Humanity erupts in 79. Eruptions of Vesuvius and the last day of Pompeii

The eruption of Vesuvius, which began on August 24, 79 AD, took the local population by surprise. According to the stories that have come down to us, shortly before this there were many signs indicating an approaching tragedy, but at that time people were completely ignorant and were unable to connect the increasing frequency of earthquakes with possible volcanic activity. As a result, Vesuvius completely destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae, burning all the vegetation in the area and killing about 16,000 people.

Signs and omens

The irony is that the Romans were extremely interested in predicting the future and could predict certain events. As historian Dion Cassius recounted more than a century later, local residents considered tremors a bad sign and associated them with legends about gods who defeated the rebel giants and brought peace to the entire Universe. The Romans believed that the gods buried the monsters they killed under, and earthquakes meant that the giants had come to life and were trying to get out from under the rocks.

Tremors in the area of ​​the volcano began long before the eruption. In his treatise on the causes of natural phenomena, Seneca wrote that in 63 a powerful earthquake shook the surrounding cities and caused enormous damage to Pompeii and Herculaneum. At the same time, the historian did not connect the seismic activity with Vesuvius and even reproached some farmers for leaving Campania, fearing new tremors.

Thanks to modern excavations in Pompeii, archaeologists have been able to establish that the earthquake was truly powerful. Some houses were completely destroyed, and the upper floors of those that survived were especially badly damaged. In some buildings, blocked doors to the upper tiers were found, that is, the owners chose not to restore them, but simply abandoned them. Meanwhile, many houses were reconstructed, and repair work was carried out until the eruption in 79.

Excavations also revealed that after that first earthquake, tremors were repeated several times. So, in one of the houses, archaeologists discovered a crack on the stove, which was initially covered up, but then appeared again several times and was covered up again. In general, despite the earthquakes, people continued to live their lives, persistently repaired their houses and were completely unaware of what awaited them in the tragic year 79.

The terrible hours of the eruption of Vesuvius

The volcano exploded suddenly. In those morning hours, nothing foreshadowed a catastrophe: everyone went about their business and did not even think that they had no more than a day to live. Much information about that disaster has come to us thanks to Pliny the Younger, who witnessed the eruption and described it in detail in his notes. According to the historian, at the time of the explosion, his uncle Pliny the Elder was on his ship and was calmly taking a bath. He did not flinch even when panic was already reigning all around, and people were rushing around the cities in search of shelter.

Young Pliny also remained calm, but his mother cried and begged to leave Pompeii. At that moment, when they left the city, a dense black cloud was already covering the sky, and frightened crowds of people were running around and screaming in horror. During the excavations of Pompeii, much evidence was found that chaos and panic reigned in the cities. The eruption lasted more than 24 hours. Those who ran away immediately had a chance to escape, but those who remained decided that it was better to take cover and wait out the storm. And it was their mistake.

Closer to midnight, the first pyroclastic flows descended from Vesuvius. They covered a long distance and covered the city of Miseno. Herculaneum, located closer to the crater, was buried under a layer of volcanic material 23 meters thick. Hundreds of refugees who tried to take refuge in the vaulted arcades of Herculaneum met their death from the first hot streams, clutching simple belongings, money and jewelry in their hands.

The second series of a hot mixture of smoke, stones and ash fell on Pompeii. The temperature of the pyroclastic flows reached 300 °C, so most people died in a matter of seconds. The destruction caused by Vesuvius covered vast areas. People died in cities, on ships at sea and in the countryside. The explosion of the volcano raised an eruptive column 31 km high and ejected volcanic materials with a total volume of 3 km³.

Subsequently, Vesuvius erupted many more times. And although the new explosions were not as strong as in 1979, they often led to casualties. The last activity of the volcano dates back to 1944. Since then, only minor fumarole activity has been observed in its crater. Many scientists believe that the longer Vesuvius remains silent, the more powerful its next eruption will be.

VOLCANO VESUVIUS

Recently, in southern Italy, scientists are increasingly recording signs of eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. The volcano, which at one time took the lives of many people, destroyed Pompeii and other cities located near it, bringing down on them multi-meter layers of ash, mud flows and harmful gases.

Nowadays, the situation is complicated by the fact that more than 700 thousand people live in extreme proximity to it, whose houses are located in an area that does not provide any escape routes - the old roads intended for evacuation, for one reason or another, have long become a dead end, and new ones have not yet been built for various reasons. And some 15 km from the active volcano is Naples, a millionaire city.

Vesuvius - a symbol of danger

Vesuvius arose in an old caldera destroyed by the eruptions of the fire-breathing Mount Somma. Therefore, this volcano is considered double and is called Somma-Vesuvius. The Vesuvius volcano has the following geographical coordinates: latitude - 40°49′ and longitude 14°25.

According to scientists, at first it was an underwater volcano, which after some time transformed into an island, and then, as a result of vigorous activity and the accumulation of volcanic emissions, it became part of continental Europe. This event took place more than 25 thousand years ago after the African plate found itself under the Eurasian plate - and now the fire-breathing mountain is located on the coast of the Gulf of Naples in the province of Naples. As for Vesuvius itself, it arose some time later and is about 12 thousand years old.

This volcano is interesting because it is the only active volcano on the European continent. The rest of the fire-breathing mountains are located, although in Europe, but in areas cut off from the mainland, for example, Etna - in Sicily, Stromboli - on the Aeolian Islands.

Vesuvius itself is a humpbacked mountain, the huge cone of which is surrounded by a steep caldera. Its slopes are covered with thick layers of lava, volcanic ash and pumice, and gardens and vineyards grow at the foot.

