The ancient Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and villas near the Bay of Naples were buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in August A.D. 79 Ancient Pompeii stands today as a vast excavated site complete with streets, public spaces, and buildings that once served as stores, houses, public baths, and other useful facilities in what was a wealthy Roman city.
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The ancient Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and villas near the Bay of Naples were buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in August A.D. 79 Ancient Pompeii stands today as a vast excavated site complete with streets, public spaces, and buildings that once served as stores, houses, public baths, and other useful facilities in what was a wealthy Roman city.
Pompeii’s initial excavation from the mid-18th to the early 19th century was concerned with finding the site’s most valuable treasures for removal to museums and private collections. Since then, site superintendents in charge of excavation have worked to preserve and present this world-famous site as one of Italy’s key heritage attractions. Many of Pompeii’s most fragile and precious remains are on view today in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. In addition, nearly one-third of the site remains unexcavated.
Over the years, exposure to the elements, earthquakes, bombing during World War II, and the arrival of 2,000,000 tourists per year have strained Pompeii’s fragile architectural remains.
Modern advances in the field of cultural heritage protection have allowed site superintendents to address some of these issues through site management plans, tourism management planning, and pilot conservation projects.
