More Facts for You and Jack

1) Pompeii was forgotten after it was buried in ash and pumice. In 1594, the ruined city was discovered by workmen who were digging a tunnel. Later, a nearby town called Herculaneum was also discovered. It had been buried by boiling mud after the volcano erupted. Many things from everyday life have been uncovered in both Pompeii and Herculaneum. Recently, a library of scrolls was found.

2) The language of the ancient Romans was called Latin. Many words in the English, French, and Spanish languages come from Latin. For example, liber means “book” and libri means “books” in Latin. The word “book” in Spanish is libro and in French is livre. In English we have the word “library.”

3) Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year A.D. 79. The letters “A.D.” stand for the words anno Domini. Anno Domini means “in the year of the Lord” in Latin, which refers to the year Jesus Christ was born—about 2,000 years ago.

4) The Romans took their name from the city of Rome, which was the capital of their empire. Rome is now the capital of the country of Italy.

5) In A.D. 79, the Romans had a powerful army. They ruled all of Western Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

6) Hercules is the Roman name for the hero from the Greek myths known as Heracles. After the Romans conquered ancient Greece, they adopted many of Greece’s heroes and gods and goddesses. Heracles—who became Hercules—was one of them.