introduction articles on Vesuvius,and many more have been written since then.Geological evidence indicates that the volcano has been active for ten thousand years.Before its eruption in A.D.79,however, it had been dormant for several centuries,and the early Greeks and Romans did not think of it as a dangerous volcano.In Roman times the area became a popular seaside resort where many people had summer homes.Writing in the 1st century B.C.,the geographer Strable reported terrace farming on the slopes of the mountain but described the summit as barren and covered with ash.Spartacus, the leader of a slave revolt during the same period,took refuge in the crater of Vesuvius articles on Vesuvius, and many more have been written since then. Geological evidence indicates that the volcano has been active for ten thousand years. Before its eruption in A.D. 79, however, it had been dormant for several centuries, and the early Greeks and Romans did not think of it as a dangerous volcano. In Roman times the area became a popular seaside resort where many people had summer homes. Writing in the 1st century B.C., the geographer Strable reported terrace farming on the slopes of the mountain but described the summit as barren and covered with ash. Spartacus, the leader of a slave revolt during the same period, took refuge in the crater of Vesuvius introduction