It’s a bustling day in Pompeii. Fabia visits the Temple of Venus and offers a sacrificial dove to the goddess, asking her to bless her brother’s upcoming wedding. After a quick visit to the market, she spots her brothers, Lucius and Marcus, crossing the Forum. They’re off to relax at the public baths. Marcus spent the morning helping a master  craftsman lay a grand mosaic floor while Lucius worked in the brickyard. It’s been 17 years since an earthquake hit Pompeii and its neighbor Herculaneum, and there’s still construction and repair work to do. Fabia and her brothers discuss the recent  tremors everyone’s been feeling. Lucius jokes that there’ll always be work  for men who rebuild walls in Pompeii. He tells them how eager he is to bind hands with his sponsa, or bride-to-be. The siblings begin discussing  tomorrow’s wedding— but a deafening boom interrupts them. They watch Vesuvius spew smoke, ash,  and rock high into the air— and realize they've been living in the shadow of a volcano. They embrace and pray to Venus  for protection and Vulcan for mercy. Each must now choose how to survive. They have three options:  seek shelter, escape to the south on foot, or flee to the west by sea. Lucius rushes home  but can’t find his sponsa. He decides to wait for her  and lights an oil lamp. Ash and pumice begin raining over Pompeii. Fabia shelters with her husband, Claudius, and their daughters. But after a few hours, their roof groans  under the weight of volcanic debris, and they realize they can't stay. They decide to travel southeast, away from the volcano. The family joins swarms of people wading through hot ash on the cardo maximus and begins navigating towards  one of Pompeii’s southern gates. Marcus finally reaches his home  in Herculaneum and gathers his wife and children. They decide to escape by sea. But as they approach the docks, they discover waves brimming  with volcanic matter, making it impossible for boats  to navigate close enough to shore. Trying to keep calm for their children, they huddle underneath covered boat docks. Now, the deadliest phase  of the disaster begins. At this point, the force throwing  the volcanic material, or tephra, into the air diminishes,  and it comes crashing down. Hot ash and noxious gas billow out  in a wave known as a pyroclastic surge. This first surge engulfs Herculaneum. One hour later,  another three times as strong collapses the town’s remaining structures. These have yet to reach Pompeii, but buildings are ablaze  in the hot, sulfurous air. Lucius climbs out of his closet  and tries his front door, but a deep blanket of ash and stone  won’t let it budge. His lamp flickers and dies. After more than 14 hours, at times walking through ash up to their chests, Fabia, her family, and the others who left early enough, climb the southern Latarri mountains. They reach a peak and pause to look back. Another pyroclastic surge rushes across the valley, crashes into Pompei, and sheers off the upper levels of the town’s buildings. Fighting back tears, Fabia continues  to push her family on towards safety, praying for her brothers and fellow townspeople. According to modern analysis, the eruption may have lasted days or weeks. When it was over, almost  300 square kilometers were decimated, and Pompeii and Herculaneum lay under up to 65 feet of tephra. Despite some disorganized looting and digging, these towns remained buried until official excavations began in the mid-1800s. Archaeologists have since analyzed  skeletal evidence and volcanic deposits to reconstruct a timeline of Herculaneum  and Pompeii’s final moments. They've revealed a poignant glimpse at the experiences of the eruption's victims. Much of our understanding of ancient Roman life— from food and furniture  to architecture and economics— comes from these ruins. In their time, they were simply  provincial towns in the Bay of Naples. But their rediscovery has given us an  unparalleled view into the ancient world and the lives that were devastated  by disaster.