The archaeological excavations of Pompeii have returned the remains of the city of ancient Pompeii, near the hill of Civita, at the gates of modern Pompeii, buried under a blanket of ash and lapilli during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79, together with Herculaneum, Stabia and Oplonti. The findings following the excavations, begun at the behest of Charles III of Bourbon, are one of the best testimonies of Roman life, as well as the best preserved city of that era; most of the recovered finds (in addition to simple everyday furnishings, frescoes, mosaics and statues) are preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples and in small quantities in the Antiquarium of Pompeii, currently closed: the notable quantity of finds has been useful for understanding the uses, customs, eating habits and art of life of over two millennia ago.
