Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed in AD79 when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted, engulfing the towns. However volcanic ash helped to preserve large parts of the cities, providing a detailed insight into the everyday lives of the people who lived there.
“One of the striking things is how similar many of the objects are to things that we still use today,” says Roman historian Margaret Mountford.
“They're prototypes of what we still have.”
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In 2008 the Italian government declared the crumbling city to be in a state of emergency. Restoration projects are now underway.
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