Relief of masks in Pompeii
After volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Pompeii was buried in up to six meters of ash. Wealthy and thriving Roman city disappeared from the face of Earth in a matter of hours. With it numerous lives were lost as well as homes, public places, artifacts used in everyday life, sculptures, artwork, even the food Romans ate at the time was buried and forgotten for around 1,500 years.
Since 16. century and rediscovery of Pompeii, artifacts like featured relief of masks, were being unearthed from a perfectly preserved tomb of volcanic ash, along with the long lost city of Pompeii.
Mount Vesuvius volcano is located 200km south of Rome, in the Gulf of Naples, on the coast of Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. Volcano is close to the sea and in the vicinity of the volcano lay streets of unearthed Pompeii.
Major eruption of Mount Vesuvius happens once a century. Large eruption in 20th ct. happened during the WWII. At the time, on a near by positions were stationed American army soldiers who in 1944 recorded the video of that volcanic eruption and some of the destruction caused by the lava flow.