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The eruption at Pompeii happened at around 12 noon on (arguably) August 24th, 74 AD. It took the whole day and night to completely wipe out the population of Pompeii. But while it did destroy the city as well as kill everyone in somewhat close proximity, it also helped to preserve some of the dead bodies until this day. The way it preserved them was by burying them in ash, which after thousands of years caused the bodies to be preserved by (basically) body casts.