As for the flora, it is worth noting that the slopes of Vesuvius and the Somme are very different from each other. The soil of Vesuvius is drier, and in order to avoid mudflows, pine forest and Mediterranean shrubs are specially planted on it at an altitude of up to 800 meters. As for the Somme, on this mountain there is a mixed forest, more than six hundred species of plants, of which eighteen are from this area.

According to the latest scientific data, several magma chambers are located under this fire-breathing mountain (the uppermost is located at a depth of three kilometers, the second - from ten to fifteen). The earth's crust, over which Vesuvius rises, consists mainly of a thick layer of Triassic dolomites (about 7 km) and rocks created with the direct participation of mica schists.

The volcano is interesting because it has three nested cones:

• the oldest of them (Monet Somme) is located outside and can be seen only from the northern or eastern side, while its height is almost 1.2 thousand meters;
• the second cone, 1280 m high - Vesuvius itself, is located in the middle of the Somme;
• on the volcano itself there is a crater, where sometimes another cone forms, temporary, disappearing during a strong eruption.

Volcanic eruption

At the moment, it is not without reason that scientists consider Vesuvius one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world - primarily because of the huge number of people who live quite close to it and are thereby in danger of repeating the sad fate of the inhabitants of Pompeii. Because the volcano erupts quite often: scientists claim that over the entire period of its existence, the volcano ejected lava, gases and volcanic waste into the atmosphere more than eighty times. The last such phenomenon occurred not so long ago, in 1944. Because of it, 27 people died, and the lava itself turned two Italian cities into ruins - San Sebastiano and Massa (the height of the emissions reached 800 meters).

The eruptions of Vesuvius are quite diverse in nature, differ greatly from each other in their destructive power, but almost all are characterized by explosive flashes. Sometimes they can be so large that they can easily cover the entire southern part of Europe with ash. For example, volcanic emissions in the 5th and 17th centuries were so strong that the ash flew to Constantinople (Turkey), which is located at a distance of more than a thousand kilometers.

But the eruption of the same volcano in the 17th century extremely amazed the residents of Naples: rain suddenly fell on their heads, shaped like small black crosses. So Vesuvius threw out double pyroxene crystals.

Last days of Pompeii

The eruption, forever included in the history books and still stunning the minds of people with its scale and catastrophic consequences, occurred August 24, 79 AD(http://newparadigma.ru/prcv/conf9/shursh/pompey.html ) , and on the eruption scale it was 5 points. This happened when a volcano, dormant for many centuries, woke up - and in a few days completely wiped out several large cities, including Pompeii, from the face of the Earth.

First warnings

There were the first signals of an impending disaster. But, since the ancient people kept absolutely no records of the activity of Vesuvius, they did not pay the necessary attention to them, and the cities located at the foot of the volcano, Pompeii, Stabia and Herculaneum, continued to grow and prosper. The soil here was so fertile that it was possible to harvest wheat and other crops about twice a year. Fruits and vegetables were also successfully grown here, and the forests were teeming with game.

Pompeii itself was considered the pearl of the Roman Empire - aristocrats vacationed here in the summer, a temple of Jupiter and an amphitheater were built that could accommodate almost the entire population of the city, which at that moment was about 16 thousand people (interestingly, when the main eruption began, a huge number of people like once attended gladiator fights).

The first warning of the approaching danger to local residents was made 17 years before the disaster, when a powerful earthquake destroyed buildings, swept away villages from the face of the Earth, and turned some areas of Pompeii and Hercalaneum into ruins.

But such a warning was not taken seriously - temples, baths, taverns, theaters were rebuilt and became even better and more beautiful.

The first victims of the volcano

The first victims of the volcano were not the inhabitants of Pompeii, but the neighboring city of Herculaneum. People heard the first roar of the awakening volcano during the day August 24, were frightened, but considered their houses to be a fairly reliable shelter, capable of reliably protecting them from ash and pumice.

And it started at night. Vesuvius became so active that the inhabitants of Herculaneum became frightened and rushed to the sea in search of salvation. But a huge cloud burst out of the crater of the volcano and rushing lava and mudflows at breakneck speed caught up with them extremely quickly. People hardly had time to understand that their end was extremely close. The following emissions completely buried the town under a thick layer of lava, dirt and ash.

Last days of Pompeii

The disaster reached the residents of Pompeii the next day. Although, according to preliminary data, about 2 thousand people died in the city itself and the same number in its surroundings, and excavations each time indicate a new number of victims, many people still managed to escape.

The fate of those who were unlucky turned out to be quite terrible - those who were spared by the rushing lava and who were able to hide behind thick stone walls from ash, debris and poisonous gases were covered by a hot cloud, the temperature of which exceeded 500C. People died almost instantly: from such a temperature, their blood boiled almost immediately, and their skulls burst from the terrifying pressure.

According to the latest data obtained, during this eruption, the volcano, at a speed exceeding 100 thousand tons per second, threw lava and volcanic material to a height of 35 kilometers, thereby heating the air currents to five hundred degrees and giving them a terrifying speed with which they rushed forward, destroying all life around. On the third day of the eruptions, the western part of Vesuvius could not withstand the load and collapsed into the crater.

Thousands of years later. Excavations

After Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabia were buried for many centuries (Pompeii and Stabia - under an eight-meter layer of ash and pumice, Hercalum - sweat in a mud flow 20 meters thick), the city of Rezina arose on the site of the first victim of the volcano, and where there were Pompeii turned out to be gardens and vineyards. And the stories about the lost cities became a legend - until fifteen hundred years later, due to another eruption, scientists picked up their trail.

