Pompeii

Pompeii is an ancient Roman city located near the modern city of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. It lay at the base of Mount Vesuvius and flourished as a commercial hub in the Roman era, with a population that likely reached several thousand people.

In August 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted, sending a surge of ash, pumice, and gas over the surrounding area. Pompeii was buried under many meters of tephra, which rapidly preserved buildings, streets, and everyday objects. The ash and subsequent cooling helped preserve frescoes, mosaics, and domestic artifacts. The bodies of some inhabitants were preserved as voids in the hardening ash and later cast in plaster to reveal their final poses.

The site lay largely forgotten for centuries and was gradually rediscovered in the late 16th and 17th centuries, with more systematic excavations beginning in the 18th century. In the 1860s the archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli introduced a method of filling voids in the ash with plaster to create life-like casts of victims. Major discoveries over the years revealed a well-planned urban layout, including the Forum, temples, basilica, baths, and a prominent amphitheatre dating from the late Republic. Notable buildings include the House of the Faun, the Alexander mosaic, the Villa of the Mysteries, and public spaces such as the Stabian Baths and various insulae (apartment blocks).

Pompeii, together with nearby Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 as the Archaeological Areas of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata, in recognition of its exceptionally well-preserved urban fabric and artistic remains.

Today Pompeii is an active archaeological park and major tourist destination, with ongoing excavations and conservation work that continue to illuminate daily life in a Roman town.