Pompeii was truly a fascinating city to visit!!! 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.