This happened in 1631, when, after another volcanic eruption, workers began to dig out a buried water supply system, stumbled upon gold coins and appropriated them. After that, throughout the 17th century, gold miners of all kinds and stripes hung around here in search of treasures. This continued until a cache of alabaster and marble, statues and various products were found, which attracted the attention of scientists.

Having obtained permission to work, they discovered that the city, due to a special combination of ash and pumice, was completely sealed and was preserved in very good condition. Although human remains have long since turned into skeletons, buildings, frescoes and even loaves of bread have retained not only their shape, but in some cases even their color.

Some time later, scientists were able to model people in order to find out what they looked like and what they were experiencing at the time of death. They also discovered a library with interesting scrolls, which in our time can be studied using the latest computer technologies without unfolding them - and thereby in some way without causing harm to unique ancient manuscripts.

Eruption modeling

To prevent such a disaster, scientists are trying different methods to study the dangerous giant of Italy. It is quite natural that they also use the latest computer developments.

For example, some time ago, Italian scientists, using three-dimensional computer modeling, determined that the next volcanic eruption, which could happen at any time (both in the coming years and in the next millennium), may well be no weaker than the eruption of 79. If people do not evacuate from the danger zone in time, it may well happen that human casualties will amount to about 300 thousand people. The simulation showed that people who live in the north and northwest of the volcano will have much more time to leave the dangerous territory - they will be saved by Mount Somma, which surrounds Vesuvius.

According to preliminary data, the temperature indicators of the magma of such an eruption when the volcanic vent emerges will reach almost 1000°C, and at a distance of 7 kilometers from the epicenter of the events it will cool to 200°C. This means that if such an eruption occurs, the lava flow will sweep away everything within a radius of 12 kilometers from its path. The most dangerous during a volcanic eruption will be the last stage of emissions, when a hot cloud of ash and toxic gases descend.

Another argument indicating the approach of destructive eruptions was provided by French scientists after comparing magma samples from the most significant eruptions. Thus, they discovered that if the depth of magma in 79. AD was at a depth of seven to eight kilometers, then already in 472 this distance was reduced to three or four. This means that if magma levels continue to rise to the surface at the same rate, the consequences of volcanic emissions could even be much worse than in the time of Pompeii.

The only hope is that the consequences will not be as terrible as it seems at first glance. When the volcano erupted, the upper layers of magma came into contact with cold air, they froze and formed an extremely thick plug five kilometers thick. This, scientists hope, will slow down the movement of magma.

In any case, no one can predict at the moment exactly when this grandiose event will occur, since the interval between volcanic emissions may well be several thousand years, or maybe several years. Despite the fact that Vesuvius is the most observed volcano in the world, even the latest super technology cannot determine the exact date of the eruption.

Recently, minor seismic activity has been recorded in the Vesuvius area, but scientists say that there is nothing much to worry about yet.

Vesuvius and tourists

Local authorities are not going to turn Vesuvius into a lifeless space. After all, this is not just a dangerous volcano, at the foot of which there are extremely favorable conditions for growing various crops, but also a source of quite good income - more than 4 million tourists come from all over the planet to see the fire-breathing mountain every year, as soon as they recognize it coordinates.

Pilgrims are not stopped either by the absence of a funicular, which was destroyed half a century ago by the last eruption, or by a cable car (it was destroyed by an earthquake). They are ready to voluntarily climb a specially equipped hiking trail up the mountain on foot, despite the difficult climb, when the Sun is mercilessly baking from above, there is no saving shadow anywhere, there is a sea of ​​​​dust around, making it difficult to breathe and clogging the nose, and small pebbles lie under their feet, constantly getting into shoes.

The only thing that saves travelers is the numerous benches along the trail, along which the most tired and unprepared tourists for such an ascent move upward (from bench to bench).

And although the crater itself is somewhat disappointing, since it is nothing but bare gray walls with occasional vegetation breaking through, but before the eyes of those who reach the top, gorgeous views of Naples open up, and they themselves are filled with a sense of pride: “We did it!”

14.01.2017

Mount Vesuvius is located on the coast of the Gulf of Naples in the Italian region of Campania. It arose on the site of the old caldera of the destroyed primary volcano Somme. Therefore, this double fire-breathing mountain is called Somma-Vesuvius. Vesuvius itself is approximately 12,000 years old. Its strongest eruption is considered to have occurred around 1600 BC, which caused global climate change. But the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79, which became a disaster for the ancient Italians, preserved for us the mysterious world of antiquity and allowed us to look into the past.

Before the eruption

The increasingly frequent destructive earthquakes did not alert people, since Vesuvius had not been active 8 centuries before. Residents of nearby towns rebuilt destroyed houses and remained in place, where the soil was extremely fertile. They were so accustomed to the movements of the earth's crust that they paid little attention to it. The eruption itself began suddenly.

Chronology of the eruption

The eruption of Vesuvius can be judged from the evidence of two letters from Pliny the Younger, the nephew of the Roman politician, scientist and encyclopedist writer Pliny the Elder who died during the disaster. On the morning of August 24, a mushroom-shaped cloud appeared from the crater of the volcano. Having broken through the volcanic plug, a stream of gases and ash came out, mixed with earth and stone, and soared to a height of 20 km.

