Pompeii
In A.D. 62 a terrible earthquake left Pompeii
devastated. Those who survived this first disaster were rebuilding
and in the process of completing its temples when the second and
final disaster hit. . . the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
In A.D. 79, shortly after midday, flames from the volcano shot into
the sky, and an immense black cloud covered the sun. For three days,
volcanic matter, lapilli and red-hot scoriae rained down on Pompeii
making a blanket fifteen to twenty feet deep over
the
entire area. Artifacts and people were basically encased in the ash
as it cooled. The survivors who may have first escaped the eruption
were soon killed by a poisonous gas.