On August 24 of the year 79 AD, the Vesuvius volcano in southern Italy suddenly erupted. It buried the surrounding towns under layers of ash and rock.
Pompei, an urbanized and commercial town of 25.000, was hit fully. The Roman colony was just recovering from a bad earthquake in 62 AD.

The site was rediscovered in the 16th century, but exploration did not begin until 1748. Besides Pompei, this WHS consists also of Herculaneum and the Villa Oplontis at Torre Annunziata. It provides a complete and vivid picture of society and daily life at a specific moment in the past that is without parallel anywhere in the world.