Lightning flashed in the cloud, flashes were accompanied by loud sounds, these were volcanic gases, shaking the earth, breaking out. After some time, the top of the cloud separated from the base and began to fall to the ground. Soon the sun was no longer visible at all; it was as if someone had quickly extinguished a candle on a dark night. A strong earthquake began. At night, lava flowed from the crater of the volcano.

But the cities of Herculaneum, Pompeii, Oplontia and Stabia were not flooded with lava, since the wooden houses in them did not burn and the stone did not melt. They were covered with a layer of pure pumice and ash, or a mixture of both with streams of rain, several meters thick. In Pompeii, this layer reached a height of 6 meters; in Herculaneum, which took the blow first, the mud flow grew to 20 meters thick.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 occurred in two stages described above: the first was an explosive (Plinian type) with the release of a huge amount of energy, the second was a Peleian eruption, also accompanied by explosions, supplemented by the release of lava. The sun became visible in the sky only two days after the start of the eruption.

Consequences of the eruption

In fact, not all city residents died. Of the 20-30 thousand inhabitants of the city of Pompeii, about 2,000 people died. These were probably the people who, after the first catastrophic manifestations, decided to return to their homes for valuables and were unable to get out due to the doors being blocked by pyroclastics. Or they decided too late to use ship transport, when the entire coast was already covered with debris from the mountain. There were probably those who, for some reason, could not or did not want to leave. But people had the opportunity to escape, unlike the residents of the city of Saint-Pierre in Martinique.

Other sources say that many Pompeii residents were present at gladiatorial fights in the amphitheater during the eruption. According to this version, the eruption was sudden. But most scientists agree that about 16,000 people died in all four cities.

The eruption of Vesuvius in culture

This eruption inspired many artists. Two famous paintings are dedicated to him - Karl Bryullov’s “The Last Day of Pompeii” (1830-1833) and the Norwegian Johan Christian Dahl’s “The Eruption of Vesuvius” (1821). Bryullov visited the excavations of the city of Pompeii in 1828, they made an indelible impression on him. That’s why his picture turned out so bright and epic. Impressed by this painting by A.S. Pushkin wrote the poem “Vesuvius opened the mouth,” and Edward Bulwer-Lytton, an English writer, created the novel “The Last Days of Pompeii.”

Films were also made on the theme of the death of Pompeii and the eruption of Vesuvius: the Italian “The Last Day of Pompeii” (1926) and the Hollywood “Pompeii” (2014).

Today, Vesuvius is recognized as one of the most dangerous volcanoes on the planet. It gained such a bad reputation due to its high activity, which even in ancient times brought a lot of destruction and death. We have received information about more than 80 eruptions of this formidable cone giant, the most famous of which dates back to 79 of the 1st century AD. e., when the released lava, magma and ash buried several cities of the ancient Roman Empire along with their population.

From Naples, a million-plus city in the southern Apennines, Vesuvius is only 15 kilometers away. And directly at its foot lies the city of Torre Annunziata. Such a neighborhood poses a potential danger for people, because the homes of over 700 thousand people are not only located almost next to the volcano, but also in an area with undeveloped infrastructure. Roads that were built taking into account the fact that in the future it might be necessary to urgently evacuate the population are now outdated. Others, for a number of reasons, have become dead ends. The new transport network has not yet been laid.

At the same time, Vesuvius has been and remains an attractive tourist attraction - most notable in the Italian region of Campania. There were always a lot of people who liked to climb it. Until the end of the 19th century, guides with mules came to help those who wanted to look into the crater of the famous volcano, then a modern funicular was built for inquisitive travelers, which operated until 1944, and after the then powerful eruption was never restored.

Now tourists are provided with a chairlift that takes them to the parking lot at an altitude of 1000 meters. The remaining distance – 281 meters – is covered by people on their own. It's a little tiring, but conquering the legendary peak is worth it. It offers beautiful views of Naples, the island of Capri and the picturesque Sorrento coast - a real pearl of Italy, where the patricians, the powerful rulers of Ancient Rome, loved to relax. And, of course, a vivid impression remains in the memory for a lifetime, which can be expressed in a short but succinct phrase: “I conquered Vesuvius!”

Geophysical features

The volcano is part of the Somma-Vesuvius mountain system, consisting of three cones. From the outside we see the oldest of them, preserved on the slopes on the northern and eastern sides. It looks like an arched shaft and is called Monte Somma. Its height reaches 1138 meters. The second cone is the inner one: this is Vesuvius itself. The third cone is considered temporary. It appears and then, after strong eruptions, disappears. It is not possible for a mere mortal to see it. And not even because of its inconstancy: it is simply located at the bottom of the crater, where only specialists look - for example, a volcanic station founded back in 1842. The observatory is located on the northwestern slope, approximately 600 meters from the surface of the earth.

Geophysical research on Vesuvius has been carried out very carefully and over many decades, so it can be called the most studied fire-breathing mountain on Earth. It has been established that several so-called magma chambers are hidden under the visible part. The first, the most distant, is located at a depth of approximately 10-15 kilometers, the second is closer to us, 3 km from the earth’s surface. Triassic dolomites are the basis of the continental crust of the Vesuvius volcano. Their thickness extends up to 7 kilometers. It is underlain by rocks that appeared a long time ago, when the Mediterranean mobile belt, stretching 15,000 km from Europe to the islands of the Indonesian archipelago, was just forming.

The flora of the double volcano also has interesting features. Somma and Vesuvius seem to be “brothers”, but they are radically different from each other, like “step-brothers”. The Somme is home to a mixed forest containing over 600 plant species, 18 of which are native to the area and the rest introduced. The soil of Vesuvius, on the contrary, is more dry and favors mudflows. To avoid this phenomenon, here, at an altitude of 800 meters, many Mediterranean shrubs and an entire pine forest were planted.

