The site of Pompeii is located in western Italy in a region called Campania, near the Bay of Naples. With the coast to the west and the Apennine Mountains to the east, Campania is a fertile plain, traversed by two major rivers and blessed with soil rich in phosphorus and potash. In ancient times, the region's crop yield was six times higher than the average of the rest of the peninsula. Campania was so fertile that some areas had up to three grain crops per year. The region also hosted some of Italy's chief olive groves, and the mountains nourished thousands of sheep.

fresco.gif (206900 bytes)Though little is known about Campania's first settlers, the first people to settle in this region were probably prehistoric hunters, gatherers and fishers. By at least the eighth century B.C., a group of Italic people known as the Oscans occupied the region; they most likely established Pompeii, though the exact date of its origin is unknown. Ionians also settled in Campania during the eighth century B.C.

Their Greek settlements began as a series of small trading posts, but soon grew into successful merchant cities that eventually dominated the area. For a few centuries the inhabitants of Campania remained under Hellenic control, with Pompeii and the nearby city Herculaneum the center of Greek occupation. During the fifth century B.C. a group of warriors from Samnium, a region north of Campania, invaded the latter region and seized control of Pompeii. Rome, vying with the Samnites over control of the Italic peninsula, drove the Samnites out in the fourth century B.C. and took Pompeii as its own ally about 290 B.C.

Rome's control over Pompeii was distant - the city was allowed to retain its own language and culture, but was required to admit itself subject to Rome without benefiting from the status of Roman citizenship. Pompeii reluctantly accepted this situation for centuries; finally, when the Social War began in 90 B.C., they saw a chance at freedom and joined forces with other Roman "allies" against the city that oppressed them. The rebels and Rome fought for two years but one of Rome's most brilliant generals, Sulla, eventually defeated the Campanians. He took Pompeii and Herculaneum in 89 B.C.

Though the allies were defeated, they were awarded the status of Roman citizenship. In order to quell any further uprisings, however, their former liberties were taken away, and Rome established colonies of army veterans to help keep the order. Eventually, Sulla established the Cornelia Veneria colony in Campania, which began the "romanization" of the region.

Campania adapted to the Romans as easily as it had to the Greeks. Because of the area's natural resources, trade flourished and the standard of living was raised. Pompeii developed its luxury services, trade with foreign countries and agricultural produce. As Rome itself became more prosperous, its wealthy citizens looked to Pompeii and the Gulf of Naples as a relaxing vacation area. The shoreline of the Gulf became host to the splendid country houses of the most powerful people in the world, including emperors, court personages, and Roman aristocracy. It appeared that Pompeii and the surrounding villas had finally found the peace they had longed for.

Though Mt. Vesuvius had once been a very active volcano, it had remained dormant for as long as humans could remember. Since no legacy of destruction had been passed down from their ancestors, the people living near the mountain didn't realize there was any potential for danger. The first warning sign came on February 5th, A.D. 62. About midday, a "long, muffled roar" shook the town; nobody could tell what it was, or where it had come from. Soon the earth began to tremble, and buildings collapsed all around. People rushed out of the town and away from the falling buildings, only to fall prey to deep chasms that ripped open the countryside without warning. The town's nearby reservoir also broke, adding floods to the chaotic scene. Though it was destructive, the first earthquake lasted for only a moment; an hour later, however, the area was seized by another tremor. The quakes continued to occur at unpredictable intervals, inflicting alternate moods of hysteria and hope, until nightfall. body.gif (250413 bytes)

For the next seventeen years Pompeii concentrated on repairing the damages the earthquake had caused, determined to make their town even more splendid than before. Campania was peaceful and prosperous once more, and their maritime trading industry continued to be successful. Signs of the upcoming eruption began at the beginning of August in A.D. 79. Small tremors shook the ground, but the quakes were so insignificant and caused so little damage that few paid any attention to them. Springs and wells also dried up, which in ancient times was often interpreted as a sign of the gods' displeasure.

On August 20th, the earth began to rumble and crack, and the usually calm sea gave way to giant waves. Horses, cattle and birds became uneasy and restless, as if they could foresee the disaster that awaited the town. Finally, on the morning of August 24th, 79 A. D. the volcano burst open with an earsplitting crack. Smoke, mud, flames and burning stones spewed from the summit of the mountain, sending a rain of ash and rock through the surrounding countryside. The mud seeped down the sides of Vesuvius, swallowing nearby farms, orchards and villas. Adding to the destruction were the mephitic vapors that accompanied the falling debris; the fumes first caused deliriousness in their victims, then suffocated them.

Some people of Pompeii grabbed their beasts of burden and attempted to flee the area; others perhaps chose to wait until the streets were clear of the panicked masses; still others sealed themselves up in rooms, supposing that the ashes and poisonous gasses would not harm them there. The unfortunate people who could not escape in time to avoid disaster were killed by falling buildings, overcome by the mephitic gas, or simply buried by the rapidly falling ash. Their bodies were quickly covered by the volcano's mineral deposits, which covered Pompeii in a layer more than 30 feet thick.

pompeii.jpg (5103 bytes)Over the years, the memory of Pompeii and the surrounding cities faded into a vague legend about the lost treasure of la Citta ("the City"). Interest in recovery of the ancient sites did not return until the fourteenth century, when the Renaissance brought a renewed fascination with all things antique. Ancient writers such as Pliny the Younger, Perotto, Sannazzaro, and Dion Cassius mentioned Pompeii and the disaster that had befallen it; tantalizing hints as to what lay beneath the Campanian soil were also unearthed.

Based on artifacts discovered by people who lived on the land, scholar humanists hypothesized that the ancient objects they found came from the famous la Citta . Excavations did not occur, however, until the eighteenth century, when Herculaneum was rediscovered by a peasant digging a well. Pompeii itself was found during an excavation that began on March 23, 1748. From that date on, excavations at Pompeii have continued sporadically. Portions of the site remain uncovered, and excavation and research teams are still attempting to reveal this mysterious city's secrets.