The Day Time Stood Still: the Fall of Pompeii
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
We've all heard the story of Pompeii: the city that was buried under the wrath of the volcano Mount Vesuvius, and whose people were sealed in a sort of plaster, essentially freezing them in time. But there is more to the story. There are more vital details that make the story of Pompeii so meaningful and time bending. This carefully constructed timeline intricately lays out these details you probably didn't know about.
X Hours Before the Eruption
Prior to the horrifying events that unfolded in 79 A.D., Pompeii was a bustling resort town located south of Naples on the coast of Italy. The town, first settled by the Oscans, became a Roman colony around 89 B.C., and fostered the passage of goods and awing architectural development. Many Romans owned vacation homes in the area, and the streets were embellished with shops and various services. Interestingly, in 62 A.D., there was a powerful earthquake that struck Pompeii and the surrounding towns, causing major destruction and leaving the area with frequent tremors that citizens would eventually become accustomed to.
1 Hour Before the Eruption- 11A.M.
The waning morning was busy and clear. Romans went about their daily work- baking, carpentry, farming, crafting, trading, and minding the ever-common tremors that would vibrate beneath them. But while usual sense of bustling-calm swept over the city, something much more intense was conjuring inside Mount Vesuvius.
The 6000 foot mountain, just ten miles away from the city of Pompeii, was brewing with violence. The internal conditions of the mountain resembled that of a pressure cooker, the magma chamber stuffed with rocks, lava, and dense gas with nowhere to escape. The mouth of the volcano was plugged by tightly packed rocks that prevented any kind of relief from the pressure growing beneath the surface. A small crack eventually formed near the mouth of the volcano, allowing for a tiny explosion of steam to escape and rain ash on the east side of the mountain. Spectators likely would have seen a small white cloud over the formation but may have brushed it off as normal weather.
Eruption- 1P.M.
Finally, the pressure within the mountain became too great and sent the rocky seal, along with superheated gas, foam, and pumice flying up to twenty miles into the air. The eruption was extraordinarily violent, with approximately 1.5 million tonnes of debris being unleashed from the volcano every second. Across the Bay of Naples, the 17-year-old nephew of Pliny the Elder watched as the eruption unfolded and later produced the most reliable written testimony about that day. He accounted how a massive cloud “raised high on a kind of very tall trunk and spread out into branches” above the volcano. This dark, looming mass soon began to trudge towards Pompeii thanks to merciless, southeasterly winds. Regrettably, many of the city's inhabitants assumed this cloud was just harmless "smoke."
30 Minutes After the Eruption- 1:30P.M.
The winds, which would have typically pushed the cloud across the bay, strangely continued to push it toward Pompeii. As the cloud approached and gained altitude, the boiling ash within it mixed with cool air and solidified into pumice stones. The pumice was relatively weightless and did little damage, only carpeting the ground and fountains with a layer of ash. The harmlessness of the pumice seemed wrongfully to imply to people that they were safe, and many simply retreated into their homes. Others, heeding the mountain's warning, tried to escape into the countryside or by sea.
When the eerie cloud finally arrived above Pompeii, it obscured the sun and left the town in increasing darkness. People started to realize their impending doom and prayed for the wind to change its course.
1 Hour After the Eruption- 2P.M.
By now, the town was consumed by darkness and people began to panic as the pumice shower persisted. The Porta Marina became clogged by the volume of people trying to flee Pompeii with their carts, animals, and possessions. Rescue attempts from brave patrons with ships across the bay were made but failed due to the dangerous debris falling into the sea.
4 Hours After the Eruption- 5P.M.
The pumice shower began to assert its power as it caused roofs to crumbles under its accumulated weight and doorways to become inaccessible. Agonizing thirst was rampant in the city as the heat, cloud, and pumice sucked the moisture from the air and the wells became completely blocked. The Porta Marina was less crowded by this time, but boats were unable to leave due to the fierce winds.
6 Hours After the Eruption- 7P.M.
Above Mount Vesuvius, the column had grown to twice the size of Mount Everest, and the streets of Pompeii that had once buzzed with life were now empty. Those who decided to find refuge in their homes were now trapped behind thick, heavy layers of pumice that were blocking doors and windows, accumulating in the streets, and causing more and more buildings to crumble under pressure. Across the bay, rescuers began to realize the hopelessness of the situation given the worsening conditions, and chose to wait until morning.
13 Hours After the Eruption- 1A.M
The cloud stretching for miles across the sky began to lose buoyancy and part of the giant column collapsed, sending debris and sizzling ash towards Herculaneum, a town on the other side of the mountain. The ash was five times hotter than the boiling point of water, and instantly incinerated many people in its path, while subjecting others to slightly slower, more agonizing deaths.
17 Hours After the Eruption- 5A.M.
Another section of the column collapsed, this time, reaching Pompeii. While the ash and lava was restrained by a large gate surrounding the city, toxic fumes suffocated anyone who got too close. After this surge, things seemingly quieted down in the city, and people began to return to recover their lost belongings or loot the area. People may have assumed the worst was over. They were wrong.
19.5 Hours After the Eruption- 7:30A.M.
Early in the morning, Mount Vesuvius erupted with a series of rapid pyroclastic surges. The fourth major surge reached temperatures of up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit. Finally, as it swept over Pompeii, it subjected those in the streets to thermal shock and killed them immediately. For those inside, they most likely died in three breaths. The first would have inhaled heated air and ash into their lungs, a sensation described as 'breathing fire'. The second breath mixed with the ash and created a sort of cement inside the windpipe, causing them to suffocate on the third breath.
By the end, Pompeii was submerged in ash up to six feet deep.
After
The cloud began to dissipate about an hour after the last surge, but tremors and minor steam eruptions continued in the days after the catastrophe. Rescuers from Rome were sent to help survivors, but they quickly realized there was simply no one left to save in Pompeii.
18 million tons of volcanic debris were dispersed during the eruption, and it is estimated that there were up to 16000 casualties in all.
Conclusion
The story of Pompeii is not only one of unfathomable eruptions and piles of black pumice. Inside every story about Pompeii, the people who lived there are engrained in every minute detail--down to the last cart or house left behind. It's easy to get lost in the incomprehensible aspects of Pompeii, but it's important to remember that every single event that occurred reaped a consequence that impacted a real person. By examining Pompeii in closer detail, we can more accurately understand what its inhabitants went through that day, and in turn, we can more effectively try to understand modern day catastrophes.
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