Lava layers lying layer by layer and volcanic tuff - from such materials over the past centuries the main cone of this double volcano was formed. They constantly weather and settle, which ensures high fertility of the surrounding soils, which is confirmed by the numerous vineyards and orchards established here. Looking at such a juxtaposition of living nature reaching out to the sun and the potentially dangerous Vesuvius, you involuntarily ask the question: how did it appear in this place, and how did the surrounding landscape develop in general? Here's what the results of numerous studies say.

How Vesuvius was formed

In prehistoric times, on the site of Vesuvius there was a large basin, shaped like a circus arena - a caldera. It was clearly of volcanic origin, given its proximity to the Somme. The walls were steep, the bottom more or less flat. As a result of numerous eruptions of the latter, the old caldera was destroyed, and Vesuvius arose in its place. With his appearance, the fire-breathing mountain became de facto double.

The events described, according to various estimates, took place approximately 25 thousand years ago. The “newborn” volcano was formed as a result of the layering of two powerful tectonic faults on top of each other - African and Eurasian. But not instantly, but 13,000 years after that. Vesuvius almost immediately announced itself with a powerful eruption. It is believed that it happened between 6940 and 100 BC. But when exactly has not been established for certain. A little more is known about the second major eruption of Vesuvius: it occurred approximately 3.8 thousand years ago and covered an area equal to modern Naples and the surrounding area with magma flows.

The famous volcanologist Alfred Ritman made a great contribution to revealing the secrets of Vesuvius. Based on careful observations and analysis of facts, the scientist developed a theory of the formation of lavas of this volcano, characterized by a high content of potassium compounds. It is called the dolomite assimilation hypothesis. Having carefully examined the fluid and melt components of the volcanic substance, he established both physical and chemical indicators of the minerals contained in the lava - for example, olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase.

The most famous eruption

In the second half of the 1st century AD, the Roman Empire was ruled by the Flavian dynasty. On December 20, 69, Emperor Titus Flavius ​​Vespasian took the throne of the huge state. It was a good era. Internal turmoil and uprisings were left behind, relations with the Senate were settled, and the ruler himself was an example of simplicity of morals. Trade developed rapidly, the population was engaged in viticulture, gardening, and animal husbandry. People explored new territories, including at the foot of the mountains. One of these places suitable for living was the vicinity of Vesuvius. The cities of Pompeii, Stabiae, Herculaneum and Oplontis appeared here. They were very beautiful, and the population lived richly and carefree. It never occurred to anyone that in the depths of the mountain there were formidable underground forces slumbering, just waiting in the wings to break out.

And now the terrible moment of the awakening of Vesuvius, which was later included in all history textbooks, has arrived. This happened in 79, the last year of the reign of Emperor Vespasian. True, this day did not come immediately. 17 years before the catastrophic eruption, a powerful earthquake occurred. Parts of Pompeii and Herculaneum were turned into ruins, and the surrounding villages were completely wiped off the face of the earth. People should have been wary, but they did not connect the seismic phenomenon with the volcano. No observations were made of it in the modern sense, and no thought was even given to its possible activation.

After the natural disaster, the townspeople restored their houses and temples, theaters, taverns and baths, thereby showing that they were not going to move anywhere. And how could they decide to do this if the fertile soil around the perimeter of the volcano fed them all year round? Here they harvested two crops of wheat and other agricultural crops, grew vegetables and fruits, and hunted game in the forests. To refuse such a blessed place means to doom yourself to a difficult and half-starved survival.

On August 24, 79, the inhabitants of Herculaneum heard a dull roar coming from the bowels of the earth. People were scared at first, but quickly calmed down. They consoled themselves with the fact that their houses were so strong that pumice and volcanic ash would not penetrate inside. Then there was a lull for a while, and by night Vesuvius woke up to all its power. It was then that the townspeople realized that the volcano was not “joking.” They rushed to the sea, hoping to escape. And at this time, an impressive cloud of ash shot out of the crater, accompanied by rapid flows of lava and mudflows, which caught up with the unfortunate people right off the coast. The townspeople probably didn’t even have time to realize that death itself had burst out to them with underground rocks. A few more emissions, and the small but beautiful settlement was buried under an impressive layer of lava, ash and mud, and the population died.

The next day, the elements and Vesuvius, who refused to let up, reached Pompeii. To imagine what was happening on its streets, it is enough to recall the painting by the Russian painter and monumentalist Karl Pavlovich Bryullov “The Last Day of Pompeii,” painted in 1830-1833. The great artist, who called on his imagination to help, reproduced the details of what happened in bright colors. The fact that the disaster was terrible is confirmed by the results of recent studies. The power of the emission of lava, ash and other components was - just think about it - 100,000 tons per second! The volcanic masses reached a fantastic height of 35 kilometers, and therefore it is not surprising that the air, having warmed up by 500 degrees, acquired enormous speed and rushed forward, literally incinerating everything around.

Vesuvius, having done its dirty deed, fell asleep, leaving no stone unturned from the settlements located at its foot. Not only Pompeii and Herculaneum, but also Stabiae were destroyed: ash and dirt completely covered them. Over time, the memory of the lost beautiful cities sank into oblivion. Seventeen centuries later, while digging a well, sculptures of ancient Roman gods were accidentally discovered. It was decided to start excavations. Upon completion, the archaeologists saw a stunning picture - as if a time machine had transported them to the era of antiquity. A seven-meter layer of volcanic ash perfectly preserved the houses of Pompeii residents, temples, an amphitheater, workshops, household items, and works of art. The innocent victims of the Vesuvius eruption were reminded of the voids in the compressed ash, which followed the contours of human bodies. They were filled with plaster, and the resulting figures, together with the found household utensils, were stored in a museum, which tourists visit with interest.

