Around 1:00 P. M. one day in 79 A. D., Mount Vesuvius suddenly erupted. (The date was long thought to be August 24, but scientists now think it was probably October 24.) Within a few hours the entire city of Pompeii was covered with ashes. Volcanic matter continued to blanket the city for three days. When it stopped fifteen to twenty feet of ashes covered Pompeii.
Artifacts and people were encased in the ash. Two thousand people died. The town remained buried for almost 1,700 years, until it was rediscovered in the 1700s. Archaeologists uncovered the city. They discovered the town in almost the same condition as it had been years ago.
By studying the remains of Pompeii, archaeologists have learned a lot about the way the Romans lived.
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