Pompeii was settled by 8/9 B.C. Trade and commerce made pompeii flourish with about 20,000. Mount vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. The eruption covered the town in 6 meters of ash. 90% of the population managed to escape from the eruption. Excavations were started in 1748, all of their stuff was left in a way of every day life. Some walls still have graffiti on the walls of houses.