Video: Recreated eruption of Vesuvius '79

Volcanic activity of Vesuvius

After the eruption of 79 and the destruction of several cities, a huge 15-kilometer caldera was formed. Subsequent volcanic activity of Vesuvius was somewhat weaker. For example, the eruption of 1631 is well known, when ash and lava killed about 4 thousand people, but not because the emission of lava and ash was very powerful, but because of the high population density. It seems that the death of Pompeii did not teach people anything; they still settled densely in the vicinity of the formidable giant. Spewing out masses of earthly rocks from the depths, the volcano did not even “sorry” itself: its height decreased by as much as 168 meters. One day, Vesuvius shot out double crystals of pyroxenes, rock-forming silicate minerals. Visually it looked like “rain”... of small black crosses, which surprised the Neapolitans a lot.

The eruption of 1805 was even weaker than the previous ones, but again it was not without casualties and destruction. Naples was almost completely razed to the ground, and the total number of dead was an impressive figure: 26 thousand people. Vesuvius also woke up in 1794, 1822, 1872, again and again reminding people that its proximity can be very dangerous. In the early morning of April 4, 1906, a crack formed in the southwestern side of the cone, from which magma poured, the crater began to spew out ash and scatter two-ton stones, destroying everything around. And the gas release was so powerful that the top of the fire-breathing mountain fell off like a hat in the wind.

In 1944, at the very height of World War II, the last eruption of Mount Vesuvius in modern and recent history occurred. It lasted from March 12 to March 21. Numerous casualties were avoided this time: 27 people died. The molten lava field, the width and depth of which were 90 and 9 meters respectively, spread over cities such as Massa, San Sebastiano, Ario de Cavallo. It can be noted that the volcanic activity of Vesuvius is diverse and not the same in destructive power, but in all cases it is characterized by explosive outbreaks. They are so powerful that the ejected ash sometimes covers the entire south of Europe. In the 5th and 17th centuries, it even reached Constantinople, a city located a thousand kilometers from the volcano.

Vesuvius as a tourist site

Volcano Vesuvius and its surroundings are today under the protection of the Italian government, which in 1995 decided to create a national park here. Here, like nowhere else in the world, scientific life is vibrant, because this territory is of great historical and geological significance. Under special protection of the state is the old Somma cone, almost completely eaten away by time and eruptions, and the Valle del Gigante caldera formed in ancient times.

The Vesuvius National Park is home to the rarest species of animals for the Apennines: fox, oak mouse, stone marten. The number of hare and wild rabbit is high. The Mediterranean bushes are inhabited by birds, of which there are over a hundred species. Of particular interest to both the workers of the volcanic station and numerous tourists is, of course, the crater of the legendary volcano, which is surrounded by Naples and the famous historical cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Such close proximity to a fire-breathing celebrity sometimes seems like a dream; many travelers cannot even believe that they are seeing a “living” Vesuvius, and they jokingly ask to be pinched.

The volcano, however, is truly alive - in the most literal sense of the word, as far as it is applicable to such natural objects. A haze of sulfur compounds constantly lingers over its crater. If you come closer, you can feel the hot soil under your feet. Periodically, fresh lava flows, a mixture of various gases and water vapor, burst out from the depths of Vesuvius. Their temperature can reach 400°C.

The real test during the tourist season is the scorching sun, from which there is simply nowhere to hide. Walking along the path to the top is hampered by dust and sharp stones underfoot, which try to get into your shoes. The only salvation for pilgrims can be said to be the benches installed along the path, especially for people who are not accustomed to such loads.

Opening hours, how to get there

Vesuvius National Park operates according to a schedule that is adjusted in different months. In March and October you can visit here from 9:00 to 16:00, in April, May-June and September - until 17:00. During peak season (July-August), excursion times are extended by another hour. From November to February, the stay time, on the contrary, is reduced - to 15:00. The ticket offices, located in Ercolano, a commune in the province of Naples, are open almost all year round, with the exception of days when the volcano becomes more active, which poses a potential danger.

You can get there from Naples by taking the train that departs daily towards Vesuvius from the main train station, which is located in Piazza Garibaldi. Travel time will take 9-16 minutes, the final stop is Ercolano Scavi station. Then transfer to a minibus and in half an hour you are already on the territory of the national park. If you don't catch the train, don't be upset and wait for the next train, which will arrive very quickly.

There is also a bus service from Naples to Vesuvius, which departs daily at 9:00 and 10:15 from Piazza Piedigrotta, travel time is 1 hour 30 minutes. The return flight departs at 12:30 and 14:00. Buses to the Vesuvius volcano, starting from 8:00 to 11:20, also depart from Pompeii, from the Amphitheater Square. They make several stops along the journey, which lasts approximately 60 minutes.

If you have free time, be sure to check out the souvenir shops located near the ticket office. Here you can have a little snack and recuperate after a difficult, but such a bright and memorable journey to the most famous volcano on the planet - Vesuvius.

