When was pompeii destroyed by a volcano

According to the new study, this supports the idea that extreme heat could have destroyed certain muscles faster than they could contract. Jaskulska says that some independent forensic evidence supports the idea that red blood cell destruction can cause this sort of bone staining. This heat is comparable to what victims would have experienced in Herculaneum. This seems odd to her, considering that there are far more soft tissues to vaporize on legs than on arms.

Jaskulska also expected that if these tissues disappeared due to sudden heat, the damage to the bones would be much more intense than it appears. Even if heat-driven hemoglobin breakdown did occur, the pyroclastic surges might have caused the damage after the people had already died of asphyxiation or other causes. Modern analogs may shed some light on the debate. Janine Krippner , a volcanologist at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, points out that pyroclastic flows and surges still happen today, and they are not always a guarantee of a quick, painless demise.

The outcome depends on how fast, hot, ashy, and gassy the currents are, among other things. If it is diluted enough, you might even be able to survive the severe heat-related trauma. All rights reserved. Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars.

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Go Further. Animals Climate change is shrinking many Amazonian birds. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Since then, excavations have gone on nearly without interruption until the present. In , the Italian government resumed the excavation of Herculaneum, retrieving numerous art treasures, including bronze and marble statues and paintings.

The remains of 2, men, women, and children were found at Pompeii. After perishing from asphyxiation, their bodies were covered with ash that hardened and preserved the outline of their bodies.

Later, their bodies decomposed to skeletal remains, leaving a kind of plaster mold behind. Archaeologists who found these molds filled the hollows with plaster, revealing in grim detail the death pose of the victims of Vesuvius. The rest of the city is likewise frozen in time, and ordinary objects that tell the story of everyday life in Pompeii are as valuable to archaeologists as the great unearthed statues and frescoes.

It was not until that the first human remains were found at Herculaneum, and these hundreds of skeletons bear ghastly burn marks that testifies to horrifying deaths. Today, Mount Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the European mainland. Its last eruption was in and its last major eruption was in But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!

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Volcanic ash long protected Pompeii, but much of it has now been exposed to the elements for many years. The combined wear of weather, pollution, and tourists has created a real danger of losing much of what was luckily found preserved. Over his 13 seasons at Pompeii, Devore has witnessed great improvements in conservation and preservation of the priceless site. So it's incredibly important that we record in great detail, with the ability to recreate what we've taken away afterward.

That's how we're part of the conservation of Pompeii. A person standing in the doorway of the Monastery at Petra, Jordan, shows the enormity of the ancient building's entrance. Carved into the sandstone hill by the Nabataeans in the second century A. All rights reserved. Preserving Pompeii's Past for the Future Even after hundreds of years of work, about a third of the city still lies buried.

Today's great challenge is preservation of what has been uncovered. Yet Devore is hopeful for Pompeii's future. Petra, Jordan A person standing in the doorway of the Monastery at Petra, Jordan, shows the enormity of the ancient building's entrance. Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants.

This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars. India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big Grassroots efforts are bringing solar panels to rural villages without electricity, while massive solar arrays are being built across the country.