Which cities did vesuvius bury?

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I know that that Pompeii was buried, but was it also partially destroyed or just fully buried?
Was herculaneum and stabiae fully destroyed? Or are them some parts left buried?

[Dick]

Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash. While it would have been hot, I don't think that it was hot enough to start fires. I was there this past summer, and don't recall seeing anything that looked burned.

Herculaneum and Stabiae were hit with pyroclastic flows which would normally start fires, howere, it appears that the ensuing ash cover prevented wide-spread fire.


Destruction of Herculaneum

Herculaneum’s prosperity was abruptly ended by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD. Its destruction was very different to Pompeii. The city was not much affected by the eruption initially, suffering only a light sprinkling of ash. Then at midnight of the 24th August, the activity of the eruption changed. The first of six pyroclastic surges of hot gases and flows left the volcano and headed to Herculaneum.

The pryroclastic blast hit the city within four minutes. The velocity of the cloud of hot gases was so great, it lifted statues from their pedestals, leaving their shattered remains some distance away. It also toppled the portico of the palestra and lifted tiles of roofs. The surge was so hot it carbonised wood in the city and caused the sea to boil when it reached the water front. It also asphyxiated the inhabitants.

The city was then covered with 20m of ash that mixed with water to form mudslides. This covered the town to a depth of 20m and slide into the harbour, extending the coastline. The mudslides hardened to form a tufa rock which encased and preserved Herculaneum until its rediscover centuries later.

Read more at Suite101: The History of Herculaneum | Suite101 http://suite101.com/article/the-history-...z2El9W9YfP
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