Pompeii: The Immortal City

February 8-May 3, 2020

Hear the roar of Mount Vesuvius and feel the earth move under your feet as it erupts before your eyes. See over 100 authentic items excavated from the ruins of Pompeii. Follow one family’s moving story.

It is thought that the city of Pompeii was founded in the 8th century B.C. by the Osci, Italic peoples descended from Indo-Europeans who migrated into Italy in the second millennium. Pompeii was under the influence and control of various powers over the centuries: the Greeks, Etruscans, Samnites and finally the Romans at the start of the 3rd Century B.C. It later rebelled against Rome with other Italic towns but was reconquered and became a Roman colony in 80 B.C.

In 62 A.D., an earthquake struck the region, destroying or damaging numerous buildings. As a result, much of the city had to be rebuilt. In 79 A.D. Pompeii was a vast construction site with cranes and scaffolding dissecting it, a bustling, vibrant city on the move. That year, Pompeii and neighboring Herculaneum were buried by a catastrophic volcanic eruption in just 24 hours. While it violently ended the lives of the inhabitants, it also preserved Pompeii’s living environment making it possible for us to explore what life was like nearly 2,000 years ago.

The site was lost for almost 1500 years. Now the most advanced scientific research brings to light the extraordinary achievements of Pompeii and the Roman world. Discover a remarkable civilization that pushed the envelope of innovation. Over 100 unearthed objects from Pompeii demonstrate Roman knowledge of nature, science and technology and confirm the extraordinary heights they achieved.