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These areas are mostly not currently included in the World Heritage property. Pompeii, with its well-preserved buildings in an excavated area of 44 ha, is the only archaeological site in the world that provides a complete picture of an ancient Roman city.
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Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, owing to its status as "the only archaeological site in the world that provides a complete picture of an ancient Roman city." It is among the most popular tourist attractions in Italy, with approximately 2.5 million visitors annually.
- 64 to 67 ha (170 acres)
- Europe
- 7th–6th century BC
- Overview
- History
The city of Pompeii is famous because it was destroyed in 79 CE when a nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted, covering it in at least 19 feet (6 metres) of ash and other volcanic debris. The city’s quick burial preserved it for centuries before its ruins were discovered in the late 16th century. The subsequent excavation of Pompeii and the surrounding areas in the mid-18th century marked the start of the modern science of archaeology. The archaeological sites at and around Pompeii are important because they provide a unique source of information about many aspects of social, economic, religious, and political life of the ancient world.
Why was Pompeii destroyed?
Pompeii was destroyed because of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 CE. Just after midday on August 24, fragments of ash and other volcanic debris began pouring down on Pompeii, quickly covering the city to a depth of more than 9 feet (3 metres). Pyroclastic material—a fluidized mixture of hot rock fragments, hot gases, and entrapped air moving at high speed in thick dark clouds that hug the ground—reached the city on the morning of August 25 and soon asphyxiated those who had not already been killed. Additional pyroclastic flows and rains of ash followed, adding at least another 9 feet of debris.
pyroclastic flow
Learn more about pyroclastic flow.
Where was Pompeii located?
It seems certain that Pompeii, Herculaneum, and nearby towns were first settled by Oscan-speaking descendants of the Neolithic inhabitants of Campania. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Oscan village of Pompeii, strategically located near the mouth of the Sarnus River, soon came under the influence of the cultured Greeks who had settled across the bay in the 8th century bce. Greek influence was challenged, however, when the Etruscans came into Campania in the 7th century. The Etruscans’ influence remained strong until their sea power was destroyed by King Hieron I of Syracuse in a naval battle off Cumae in 474 bce. A second period of Greek hegemony followed. Then, toward the end of the 5th century, the warlike Samnites, an Italic tribe, conquered Campania, and Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae became Samnite towns.
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Pompeii is first mentioned in history in 310 bce, when, during the Second Samnite War, a Roman fleet landed at the Sarnus port of Pompeii and from there made an unsuccessful attack on the neighbouring city of Nuceria. At the end of the Samnite wars, Campania became a part of the Roman confederation, and the cities became “allies” of Rome. But they were not completely subjugated and Romanized until the time of the Social War. Pompeii joined the Italians in their revolt against Rome in this war and was besieged by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 89 bce. After the war, Pompeii, along with the rest of Italy south of the Po River, received Roman citizenship. However, as a punishment for Pompeii’s part in the war, a colony of Roman veterans was established there under Publius Sulla, the nephew of the Roman general. Latin replaced Oscan as the official language, and the city soon became Romanized in institutions, architecture, and culture.
A riot in the amphitheatre at Pompeii between the Pompeians and the Nucerians, in 59 ce, is reported by the Roman historian Tacitus. An earthquake in 62 ce did great damage in both Pompeii and Herculaneum. The cities had not yet recovered from this catastrophe when final destruction overcame them 17 years later.
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- Wilhelmina Feemster Jashemski
Mar 21, 2018 · Pompeii was a large Roman town in Campania, Italy which was buried in volcanic ash following the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. Excavated in the 19th-20th century, its excellent state of preservation gives an invaluable insight into Roman everyday life.
- Mark Cartwright
- How many people survived the eruption at Pompeii in 79 CE?The number of survivors or deaths after the eruption of Vesuvius over Pompeii in 79 CE is not known. The population of the town has been estimated...
- Are there still bodies in Pompeii?The volcanic eruption of 79 CE covered Pompeii and there are many skeletal remains. Plaster casts have also been taken of the impressions left by t...
- What is left of Pompeii today?Pompeii is today a massive archaeological site with significant remains of several thousand buildings. Ruined buildings include villas, baths, an a...
- What is so special about Pompeii?Pompeii is special because the volcanic eruption of 79 CE preserved the entire town. Buildings, artworks, artefacts, and even human remains all giv...
Aug 27, 2010 · The excavation of Pompeii that has been going on for almost three centuries continues today, and the entire site has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Missy Sullivan
- 2 min
The Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata provide a complete and vivid picture of Roman society and daily life at a specific moment in the past. They were all buried under layers of ash and rock when on August 24 of the year 79 CE, the Vesuvius volcano suddenly erupted.
Jun 24, 2021 · One of the best known ancient sites in the world, Pompeii was an ancient Roman city founded in the 6th to 7th century BC and famously destroyed by the eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. History of Pompeii. It’s thought Pompeii was established sometime around 450 BC.
