The Doomed City
By Jayden L., Age 11
Do you know about the tale of Pompeii? Pompeii as a vacation city situated by the coast of the old Roman Empire. Today, many people continue to explore the city, which is still standing in a way. Mind-blowingly, the city is still standing because of the event that preserved it. In 79 AD, a nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, which many thought to be dormant, erupted, spewing over a million tons of ash and lava onto the cities below. In almost one hour, Pompeii had vanished from the face of the earth, about which no one realized.
Like most popular tourist attractions of today, the city of Pompeii was a flourishing town that attracted many people hoping to spend their breaks in the peace and quiet of a beach. Back then, Pompeii was like many other Roman cities; there was a large, open forum around which the entire city was built. Pompeii contained many stadiums, resorts, tall columns, and government buildings. Aqueducts, an ingenious invention of the time, rapidly carried water to Pompeii whilst ships brought food and products over from other countries. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, even popular tourist attractions.
Mount Vesuvius, a supposedly calm volcano, which loomed over the city of Pompeii was believed, ironically, to be harmless, Unfortunately, this belief led to their imminent downfall. In the early afternoon hours of a day in AD 79, Pompeii experienced small earthquakes that the citizens blatantly ignored because of how much they believed in the false fact of a dormant volcano. In the volcano, however, lava was rising from the depths of the earth, creating pressure that caused a small boulder in the center of the volcano to form and bulge pregnantly. Later, Vesuvius would burst. As the time approached midnight, a cloud of deadly gasses and ash burst from the volcano. Some pieces of ash reached ten miles into the air while other sections tumbled down the volcano’s sides, moving at up to one hundred kilometers per hour. Most people woke up to the ear splittingly loud rumbling sound coming from the mouth of the volcano. Panic and shouts were in the air as were the deadly gasses and ash. Most people hadn’t expected for such a volcano to erupt after nearly 1800 years of dormancy. Then, the volcano really exploded. Lava and even more ash pummeled the poor citizens of the city. Obviously, people were terrified and petrified out of their wits. Still most immediately turned tail and ran, full tilt, to the safety of surrounding mountains. Surprisingly, however, some stayed, curious about what was happening. Soon ash and lava were the only existing occupying citizens of the poor city. Everyone who had survived in the mountains knew to not believe that a big, steaming, smoking volcano was harmless.
Pompeii stands today as a vast park, offering a one-of-a-kind example of a bustling ancient Roman city. Pompeii’s streets, homes, and buildings offer a look at life in the Roman Empire. Over two million visitors explore Pompeii each year, walking the same streets as its people. Today, Pompeii stands boldly as an example of the past, preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
The once-thriving Roman city of Pompeii froze in time on the fateful day in 79 AD. Mount Vesuvius, considered harmless, erupted with devastating force. The eruption buried Pompeii. It also preserved a remarkable snapshot of daily life in the Roman Empire which has taught us tons of information from ancient times. Today, Pompeii stands as a reminder of the force of nature and the Roman city that froze in time.