It was once the most luxurious place in ancient Rome

More than 2,000 years ago, on the shore of the Mediterranean, Pompeii was a bustling city during the height of the Roman Empire. Pompeii has about 20,000 inhabitants and is famous for its olive oil and grape products.

Less than 10 km from the city is the majestic volcano Vesuvius. Eruptions created soil from ash and lava. According to scientists, the soil layer in the Bay of Naples area deposited by the Vesuvius volcano is rich in nutrients Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium that are good for plants. Pompeii thus also benefited from the volcano Vesuvius.

The city of Pompeii was rich thanks to the Salno River, fertile land, fertile fields, and vineyards occupying the entire slopes of Mount Vesuvius. At that time, people in this coastal area considered Pompeii a center for exchange and transshipment of goods. By the second century BC, Pompeii became an important market for trade in the coastal region.

The most important factor that created the wealth of the Pompeiians when trading with outside countries was not the goods, but the poor slave citizens. They had to do very hard labor, entertain themselves in the arena and were bitten by wild beasts in front of the excitement of tens of thousands of people screaming in the stands.

Rich people even used newly killed slaves to raise eels because they thought the eel meat would taste fresher.

Disappeared from the map in the blink of an eye

The prosperous city of Pompeii, facing Italy’s calm sea of Naples, was suddenly destroyed when it suffered the “fury” of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The volcano Vesuvius erupted with lava that “swallowed up the city in just a short time.”

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius created a cloud of rocks, ash and volcanic gases up to 33 km high along with a huge amount of lava that covered the city of Pompeii and surrounding cities.

At that time, high-temperature toxic gas began to approach the city and quickly spread everywhere. Worse, the lava flows also began to move in very quickly.

According to estimates, Mount Vesuvius spewed out up to 1.5 million tons of lava every second. The lava flow flowing from the mountainside reaches a speed of up to 724 km/h and has a temperature of nearly 1,000 degrees Celsius.

The main reason why many people in Pompeii were unaware of the danger was because Vesuvius had not erupted in 1,800 years. They did not expect that the volcano Vesuvius, thought to be “dead” nearby, would still silently grow its anger and one day deal a terrible blow to Pompeii.

In just one night, at least more than 2,000 Pompeii residents disappeared when Mount Vesuvius erupted.

According to many theories, including a folk theory that believes that people in the city have committed too many crimes, that’s why the gods want to use the red-hot lava flow to awaken and teach a lesson. teach the people here.

After the horrifying disaster known as the “Prelude to the Apocalypse”, the ruins of Pompeii were forgotten until it was discovered by archaeologists in 1738.

Revealing the mystery after nearly 2 millennia

An estimated 2,000 people died in the ancient Roman city, not from being buried under lava but from being suffocated by ash and gas. Ultimately, volcanic materials helped preserve their bodies for nearly 2,000 years.

Research by experts from the Department of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences at the University of Bari, in conjunction with the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, revealed Fast-moving streams of pyroclastic debris, lava flows, volcanic ash, and extremely hot gases hit Pompeii just minutes after the volcano erupted.

The deadly ash is hotter than 100 degrees Celsius, consisting of CO2, chloride, incandescent ash particles and volcanic glass. The pressure of the terrible heat caused the body to stop working almost immediately. Therefore, no one had time to react to defend themselves or show pain.

However, scientists discovered that lava dust is the main factor pushing the number of deaths to its peak.

One of the country’s most famous landmarks is shaped like a boot

Today, Pompeii is a famous monument near the Italian city of Naples, attracting about 3 million visitors each year. In 1997, Pompeii was recognized as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The historical value of Pompeii with its treasure of human knowledge is undeniable. That is the main reason to attract millions of tourists to the relic site to visit.

With many buildings and houses in Pompeii remaining intact after thousands of years of being buried under volcanic ruins, it has become even more attractive to many people around the world who come here to explore and learn about history. The city’s history as well as that of the ancient Roman empire.

Destinations that make Pompeii attractive include the arena built in 70 BC. As stated previously, this is the oldest Roman arena in history and an indispensable cultural symbol of the Roman empire in general and of Pompeii in particular.

In addition, the splendor and splendor of Pomeii is also fully utilized to attract tourists every year. One of the symbols of wealth in Pompeii is the Villa Vettii.

The reason it is named like this is because the house was probably once owned by the Vettii brothers. According to the BBC, the hypothesis is that these are wine merchants in the city, thanks to which they are extremely wealthy.