Organic remains, including wooden objects and human bodies, were interred in the ash; their eventual 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, contrasting with the formal language of classical writers.

Major excavations did not begin until the mid-18th century, which marked the emergence of modern archeology;[5] initial efforts to unearth the city were haphazard or marred by looting, resulting in many items or sites being damaged or destroyed.

"[15] Pompeii was built approximately 40 m (130 ft) above sea level on a coastal lava plateau created by earlier eruptions of Mount Vesuvius (8 km or 5 mi distant).

The period between about 450–375 BC witnessed large areas of the city being abandoned while important sanctuaries such as the Temple of Apollo show a sudden lack of votive material remains.

In the 2nd century BC, Pompeii enriched itself by taking part in Rome's conquest of the east, as shown by a statue of Apollo in the Forum erected by Lucius Mummius in gratitude for their support in the sack of Corinth and the eastern campaigns.

The Forum and many public and private buildings of high architectural quality were built, including The Large Theatre, the Temple of Jupiter, the Basilica, the Comitium, the Stabian Baths, and a new two-story portico.

[32] Pompeii was one of the towns of Campania that rebelled against Rome in the Social Wars and in 89 BC it was besieged by Sulla, who targeted the strategically vulnerable Porta Ercolano with his artillery as can still be seen by the impact craters of thousands of ballista shots in the walls.

[38] These buildings raised the status of Pompeii as a cultural centre in the region as it outshone its neighbours in the number of places for entertainment which significantly enhanced the social and economic development of the city.

In AD 59, there was a serious riot and bloodshed in the amphitheatre between Pompeians and Nucerians (which is recorded in a fresco) and which led the Roman Senate to send the Praetorian Guard to restore order and to ban further events for ten years.

It was thought until recently that some of the damage had still not been repaired at the time of the eruption, but this is doubtful as the evidence of missing forum statues and marble wall veneers are most likely due to robbers after the city's burial.

[46] Some buildings like the Central Baths were only started after the earthquake and were built to enhance the city with modern developments in their architecture, as had been done in Rome, in terms of wall-heating and window glass, and with well-lit spacious rooms.

At some time in the night or early the next day, pyroclastic flows began near the volcano, consisting of high speed, dense, and scorching ash clouds, knocking down wholly or partly all structures in their path, incinerating or suffocating the remaining population and altering the landscape, including the coastline.

A multidisciplinary volcanological and bio-anthropological study[53] of the eruption products and victims, merged with numerical simulations and experiments, indicates that at Pompeii and surrounding towns heat was the main cause of death of people, previously believed to have died by ash suffocation.

The results of the study, published in 2010, show that exposure to at least 250 °C (480 °F) hot pyroclastic flows at a distance of 10 kilometres (6 miles) from the vent was sufficient to cause instant death, even if people were sheltered within buildings.

[66] The next known date that any part was unearthed was in 1592, when architect Domenico Fontana, while digging an underground aqueduct to the mills of Torre Annunziata, ran into ancient walls covered with paintings and inscriptions.

These excavations resumed on unexcavated areas of Regio V.[81] In November 2020 the remains of two men, thought to be a rich man and his slave, were found in a 2 m-thick (6.6 ft) layer of ash.

[82] In December 2020, a thermopolium, an inn or snack-bar, was excavated in Regio V. In addition to brightly coloured frescoes depicting some of the food on offer, archaeologists found eight dolia (terracotta pots) still containing remnants of meals, including duck, goat, pig, fish, and snails.

[84][83][85] In January 2021 a well-preserved "large, four-wheel ceremonial chariot" was uncovered in the portico of the luxurious villa in Civita Giuliana,[86] north of Pompeii, where a stable had previously been discovered in 2018.

In 2021, an exceptional 1st century AD painted tomb of a freed slave, Marcus Venerius Secundio, containing mummified human remains, was discovered outside the Porta Sarno gate.

[101] In June 2013, UNESCO warned that if restoration and preservation works "fail to deliver substantial progress in the next two years," Pompeii could be placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

[113] Other service buildings were the Macellum ("meat market"); the Pistrinum (baker); the thermopolia (inns or snack-bars that served hot and cold dishes and drinks), and cauponae ("pubs" or "dives" with a seedy reputation as hangouts for thieves and prostitutes).

[114] A large hotel or hospitium (of 1,000 m2) was found nearby at Murecine/Moregine,[49] when the Naples-Salerno motorway was being built, and the Murecine Silver Treasure and the Tablets (providing a unique record of business transactions), as well as the Moregine bracelet, were discovered there.

The thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus[120] overlooked the street directly, had a counter and several dolia, as well as a room behind the shop where customers could eat their meals: the lararium with frescoes of the Lares and Mercury and Dionysus and a triclinium decorated in the Third style.

Town houses (Domus) Exterior villas Other Modern archaeologists have excavated garden sites and urban domains to reveal the agricultural staples of Pompeii's economy.

[126] The discovery of erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum left the archaeologists with a dilemma stemming from the clash of cultures between the mores of sexuality in ancient Rome and in Counter-Reformation Europe.

In 1819, when King Francis visited the Pompeii exhibition there with his wife and daughter, he was so embarrassed by the erotic artwork that he had it locked away in a "secret cabinet" (gabinetto segreto), a gallery within the museum accessible only to "people of mature age and respected morals".

In 2024, the site's management announced that it would limit daily sales to a maximum of 20,000 personalised tickets per day and introduce timed entry schemes in the peak summer season.

Visitors can see archaeological discoveries from the excavations, casts of the victims of the Mount Vesuvius eruption as well as displays documenting Pompeii's settlement history before becoming a thriving Roman city.

[134] The 1954 film Journey to Italy, starring George Sanders and Ingrid Bergman, includes a scene at Pompeii in which they witness the excavation of a cast of a couple who perished in the eruption.