During the excavations in Pompeii, the remains of over one thousand victims of the 79 AD eruption have been found.

Composite volcanoes

On August 24, after centuries of dormancy, Mount Vesuvius erupts in southern Italy, devastating the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing thousands. The cities, buried under a thick layer of volcanic material and mud, were never rebuilt and largely forgotten in the course of history.

The site of Pompeii has great importance as it provides a large amount of information about so many aspects of social, economic, religious, cultural and political life of Pompeii. The site of Pompeii has allowed the world today to understand the ancient Roman life and the impact the eruption had on Pompeii.

By studying the latrines and trash, scientists have learned that Pompeii’s people had a rich and varied diet. They ate songbirds, fish, sea urchins, shellfish and pork — a staple of the Roman diet. By breaking the meat into its molecular components, scientists made another shocking discovery.

Noun. 1. Pompeii – ancient city to the southeast of Naples that was buried by a volcanic eruption from Vesuvius.

Pompeii is referred to as the ”lost city” because no one knew the extent of how much it was buried until it was discovered in 1748.

General and Roman Consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla defeated the uprisings in Campania 89 BC, and city Pompeii were proclaimed as Colonia Cornelia Venerai Pompeianorum. This Roman colony was named after Sulla’s middle name Cornelius (gens or family) and after the Roman goddess Venus.

Vesuvius(noun) a volcano in southwestern Italy on the Mediterranean coast; a Plinian eruption in 79 AD buried Pompeii and killed Pliny the Elder; last erupted in 1944.