why is Pompeii famous?

Answer 1

The sites of the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum were partially destroyed by the erruption of Vesuvius - but they were also preserved under layers of volcanic ash and mud, exactly as they were on that day in history. Very few places are like that, so Pompeii is justifiably famous.

Answer 2

Some good answers telling you why Pompeii is famous, so I won't go into the history again. But I'm writing to tell you if you ever get the opportunity, go there.

I visited Pompeii once; an unforgettable experience. The volcanic ash even solidified around the bodies of dogs and people, so that today we can see exactly how those poor things died. Gruesome but history; it happened. Ash coated everything, preserving the entire city and virtually everything in it exactly as it was. Awesome!

Answer 3

One of the reasons for the fame of Pompeii is because it is the best preserved Roman city we've got. At least the ground floors of most of the properties are almost entirely intact and in some cases even up to the second or third floor and some roofs also.

Much of Roman life is preserved in the city, art-works being one good example - wall paintings and so on.

Try these links for more about Pompaii - the final days.


Pompeii is a buried and ruined Roman city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. ...
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii

BBC - History - Pompeii: Portents of Disaster
The people of Pompeii were quite unprepared for the eruption of Vesuvius - getting on with their busy lives, in total ignorance of what was to come.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_portents_01.shtml

One thing I did learn from an art-work [wall painting] at Pompeii is that all the priests of the city were black africans. The one picture I saw showed a number of priests standing outside their temple on the steps of same. They looked remarkably similar to modern day Catholic Bishops, all wearing mytres but all of them were Africans. Why they don't tell you that in skoooolo!

Answer 4

Pompeii is a time capsule. The city was partly destroyed but was mostly preserved, and the chances are that it if had not been covered in lava way back when, it would have been built over.

You should see it if you can, it really is magnificent.

Answer 5

Because of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius the city was largely preserved until modern times it became a very valuable archaeological site. Because the city was wiped out quickly, and while still populated there is much more information to find in the ruins.

Answer 6

Because Pink Floyd played there!! (I must admit it took some time to get my head around the 'live' concert taking place in an empty Colosseum, yet it was 'full' of people from Pompeii)!

Answer 7

It was totally destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 79AD.
The entire place & all its inhabitants were wiped out in one fell swoop. Much of the place was preserved in lava & has now been excavated so we can see how they lived back then.

Answer 8

It was buried in lava when Vesuvius erupted.. Many of it's features were preserved by the lava and life as it was 2000 years ago can be viewed today....

Answer 9

It lay at the base of Mount Vesuvius and was destroyed in 79 a.d. when the volcano erupted.

Answer 10

Because it was covered in ash by volcanic eruption in 79bc and only rediscovered in the19th century