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Jan 16, 2024 · POMPEII: The Exhibition provides an artifact-rich, immersive experience, including: An introductory theater that sets the scene in a video with dramatic reconstructions of Pompeii and the nearby volcano, painting the picture of an idyllic Roman city. A reproduced atrium from a Roman villa in 79 A.D. that serves as the entry point to the ancient ...
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The city of Pompeii is famous because it was destroyed in 79 CE when a nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted, covering it in at least 19 feet (6 metres) of ash and other volcanic debris. The city’s quick burial preserved it for centuries before its ruins were discovered in the late 16th century. The subsequent excavation of Pompeii and the surrounding areas in the mid-18th century marked the start of the modern science of archaeology. The archaeological sites at and around Pompeii are important because they provide a unique source of information about many aspects of social, economic, religious, and political life of the ancient world.
Why was Pompeii destroyed?
Pompeii was destroyed because of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 CE. Just after midday on August 24, fragments of ash and other volcanic debris began pouring down on Pompeii, quickly covering the city to a depth of more than 9 feet (3 metres). Pyroclastic material—a fluidized mixture of hot rock fragments, hot gases, and entrapped air moving at high speed in thick dark clouds that hug the ground—reached the city on the morning of August 25 and soon asphyxiated those who had not already been killed. Additional pyroclastic flows and rains of ash followed, adding at least another 9 feet of debris.
pyroclastic flow
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Where was Pompeii located?
It seems certain that Pompeii, Herculaneum, and nearby towns were first settled by Oscan-speaking descendants of the Neolithic inhabitants of Campania. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Oscan village of Pompeii, strategically located near the mouth of the Sarnus River, soon came under the influence of the cultured Greeks who had settled across the bay in the 8th century bce. Greek influence was challenged, however, when the Etruscans came into Campania in the 7th century. The Etruscans’ influence remained strong until their sea power was destroyed by King Hieron I of Syracuse in a naval battle off Cumae in 474 bce. A second period of Greek hegemony followed. Then, toward the end of the 5th century, the warlike Samnites, an Italic tribe, conquered Campania, and Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae became Samnite towns.
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Pompeii is first mentioned in history in 310 bce, when, during the Second Samnite War, a Roman fleet landed at the Sarnus port of Pompeii and from there made an unsuccessful attack on the neighbouring city of Nuceria. At the end of the Samnite wars, Campania became a part of the Roman confederation, and the cities became “allies” of Rome. But they were not completely subjugated and Romanized until the time of the Social War. Pompeii joined the Italians in their revolt against Rome in this war and was besieged by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 89 bce. After the war, Pompeii, along with the rest of Italy south of the Po River, received Roman citizenship. However, as a punishment for Pompeii’s part in the war, a colony of Roman veterans was established there under Publius Sulla, the nephew of the Roman general. Latin replaced Oscan as the official language, and the city soon became Romanized in institutions, architecture, and culture.
A riot in the amphitheatre at Pompeii between the Pompeians and the Nucerians, in 59 ce, is reported by the Roman historian Tacitus. An earthquake in 62 ce did great damage in both Pompeii and Herculaneum. The cities had not yet recovered from this catastrophe when final destruction overcame them 17 years later.
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Feb 14, 2024 · On August 24, 79 A.D., the city of Pompeii, a thriving port city of the Roman Empire, was frozen in time by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, burying the city – and its people – for more than 1700 years. Remarkably, the same ash and debris from Vesuvius’ unexpected eruption that destroyed the city, also preserved it.
Apr 29, 2024 · Cincinnati, OH – Imagine walking through the streets of a bustling Roman city, exploring the daily lives of its people. Now, you can experience it for yourself in Ohio – at the Cincinnati Museum Center’s latest exhibition, “POMPEII: The Exhibition.”
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1 day ago · Pompeii was founded in the 6th or 7th century BC by the Oscans, an Italic people. The city‘s strategic location near the mouth of the Sarno River and the fertile soil of the surrounding countryside allowed it to prosper as an agricultural center. Over time, Pompeii fell under the influence of the Greeks, Etruscans, and eventually the Romans.
Owing to its wealth and its Greek, Etruscan and Roman history, Pompeii is of great interest for the study of Ancient Roman architecture in terms of building methods and urban planning. However, it was a relatively small provincial city and, except for the Amphitheatre , it did not have large monuments on the scale of other Roman cities.
But in 79 A.D., in the Roman city of Pompeii at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, the guy holding the “THE END IS NEAR!” sign was right. When the volcano blew, the town was covered by boiling hot ...
