24 August, 79 AD 8 a.m. - A series of small emissions emerge from Vesuvius. For several days there had been tremors and for the region of Campania it was not alarming for it was rather frequent:
“but that night the shocks were so violent that everything felt as if were not only shaken but overturned.” Pliny the Younger – who observed the eruption from Misenum, beyond Naples
1 p.m. - The mountain suddenly erupts with tremendous force, sending a cloud of volcanic materials high above Vesuvius surging the dark cloud around 14 km above the mountain.
“Ash drifts over Pompeii. … a cloud of unusual size and appearance…being like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches …”
3 p.m. -Vesuvius ejects its content higher and higher. As it rises and expands, the cloud becomes heavy and falls like hail on Pompeii. Most residents attempt to flee, though some seek shelter and guard property.
“Seismic shock waves shake the area. … there was a danger from falling pumice stones … as a protection against falling objects they put pillows on their heads tied down with cloths … We also saw the sea sucked away … so that quantities of sea creatures were left stranded on dry sand.”
5-6 p.m. -Chunk of volcanic matter and pumice, as big as 50 cm, fall from the cloud. Streets and roads flood deep with volcanic debris, and roofs of Pompeii citizens begin to collapse. The dense cloud rises about 25 km above Vesuvius, covering Pompeii in a blanket of obscurity, with flashes of lightning breaking the darkness.
25 August 79 AD 1-2 a.m. -Scalding mud flows and volcanic debris mix with steam, pour down the side of Vesuvius, suffocating the town of Herculaneum. Ash and pumice continue to rain down on Pompeii. The debris piles up busting through roofs, doors, and windows trapping and choking those hiding inside.
4 a.m. -The volcanic plume above Vesuvius, is now 30 km high. As the cloud grows it once again collapses, sending super heated ash and gases storming into Pompeii. The first blow reaches Herculaneum, killing those still left to suffer.
5 a.m.- Powerful earthquakes continue to shake the whole area. A second, hotter surge buried Herculaneum. At Pompeii, the rain of pumice softens. Some of the few survivors try to flee, but it is hard to breathe in the ash infested air, or to move over or around the deep piles of ash and debris.
6:30 – 7:30 a.m. -A series of forceful waves sweep over the town in immense blows of deadly gases, burning, smothering ash. inhabitants still alive in Pompeii are killed instantly and the city is buried.
“Most who die at Pompeii perish in this phase of the eruption. … my mother implored … me to escape … I refused to save myself without her, and grasping her hand forced her to quicken her pace.”
8a.m. -The most destructive wave hits Pompeii. The town’s tallest structures are burned, buried, and crushed by the raging storm of fire and lightning. The same surge reaches Stabiae and stretches even as far as Naples. Luckily for Pliny the Younger, the surge lost momentum before it reached Misenum. Volcanic activity and storms continue for several day.
“ towns, vegetation, livestock, people. Only the tops of the highest walls remain unburied to show where Pompeii stood. Finally, the cloud lifted and vanished in a sort of smoke or fog … the sun even reappeared, but pale, as when there is an eclipse … the landscape looked changed and covered by a thick blanket of ash, as if it had snowed.”
“but that night the shocks were so violent that everything felt as if were not only shaken but overturned.” Pliny the Younger – who observed the eruption from Misenum, beyond Naples
1 p.m. - The mountain suddenly erupts with tremendous force, sending a cloud of volcanic materials high above Vesuvius surging the dark cloud around 14 km above the mountain.
“Ash drifts over Pompeii. … a cloud of unusual size and appearance…being like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches …”
3 p.m. -Vesuvius ejects its content higher and higher. As it rises and expands, the cloud becomes heavy and falls like hail on Pompeii. Most residents attempt to flee, though some seek shelter and guard property.
“Seismic shock waves shake the area. … there was a danger from falling pumice stones … as a protection against falling objects they put pillows on their heads tied down with cloths … We also saw the sea sucked away … so that quantities of sea creatures were left stranded on dry sand.”
5-6 p.m. -Chunk of volcanic matter and pumice, as big as 50 cm, fall from the cloud. Streets and roads flood deep with volcanic debris, and roofs of Pompeii citizens begin to collapse. The dense cloud rises about 25 km above Vesuvius, covering Pompeii in a blanket of obscurity, with flashes of lightning breaking the darkness.
25 August 79 AD 1-2 a.m. -Scalding mud flows and volcanic debris mix with steam, pour down the side of Vesuvius, suffocating the town of Herculaneum. Ash and pumice continue to rain down on Pompeii. The debris piles up busting through roofs, doors, and windows trapping and choking those hiding inside.
4 a.m. -The volcanic plume above Vesuvius, is now 30 km high. As the cloud grows it once again collapses, sending super heated ash and gases storming into Pompeii. The first blow reaches Herculaneum, killing those still left to suffer.
5 a.m.- Powerful earthquakes continue to shake the whole area. A second, hotter surge buried Herculaneum. At Pompeii, the rain of pumice softens. Some of the few survivors try to flee, but it is hard to breathe in the ash infested air, or to move over or around the deep piles of ash and debris.
6:30 – 7:30 a.m. -A series of forceful waves sweep over the town in immense blows of deadly gases, burning, smothering ash. inhabitants still alive in Pompeii are killed instantly and the city is buried.
“Most who die at Pompeii perish in this phase of the eruption. … my mother implored … me to escape … I refused to save myself without her, and grasping her hand forced her to quicken her pace.”
8a.m. -The most destructive wave hits Pompeii. The town’s tallest structures are burned, buried, and crushed by the raging storm of fire and lightning. The same surge reaches Stabiae and stretches even as far as Naples. Luckily for Pliny the Younger, the surge lost momentum before it reached Misenum. Volcanic activity and storms continue for several day.
“ towns, vegetation, livestock, people. Only the tops of the highest walls remain unburied to show where Pompeii stood. Finally, the cloud lifted and vanished in a sort of smoke or fog … the sun even reappeared, but pale, as when there is an eclipse … the landscape looked changed and covered by a thick blanket of ash, as if it had snowed.”