Celia: Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the second part of our programme “Vanished Cities”. 
I’m Celia Adams and with us today is Mr. Dino Vabriani, a leading geologist who has recently returned from an excavation site in Pompeii, Italy.
Mr. Vabriani, it’s a pleasure to have you with us again.
Mr. Vabriani: Thank you Celia. I’m delighted to be here.
Celia: All right then Mr. Vabriani. For those of our listeners who weren’t with us yesterday, would you mind telling us again – very briefly – a few things about Pompeii and the way it was 2,000 years ago?
Mr. Vabriani: Of course, Celia. Well, as you all know, Pompeii is in Italy. It was a very lively city – just bustling with life! 
It was near the sea, with a mild, gentle climate and very fertile land – farmers could grow almost anything. 
The sea was full of fish and the residents were busy and happy. 
Celia: Was it a modern city then?
Mr. Vabriani: Oh yes! Pompeii had 20,000 residents, a large amphitheatre, theatres, bars and taverns, there were temples, a courthouse and a bank, too. 
The streets were paved and there were many  beautiful homes.
Celia: So, what went wrong, Mr. Vabriani?
Mr. Vabriani: Well, Pompeii was built at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. Now, very few of the residents knew that Vesuvius was a volcano, an active volcano, so they had no reason to worry. 
Celia: That sounds incredible! How could they not have known?
Mr. Vabriani: Because the mountain hadn’t been giving many signs that could have been considered dangerous. 
There had been an earthquake some years before, but nothing too serious. 
Celia: I see. What about the day of the eruption. What happened then?
Mr. Vabriani: Well, in the early hours of August 23, in AD 79, the volcano began to show some suspicious signs, but, as I said, nothing too serious. 
At one o’clock, however, there was a tremendous crack, and the volcano erupted with unbelievable force.
Boiling lava, stones and hot ash rained down on Pompeii for the next hours, burying it. 
No one really had much time to run – only a few lucky ones managed to escape. 
Some were caught by the lava as they were running. 
You can actually see plaster casts of their bodies in the museum in Pompeii today.
Celia: What do you mean ‘plaster casts’?
Mr. Vabriani: Well, scientists managed to reproduce in plaster, the shapes of people’s bodies exactly as they were when the lava covered them. 
There are also casts of animals – like a dog with his collar, food – like bread and eggs, and many more things.
Celia: That is really shocking Mr. Vabriani. Now what about the excavation site? Can you tell us a bit about the ...