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Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompeii. Along with Herculaneum, its sister city, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in 79 AD.

The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under 20 m (66 ft) of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1,600 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1592. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with 2,571,725 visitors in 2007.

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Two thousand people were left in Pompeii. Perhaps there had not been enough time to evacuate everyone. Some likely returned to their homes after the ashfall stopped. The death toll, including all impacted towns, was about 16,000. It was one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions of all time.

People and animals were buried in hot ash. As the ash hardened (volcanic ash does not dissolve in water), it molded itself to those who had died. The bodies deteriorated, leaving a cavity inside the hardened ash.

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