THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII

We chart the terrifying events of AD 79 that saw Pompeii transformed from a bustling Roman city into an ash-covered hellscape of death and destruction...

- NIGE TASSELL

FOUR DAYS BEFORE ERUPTION

11:00

Minor earth tremors gently shake Pompeii, but not enough for any of its citizens to stop going about their day-today business in this bustling, prosperous city. Minor earthquakes are common here in the region of Campania; the residents barely notice. The collective opinion is that there's nothing untoward about this morning's seismic activity.

This is despite the enormous and devastating earthquake that hit Pompeii in living memory. In AD 62 (sometimes recorded as AD 63), the city was severely damaged and a tenth of its 20,000-strong population killed. Almost all of its adult population will have lost at least one loved one or friend in that giant quake, but an air of possible complacency pervades its rebuilt streets. The markets are busy, the trade is brisk. Everything appears to be normal.

FIRST DAY OF ERUPTION

10:00

Those minor tremors are still being felt across Pompeii, and have been for the last four days. Yet its citizens still appear to be unconcerned. No one is heeding what will later be interpreted as warning signs. The markets are still busy, the trade is still brisk. It's another typical morning without note. But then comes lunchtime...

13:00

Shortly after noon, as residents are stopping to refuel, Mount Vesuvius roars into life. Inside the mountain, the pressure caused by molten rock the origin of the tremors felt over the past few days - has grown to such a point that there's no way back. It has to escape, and so Vesuvius erupts