On August 24, 79, a powerful eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed the city of Pompeii and several other settlements nearby. The unexpected death of the ancient Roman city, which never recovered from its destruction, later became a popular story in European culture. Buried under the ashes of Vesuvius, the city became a unique symbol of the cruel power of nature. But Pompeii was not the only city to perish in history. Life found out which other cities, for one reason or another, shared the fate of the ancient Roman one.

Although Pompeii became the most famous lost city in European culture, two more Roman cities, Stabiae and Herculaneum, were buried with it under a layer of volcanic ash and flows of hot lava.

Pompeii at the time of the disaster was quite a large city, its population was about 20 thousand people. It was a fairly prosperous city due to the fact that it was located at the intersection of the trade route connecting the southern regions of Italy with Rome. In this regard, the city had many magnificent houses decorated with frescoes and statues. In addition, the city had several villas of noble and wealthy residents of Rome.

In 62, an earthquake occurred in the city, but then the destroyed buildings were quickly restored. On August 24, 79, Vesuvius began to erupt. Of course, the city did not perish in one second. First, the volcano ejected a huge cloud of ash. This became a kind of warning to the townspeople. Most of them, fearing continuation, left the city. Only those who underestimated the danger remained, or for some other reason were unable to escape from the city, or hesitated too long and tried to escape in the last minutes, when it was too late (later, during excavations, the corpses of the dead were found outside the city gates, they were probably those who decided to flee at the last second).

The eruption lasted about a day before pyroclastic flows covered the city, completely destroying it. But even before that, many died due to gas poisoning or suffocation from ash. Nevertheless, most of the residents escaped; it is assumed that about two thousand city residents died as a result of the eruption.

The small town of Stabiae, destroyed along with Pompeii, was not so much a city as an elite settlement of wealthy patricians, where they had their villas. This town was something of a modern resort for wealthy Romans, its population was insignificant.

The third city that died, Herculaneum, was significantly smaller than Pompeii in size; there were about 4 thousand inhabitants, most of whom also managed to flee.

Excavations of the lost cities began only in the 18th century and were initially carried out by wealthy aristocratic enthusiasts or hunters for ancient treasures. Despite the fact that the cities were destroyed, lava and ash preserved the city in its original form, and as a result of excavations, archaeologists received a wealth of material on Roman culture. In fact, these lost cities are the most fully preserved cities of the Roman Empire. Not only the buildings remained intact, but also the frescoes and decorations inside them. The discovery of Pompeii led to a widespread fascination with Roman history in Europe. Currently, about 80% of the area of ​​Pompeii and most of Herculaneum have been excavated.

As for the residents of these cities, most of whom survived, they did not return to their original place, preferring to settle in other cities.

One of the largest cities of the Golden Horde. The famous traveler Marco Polo mentioned it in his works. It was also mentioned in other medieval chronicles, as well as in essays by Arab travelers. The city existed approximately from the middle of the 13th century, when the Mongol invasion of Rus' took place. After some time, Uvek lost its importance to other larger cities of the Horde, although it continued to be an important center for some time.

According to the most popular hypothesis, during the invasion of Tamerlane, who destroyed many Golden Horde cities (XIV century), Uvek was destroyed and the few surviving inhabitants left it. Later, a Russian settlement arose not far from the city, which eventually turned into the city of Saratov. It is known that even in the 18th century, the ruins of Uvek were preserved, but with the expansion of Saratov, local residents stole the remaining buildings for building materials, and already in the 19th century, nothing remained of the large Golden Horde settlement that once existed there.

Currently, the settlement is built up with residential buildings and is geographically part of Saratov.

The most famous city of the lost Aztec Empire. It was founded in the 14th century and existed for about 200 years. According to some researchers, at the time of its death it was one of the largest cities on the entire planet. In part, it resembled modern Venice, since many buildings were on the water, and inside the city there were many reservoirs, canals and dams. In addition, local residents mastered the art of creating floating islands on which maize was grown.

The Aztec Empire was at its peak when the Spanish landed in the new world. In 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes reached the Aztec capital. Initially, he and his men were received very well, but after Cortez moved on, leaving part of the detachment in the city, the Aztecs rebelled against them and the Spaniards had to flee the city fighting. After this, Cortez decided to begin his conquest.

Of course, he could never have conquered a perfectly fortified and huge city with his small detachment, but the Aztecs themselves were a very warlike tribe that enslaved many less fortunate tribes and had quite strong enemies, and it was among them that he found his allies.

The participation of Cortez's Indian allies in the assault on Tenochtitlan in 1521 was much more significant than the Spaniards themselves. The siege of the city lasted several months, and after repeated attempts to storm it, they managed to capture the city, which was then destroyed to the ground, and most of the population exterminated.

On the site of the fallen city, Cortez proclaimed the creation of a new city, called Mexico City. But it was already a colonial city, built on a European model and had nothing in common with Tenochtitlan and its complex system of canals, drains and dams. In gratitude for their help in conquering the Aztecs, the Tlaxcaltec tribe, which gave Cortez more than 100 thousand warriors, was not only allowed to share the spoils, but actually retained its independence and even had many privileges in America colonized by the Spaniards.

One of the oldest cities on the territory of modern Croatia died twice. It was known back in ancient times; during the Roman Empire, Dvigrad flourished due to its advantageous location right on the trade route to Istria. However, with the collapse of the empire, the city fell into decay, and the population either left or died from numerous malaria epidemics. Later, the city was repopulated, now by Croats.

Starting from the 14th century, it was almost continuously at the epicenter of the confrontation with the Venetian Republic and was constantly subject to sieges and attacks. After the city was subjugated to the trading republic, it began to prosper again thanks to the same trade routes. The wealth of the city began to attract pirates of the Adriatic to it, in addition, other European powers began to look at the city. In addition to everything, several epidemics of plague and malaria swept through it, almost completely wiping out the local population.

