4Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius, Italy

On August 24, 79 A.D., Mt. Vesuvius erupted burying the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and its citizens beneath a thick carpet of ash, pumice and other volcanic debris.

As the soft tissues of the citizen’s bodies decayed throughout the ensuing centuries, a hollow shell was left in the hardened ash that preserved their final postures. When archaeologists excavated the site in 1864, they poured plaster into these hollow pockets. As they chipped off the outer layers of the hardened ash, detailed plaster casts of the bodies at their moment of death were revealed. Visiting the archaeological site of Pompeii today, you can see these plaster casts for yourself and get an idea of the sheer power of this natural disaster.

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