A Great Tragedy that Led to Archaeological Discoveries
Vesuvius’ lava did not reach Pompeii or Herculaneum. However, it sent heat waves of more than 550 degrees Fahrenheit into those towns. It turned them into ovens, and killed any who had not already suffocated from the fine ash. About 1500 bodies were found in Pompeii and Herculaneum when they were unearthed centuries later. That was from just a small area impacted by the volcano’s eruption. If we extrapolate to entire region, total casualties are estimated to have been in the tens of thousands.
The towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, whose populations at the time numbered about 20,000, were buried beneath up to twenty feet of volcanic ash and pumice. Tragic and terrifying as that was, the ash deposits did a remarkably effective job of preserving those towns nearly entire. In 1738, laborers digging foundations for a palace rediscovered Herculaneum. Further excavations unearthed Pompeii in 1748. The archaeological finds afforded historians an unrivaled snapshot of first century AD Roman architecture, city planning, urban infrastructure, and town life in general.