Vesuvius

vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of
Italy, is the only active volcano on
mainland Europe. It is best known
because of the eruption in A.D. 79
that destroyed the cities of Pompeii
and Herculaneum. Mount Vesuvius is
considered to be one of the most
dangerous volcanoes in the world
due to the large population of the
city of Naples and the surrounding
 Facts:
The city and peopleof Pompeii did not know that Vesuvius
was a volcano, as it hadnt erupted in 1,800 years

Before the eruption of 79 AD there was not even a word

for Volcano, which was created afterwards. Volcano
derives from the word Vulcan - the Roman God of the
Flame and Metal Forgery.

At a height of 1,281 metres high and estimated age of

17,000 years it's said that Mount Vesuvius has erupted
over 50 times.
 Mount Vesuvius erupted six times in the 18th century,
eight times in the 19th century and in 1906, 1929 and
1944. There has been no eruption since 1944!!!

The last eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred in 1944,

during the height of the Second World War, destroying
U.S. bomber planesstationed a few kilometres away. A
long period of calm usually means an eruption may
happen soon.
The people and buildings of Pompeii were covered in
up to twelve different layers oftephra, in total 25
meters deep
 About 2,000 peoplewere dead. Some people drifted back to town in
search of lost relatives or belongings, but there was not much left to find.
Pompeii was buried under millions of tons of volcanic ash. The city was abandoned
for centuries.
 In 1860 an archaeologist called Giuseppe Fiorelli (18231896)
was appointed to supervise the excavation of Pompeii. He
made sure that proper scientific records were made of
Pompeiis ruins.
 Theatre of Pompeii
 Egyptian Pyramids
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/the-
egyptian-pyramids
the pyramid was a royaltomband considered the
place of ascent for the spirit of the deceasedpharaoh.
From the top point of the pyramid, it was thought, the
soul would travel to the after-life of the Field of Reeds
 The dry desert heat worked to
keep the Pharaohs's body and
his belongings from
decomposing and rotting away.
 The reason they built the pyramids next to the Nile
River was so it would be easier to get the blocks to
the pyramid. The stones could be bought nearer to
the pyramid building site by boat. Also, the
pyramids are situated there because that is where
the sun sets every evening, symbolising the realm of
the dead.
 Egyptians paid vast amounts of money to have their
bodies properly preserved. Egyptians who were poor
were buried in the sand whilst the rich ones were
buried in a tomb.
 Ancient Egyptians were buried with their
belongings and the tomb walls were painted with
scenes from the dead persons life.

By examining the objects (artifacts) and paintings

in the tombs, we have been able to understand a
lot more about life in Ancient Egypt.
 mummification
1. The body was washed and purified.

2. Organs were removed. Only the heart remained.

3. The body was filled with stuffing.

4. The body was dried by covering it with a substance called natron*.

This substance absorbed all the moisture from the body.

5. After 40 - 50 days the stuffing was removed and replaced with linen
or sawdust.

6. The body was wrapped in strands of linen and covered in a sheet

called a shroud.

7. The body was placed in a stone coffin called a sarcophagus.

Over one millionanimal mummieshave been found in Egypt

it took about 70 days to

embalm a body. The pries