of the eruption return to<br />
the site?<br />
(c) toxic<br />
(d) location<br />
(e) interred<br />
Prim-Ed Publishing www.prim-ed.com <strong>Ancient</strong> <strong>Rome</strong> – 9 –
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