A rendering of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD which buried the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum | Historyfeels

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 destroyed Pompeii—but it did not erase its people. While around 2,000 perished in the catastrophe, thousands fled and survived, building new lives in Campania’s neighboring towns such as Neapolis, Cumae, and Puteoli. Unique family names found in tomb inscriptions reveal the migration of Pompeiians and evidence of intermarriage among survivors. But survival also meant returning. Archaeological digs in the southern neighborhoods of Pompeii uncovered post-eru