Kansas City Business Daily

Why was the destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii a benifit to us?

Why was the destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii a benifit to us? My history teacher keeps asking that. I think i should know the answer soon just incase he picks on me. i just dont understand why its benificial.. didnt the eruption of mt. vesuvius occur around 79AD? plz help!

Public Comments

1. They were wiped off the map so we didn't have to deal with em.
2. We learne about the peopl who are fossilised there and also we learned aout the deviatatio that thoe two volacnoes might make again... after all they aren't dorment
3. the eruption in 79 ad was important because it was different than a normal eruption. they have calculated that vesuvius blew 10,000 tons of matter per second. the thing is the matter was comprised of molten rock, steam and gas which solidifyed in the atmosphere and rained down. they people had plenty of time to get away but didn't and were buried by the ash. the bodies dissolved all but the bones and left perfect hollow molds in the ash. an archaologist poured plaster in the molds and had complete casts of the people who died inside. this is the only recorded occurance of this. Vesuvius erupts about every 400 years but not on the scale as was in 79 ad
4. The destruction of Herculanaeum and Pompeii is beneficial in its historical as well as archeological value to us today. The cities were preserved under the volcanic ash. What was left for us today leaves us a perfect example of how the Romans lived, worked and such in that time period. The Romans usually burned their dead so archeologically speaking the remains of the people buried in the ash give us clues about them. I'm not sure if was the Discovery Channel, National Geographic or The History Channel, but there was an excellent recounting of the events of 79AD. Many thought for example for the longest time that the people of Herculaneum had enough time to escape, but many didn't. About 250 skeletons were found in boat houses on the beach near Herculaneum. They were victims of a Pyroclastic flow that covered the entire city. If you're interested in reading an actual account from an eye witness of the time, you can go to the library and ask for help in finding books written by Tacitus or Pliny the Younger. Pliny wrote a letter to Tacitus describing the events.