By the middle of the 17th century, most of the population either died in wars, or died from epidemics, or fled away from the “golden curse” of the city. By this time, only a few dozen of the poorest residents remained there. By the beginning of the 18th century, the city became completely uninhabited.

Nowadays, tourists are taken to the once prosperous city to show them the overgrown ruins remaining from the city's former grandeur and wealth.

Once the center of British influence in the Caribbean and its main outpost. The city was originally built by the Spaniards, but in the mid-17th century it was recaptured by the British and became the capital of the Jamaican colony. The city was important due to a number of strategic advantages that it provided to its owners, over time it became the main base of the British fleet in the Caribbean, as well as one of the main Caribbean centers of trade.

In addition, the city was secretly considered a pirate capital, since it was a base for many British pirates who plundered Spanish possessions and ships with the permission of the crown.

However, the city's prosperity was soon interrupted by the elements. In 1692, it was completely destroyed by a strong earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. Almost all the city's residents died. The British were forced to move the capital to the small settlement of Kingston.

Port Royal began to be rebuilt, but in 1703 there was a strong fire in the city and it almost completely burned to the ground. The surviving residents again began to rebuild the city, but after some time a typhoon hit it, and then another fire. Probably, the British considered such a number of misfortunes to be a manifestation of the wrath of higher powers and abandoned attempts to restore the city. The surviving population left the city and scattered to other colonial settlements.

A modern city destroyed as a result of the Syrian-Israeli war. After the Six-Day War of 1967, the city went to Israel, but during the Yom Kippur War, 6 years later it was captured by Syrian troops. The city was directly in the path of the Syrian advance and was occupied by them. During the conflict, both sides launched artillery strikes on the city and also subjected it to massive air bombing.

Under the terms of the peace treaty, Quneitra was transferred by Israel to Syria and remains Syrian territory to this day. However, since then the city, whose population before the war was just under 20 thousand people, has not been restored and populated. Both sides blame each other for the destruction of the city: Israel claims that the city was destroyed during the Syrian offensive and is now being deliberately not restored for propaganda reasons. Syria claims the city was destroyed by an Israeli offensive.

Before the start of the civil war in Syria, tourist tours to the city were quite common, although this required special permission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. There are still a large number of mines in the city and its surroundings.

A city from the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. Before the collapse of the USSR and the outbreak of events in Nagorno-Karabakh, there were almost 30 thousand people in the city. In late Soviet times, the city was known throughout the country thanks to the bread museum there, as well as the cheap Agdam port wine produced there, which in its popularity among drinkers seriously competed with the legendary 777.

After the start of the Karabakh War, the front line ran through the city. Almost the entire population managed to leave the city, which became the scene of fierce battles, even before they began. The battles for the city lasted a month and a half and finally ended in victory for the Armenian side. But during the fighting, the city was practically wiped off the face of the earth; only the famous Agdam mosque, built in the 19th century, more or less survived.

After the war, Agdam was controlled by the Karabakh armed forces. The old population did not return to the city, and for the new one they did not find money to restore the entire city, especially since many other cities also needed restoration. As a result, Agdam has remained a ghost town for more than 20 years, in which no one lives. People from surrounding settlements sometimes come there, dismantling destroyed buildings for construction materials.

Another British city destroyed by the elements. The small island of Montserrat in the Caribbean has become famous throughout the world for its industrial lime cultivation (which first began there) and the production of lime juice. The capital of Montserrat was the settlement of Plymouth. This continued until the very end of the century, when the Soufriere Hills volcano, located in the southern part of the island, which had been dormant since the 17th century, suddenly woke up. Since the summer of 1995, a series of volcanic eruptions have occurred on the island. The entire population of the island was evacuated in advance, but soon returned.

Two years later, a new series of eruptions occurred, this time killing several people, despite the evacuation. Pyroclastic flows and volcanic ash practically wiped the city off the face of the earth; 3/4 of the buildings in Plymouth were destroyed.

Due to the too expensive and troublesome clearing of the city, it was decided not to return the residents here, and the administration of the island moved to another settlement. Part of the island was closed to visitors, and most of the island's population fled.

A Russian city on Sakhalin, completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1995. The town originally appeared as a settlement for oil workers. Due to this temporary status, construction rules in an earthquake-prone region were not followed during the construction of five-story panel buildings there, in which oil workers settled.

On May 28, 1995, an earthquake occurred, which in terms of its power became the strongest in Russia over the past hundred years. It was reported that at the epicenter the force of the tremors reached 8 points. Neftegorsk, which was closest to all other settlements to the epicenter of the earthquake, took the main blow.

The five-story buildings built in the city were designed for a shock force of no more than 6 points and, naturally, could not withstand the pressure of the elements. The situation was significantly aggravated by the fact that the earthquake occurred at night, which led to large casualties. Those who were able to survive were mainly those who did not sleep or woke up at the very beginning of the tremors; they managed to run out of their apartments onto the street before the buildings collapsed. Also, residents of the upper floors had a greater chance of surviving: after the collapse of the houses, they were higher and rescuers managed to remove them from the rubble and provide assistance in time.

Of the three thousand residents of the city, 2 thousand died. The city was completely wiped off the face of the earth. As a result, it was decided not to restore it in its original location. Currently, on the site of the city of Neftegorsk there is a memorial complex in memory of the terrible tragedy.