Pompeii was an ordinary prosperous Roman town before Vesuvius buried it under metres of ash and pumice, and it is that very ordinariness, preserved intact, that makes it extraordinary: bakeries with bread left in the oven, painted election slogans, wine bars, brothels, and the plaster casts of the people who did not escape.
At a glance
Pompeii was not Rome. It was a working Roman provincial town of shops, taverns and modest houses, and it is precisely this everyday texture that has survived. Loaves were found still in the ovens of its bakeries, election notices remain painted across its walls, and thermopolia, the Roman equivalent of fast-food counters, have been excavated with food residue still in their stone counters.
Key facts
- The eruption: Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE in what is known as a Plinian eruption, named after Pliny the Younger, who described it in letters to Tacitus. The column of ash and gas rose to roughly 33 kilometres. Most victims died in pyroclastic surges, with temperatures reaching around 300°C.
- A contested date: the traditional date of 24 August has been questioned since an inscription dated to October was found during the Regio V excavations, and many scholars now argue for an autumn eruption instead.
- Villa of the Mysteries: its frieze of 29 life-size figures, thought to depict Dionysiac initiation rites, retains its original colour, including the rich red pigment known as Pompeian red, made from cinnabar.
- Ongoing excavation: the Regio V works, under way since 2018, have uncovered a thermopolium with food still in its pots, a ceremonial chariot with bronze fittings, and children’s skeletons buried with protective amulets. A substantial part of the ancient city, roughly a third, remains unexcavated.
- World Heritage status: Pompeii is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as part of the Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata, listed in 1997.
History
Pompeii began as an Oscan settlement before the Samnites expanded it substantially in the fourth and third centuries BCE. It became a Roman colony, Colonia Veneria Cornelia Pompeianorum, in 80 BCE. An earthquake in 62 CE caused serious damage, and much of the city was still under repair seventeen years later when Vesuvius erupted and buried it under volcanic ash and pumice.
The site lay forgotten until systematic excavation began under Charles VII of Naples in 1748. In 1863 Giuseppe Fiorelli developed the technique of pouring plaster into the voids left in the hardened ash by decomposed bodies, producing the casts of victims that are now among the site’s most affecting features.
What you see
The Forum, ringed by the Temple of Jupiter, the Basilica and the covered market known as the Macellum, forms the civic and commercial heart of the site. The amphitheatre, built around 70 BCE, is the oldest surviving Roman stone amphitheatre and could seat around 20,000 spectators. The Lupanare, the only building identified with certainty as a brothel, has ten rooms with explicit frescoes above each door indicating the services on offer. Across the site, more than 2,500 pieces of graffiti survive on the walls, recording love messages, insults, election notices and prices.
Practical information
- Combined ticket: a joint ticket covering Pompeii and Herculaneum is worth considering; check current arrangements through the official Pompeii Archaeological Park channels.
- Best season: spring and autumn are recommended, since summer heat at the site is intense with little shade. Water and a hat are advisable whatever the season.
- Highlights to prioritise: the Villa of the Mysteries for its frescoes, the Forum as an orientation point, the Lupanare, the House of the Faun, home to the largest private residence in Pompeii, and the plaster cast display in the Granario near the Forum.
Getting there
Pompeii is reached from Naples by the Circumvesuviana regional train to the Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri station, with services running regularly from Napoli Garibaldi and Napoli Porta Nolana. It can also be reached by car via the A3 motorway, with paid parking near the site. From Rome, travellers typically take a high-speed or Intercity train to Naples and then the Circumvesuviana onward.
Nearby
- Herculaneum — about 6 km northwest; buried more deeply by a pyroclastic surge rather than ash alone, which preserved organic material including wooden furniture, food, boats and the Herculaneum papyri. Smaller than Pompeii and generally quicker to visit.
- Mount Vesuvius — about 10 km north; a short walk from the car park near the crater rim leads to the summit, at 1,281 metres, with views over the Bay of Naples. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland, and a large population lives within its danger zone.
- Naples — about 23 km north, itself inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995; its National Archaeological Museum holds treasures removed from Pompeii and Herculaneum, including the Battle of Issus mosaic, the Farnese Bull and Hercules, and garden frescoes from Pompeii’s houses.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Pompeii
- Wikipedia, Eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79
- Wikipedia, Villa of the Mysteries
- Wikipedia, Pliny the Younger
- UNESCO, Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata, WHS reference 829
- Mary Beard, The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found, Harvard University Press, 2008
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