History

Pompeii was founded by the Oscan people in the 6th century BCE at the mouth of the Sarno River, a natural harbour. It came under Samnite control in the 4th century BCE and was absorbed into the Roman sphere after the Social War; Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla captured the city in 89 BCE and refounded it as Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum. The city's prosperity in the 1st century CE rested on the fertile volcanic soil of the Campanian Plain (garum fish sauce production, wine, grain), on maritime trade through the port of Puteoli, and on the luxury villas of Rome's elite on the surrounding hillsides. An earthquake in 62 CE severely damaged the city; reconstruction was still underway when the eruption struck in 79 CE.

The rediscovery began accidentally in 1709 when a well was sunk at Herculaneum and struck the theatre. Systematic excavation at Pompeii began under Charles III of Bourbon in 1748; the finds — fresco-covered walls, bronze statues, household objects preserved intact — transformed European art history and gave rise to the Neoclassical movement. Josiah Wedgwood modelled his pottery on Pompeian designs; Robert Adam copied its wall decoration schemes for British interiors; Goethe, Shelley, and later Freud visited and described transformative experiences. The site remains partially excavated: approximately one third of the city (the “unexcavated area”) has never been opened, preserved for future generations with better technology.