🌋

Pompeii Site

✨ The frozen city

Pompeii was a Roman city in Campania, southern Italy, near Mount Vesuvius. Founded centuries earlier and later integrated into the Roman world, it became a prosperous town with homes, shops, workshops, temples, public baths, theatres and an amphitheatre. In AD 79, Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii beneath layers of ash, pumice and other volcanic material. The exact date remains debated: ancient manuscripts traditionally give 24 August, while archaeological evidence has led some researchers to argue for an autumn date.

The eruption unfolded in several stages. Pumice and ash first fell on roofs and streets, while later hot currents of gas, ash and rock swept through parts of the city. These pyroclastic currents were extremely dangerous. Because much of Pompeii was rapidly buried rather than completely destroyed, streets, buildings, objects and traces of daily life survived. Archaeologists also found cavities left by decomposed bodies and made plaster casts from some of them, preserving evidence about people caught in the disaster.

Systematic excavations began in the 18th century under the Bourbon rulers of Naples and have continued ever since. Archaeologists have uncovered decorated houses, bakeries, taverns, gardens, fountains and public buildings. Wall paintings, mosaics, inscriptions and graffiti reveal details about religion, commerce, politics and everyday life. Pompeii was not frozen in one perfect moment: buildings had changed over time, and some inhabitants appear to have escaped before the city was fully buried.

The site is studied alongside Herculaneum and other settlements affected by the eruption to reconstruct what happened around Vesuvius. Today, Pompeii is both an archaeological site and an active research area. Conservation teams protect fragile structures and decorations from weather, water, vegetation and heavy visitor traffic. In 1997, UNESCO included Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata on the World Heritage List. Their exceptionally preserved remains provide an unusually detailed picture of Roman society, architecture and everyday life.

💡 Did you know?

Did you know that the ash protected the city so well that whole loaves of bread were found in ovens and magnificent paintings on house walls? You can even read the graffiti left by inhabitants on the walls, such as love messages or advertisements for gladiator fights. It's like using a time machine!

To understand how people were positioned at the moment of the eruption, archaeologists poured plaster into the holes left by their bodies in the ash. This created realistic statues showing their exact positions, and even those of pets like dogs. It is a fascinating and moving testimony of that day.

Pompeii had all the modern comforts of the time: drinking water fountains at every street corner, fast-food restaurants called 'thermopolia' where hot dishes were bought, and a large amphitheater. Pedestrian crossings were large raised stones to cross the street without getting feet dirty in rainwater!