mt vesuvius erupted and covered pompeii in ad 79.
when did mt vesuvius erupt and cover pompeii?
ad 79
the archeological site of herculaneum (in italian: scavi di ercolano) is the area south of the town centre of modern ercolano where the roman town of herculaneum has been excavated. herculaneum was destroyed and buried by lava and mud during the eruption of mt. vesuvius in ad 79 together with pompeii, stabiae and oplontis. in 1997 the herculaneum site was listed as a world heritage site by unesco. although herculaneum was discovered before pompeii, the excavation was so difficult that it was repeatedly interrupted in favour of the easier excavation of pompeii. herculaneum is smaller and less famous than pompeii, but better preserved due to the different volcanic materials that covered the town. in herculaneum there are many wooden remains (doors, furniture, beams) and organic goods (fruit, bread, seeds, rope) that were burnt in pompeii. many herculaneum buildings still retain their upper floors either entirely or in part. the excavated area of herculaneum consists of only one quarter of the entire ancient town because the rest of the site still lies beneath modern ercolano.
ercolano
when the nearby volcano mt vesuvius erupted in 79 ad, the eruption buried the city of pompeii and the nearby city of herculaneum and preserved everything from its streets to its frescoes under mounds of pumice and ash. although pompeii was initially rediscovered in 1599, tourism was undesirable until spanish engineer rocque joaquin de alcubierre performed a much larger excavation in 1748, which revealed many noteworthy structures, such as a fully intact roman theatre.





























today, pompeii belongs to the much larger vesuvius national park and is one of italy’s most popular tourist sites, attracting approximately 2.5 million visitors annually.
disaster tourism