Pompeii

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Pompeii

When on August 24, 79 AD (ce79.08.24) Mount Vesuvius errupted
within the span of almost one day the Roman cities of Pompeii
(pahm-pay) and Herculaneum (her cue lane ium) were buried under
ash and within days volcanic mud. Thus, freezing in perfect
form the actual city and (sadly) its people right where they
stood. The treasure of this tragedy is that for the future,
the history and actual use of the ancient cities was far
better preserved than anyother - no looters could forge thru
it, nor even the Roman emperors who often gutted previous
works to salvage marble - nor later in the Christian era when
the statues of Roman Gods were be-headed and the Saint's heads
placed atop them. Only the panopoly ??name?? escaped restructuring
as it was properly blessed and turned into a church. 

Of course looting had to follow when by 1738 some digging provided
treasures from the past that thankfully ended up in the National
Museum of Napoli. 

History

From the Columbia Encyclopedia (Univ Columbia, NY) via Bartleby on-line:

    -[Pompeii]-

BEGIN BLOCK QUOTE

    Possibly an old Oscan settlement, it was 
    a Samnite city for centuries before it 
    passed under Roman rule at the time of 
    Lucius Cornelius Sulla (1st cent. B.C.). 
    Pompeii was not only a flourishing port 
    but a prosperous resort with many villas. 

    An earthquake in A.D. 63 did much damage, 
    and an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79 
    (which was described by Pliny the Younger) [usually read in Latin II]
    buried Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and 
    Stabiae, under cinders and ashes that 
    preserved the ruins of the city with 
    magnificent completeness—down to the 
    fresh colors of the wall paintings. 

END BLOCK QUOTE




Reference

  Ward-Perkins John Bryan (1978). "Pompeii AD. 79",
                          Alfred A. Knopf, NY.
       LCCN DG 70.P7'W34, ISBN 0.394.50491.7.
       An excellent collection of images, and text,
       alas lacks an index.