Pompeii

Lore & Background

The first stable settlements on the site date to the 8th century BC when the Oscans founded five villages. The name Pompeii likely derives from the Oscan word for the number five, pompe. The city was built on a coastal lava plateau created by earlier eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii covered a total area and was home to 11,000 to 11,500 people, based on household counts. The city remained largely undisturbed until its rediscovery in the late 16th century. Major excavations did not begin until the mid-18th century, which marked the emergence of modern archaeology. By 1960, most of Pompeii had been uncovered but left in decay; further major excavations were banned or limited to targeted, prioritised areas. Since 2018, these efforts have led to new discoveries in some previously unexplored areas of the city.

In Their Own Story

The sky bruised purple, then collapsed into a suffocating blackness as daylight dissolved. Gaius clutched his bakery doorframe, heat searing through his tunic even before the first stone struck. Outside, the air tasted of sulfur and rot; falling pumice didn't just fall—it hammered against tiled roofs like hail from a angry god. Below, a swirling gray fog, faster than any storm he’d known, swallowed the street whole. "Run!" a voice shrieked from an alley, instantly devoured by the mountain's roar. The ground buckled beneath Gaius’s knees, throwing him to the dust. He scrambled up, reaching for his wife who had gone for water, but a wall of searing wind slammed into the city with the force of a collapsing world. In that final heartbeat, before the darkness took him and the silence sealed his fate...

Reader's Guide

Pompeii offers a snapshot of Roman life, frozen at the moment it was buried. It hosted many fine public buildings and luxurious private houses with lavish decorations, furnishings and artworks. Subsequent excavations have found hundreds of private homes and businesses reflecting various architectural styles and social classes, as well as numerous public buildings. Organic remains, including wooden objects and human bodies, were interred in the ash; their decay allowed archaeologists to create moulds of figures in their final moments of life. The numerous graffiti carved on outside walls and inside rooms provide a wealth of examples of the largely lost Vulgar Latin spoken colloquially at the time.

Did You Know?

• The name Pompeii likely derives from the Oscan word for the number five, pompe.
• Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
• The city had a population of 10,000 to 20,000 residents at the time of its destruction, though household counts suggest 11,000 to 11,500 people.
• Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, described as 'the only archaeological site in the world that provides a complete picture of an ancient Roman city'.