For the first time, words have been read from a burnt, rolled-up scroll buried by Mount Vesuvius in AD79. The scrolls of Herculaneum, the only classical library still in existence, were blasted by volcanic gas hotter than 300C and are desperately fragile. Read more
Is Pompeii an ancient or a modern wonder? Its ruins have been rebuilt and the bodies of the volcano's victims are plaster casts, says classical historian Mary Beard. Last weekend I spent a couple of hours with the remains of one of the human victims of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79. Read more
The British Museum plans to take visitors into the streets, salons and bedrooms of the ancient Roman world with a major exhibition about the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum announced Thursday. The exhibition will run March 28 to Sept. 29, 2013. Read more
In the year of AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted in one of the most catastrophic and famous eruptions of all time. Small earthquakes started taking place on 20 August, 79 becoming more frequent over the next four days, but the warnings were not recognised. Read more
A house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii has collapsed, raising concerns about Italy's state support for its archaeological heritage. The House of the Gladiators, which was not thought to be at risk of collapse, was found in ruins when curators came to open the site early on Saturday. Read more
The inhabitants of Pompeii, who died when Mt Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago, were killed by intense heat rather than suffocation as previously thought, a new study of the disaster has claimed.
An Italian study of the plaster casts of the 79 AD Vesuvius eruption victims shows most were not suffocated by ash, as is often assumed. Neither were they knocked down by fast-moving currents of hot gas. Rather, the extreme heat was the main cause of the instantaneous deaths at Pompeii. At temperatures up to 300°C, the unfortunate citizens, including those seeking shelter inside buildings, were cooked alive. Read more