New information and findings from Pompeii after 1,946 years...

In AD 79, before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried much of the city and its inhabitants under ash, more than 20,000 people lived in Pompeii.

After this unexpected and devastating event, some Pompeiians returned to the ash-covered city and lived among the ruins.

Archaeologists believe that survivors of the AD 79 disaster who were unwilling to start a new life elsewhere came back to the ancient Roman site, and that others searching for a place to settle may have joined them.

Previously, there had been speculation that survivors of the eruption returned to the ruins, but archaeologists at the site have now confirmed this with new research.

Site director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said: “Thanks to new excavations, the picture is now clearer: post-79 Pompeii re-emerges not as a city, but as a dangerous and grey settlement — a kind of camp, a favela — among the still-recognisable ruins of what had once been Pompeii. This informal settlement continued until the 5th century.”

The eruption preserved much of the city, including the remains of some of the disaster’s victims.

It is thought that people lived on the upper floors of houses buried under ash, while the lower floors were turned into basements.

Source: BBC News