In a short time, the sun was hidden by the ash and smoke from themountain. It was as dark as night in Pompeii. Ash and rocks began to fall fromthe sky. Some of the rocks were very small, but some were the size of tennisballs. People ran screaming through the streets. In the marketplace, bakersforgot about their bread. Farmers forgot about their vegetables. Even thegladiators in the stadium dropped their weapons and ran. Everyone was terrified. Rich people ran to get their jewelry and gold.Religious people called to the gods for help. As the people ran, hot ash fell onthem. It stuck in peoples throats and got in their eyes. Their clothes were sooncovered with ash. The rocks fell on their heads. Some people tied cushions totheir heads to protect themselves. The air became so thick with ash and smoke that people couldnt breathe.The ash soon filled the streets and piled up on roofs. The weight of the ashand rocks caused houses to fall in. The town was quickly disappearing under ablanket of gray ash. Some people ran to the seaside and tried to get into boats.The sea was wild. Huge waves crashed onto the beach. Still, some familieswere able to escape that way. Other people ran into the countryside, awayfrom the mountain.
In the end, most of the people about 20,000 got away from Pompeiiin time. But about 2,000 people didnt get away. They were buried under theashes. In less than two days, the whole ci~ was buried under about 15-25 feet（4.5-6 meters） of ashes. Then it rained, and the ashes became hard as rock.
Across the bay from Pompeii was another small city. The people who livedthere saw everything. They saw the mountain explode and a black cloud coverPompeii. They saw people trying to escape by water or by land. They talkedto the people who arrived by boat. A boy named Pliny was there. He watchedand listened to everything. When he grew up, he became a writer and hewrote about what happened to Pompeii.
Many years later, new houses were built on top of the old ones in Pompeii.People forgot what had happened to the old Roman city. For the next 1,800years, it lay underground. Then, in the 19th century, scientists discoveredsome of Plinys writing. They read his story about Pompeii and they wonderedwhere it was. One day, some workers were digging a tunnel for water. They found pieces of an old wall underground. Some years later, other people found more walls and buildings. Then they found a stone with writing on it. On the stone was the name of the city-Pompeii.
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