Eruption of 79 A.D.

In 1748 scientists discovered a city that lay buried for almost 1,700 years! This city was called Pompeii. It was destroyed in only 19 hours by Mt. Vesuvius's most famous eruption in 79 A.D. Pompeii was covered in 9 feet of volcanic ash. This city is so popular because the ash and pumice kept the city well preserved. So this is like a window to the past for scientists. Mt. Vesuvius took the lives of 20,000 people living in Pompeii. Pompeii's sister country was also ruined.