The Bible tells us that
“What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the Sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

That’s part of the reason people love Pompeii. It shows: People of old were a lot like us!

After Pompeii was swallowed in ash, humanity forgot it existed . . . until 1748. Finally, explorers uncovered Pompeii’s houses. They dug up paintings, furniture, kneading machines, sculptor’s shops, fish sauce factories. They even spied bread inside an oven! They learned from graffiti. Spots were still visible where kids had scratched out the alphabet. Diggers even found a sign that says, “Beware of Dog”!

And they found Pompeiians—at least, they found their shapes. The bodies had decayed, leaving big holes behind. An archaeologist named Giuseppe Fiorelli came up with an idea: Fill the holes with plaster. When the plaster hardened, it showed the exact shapes of those people. The casts revealed even small details. (Many Pompeiians had bad teeth!)

One third of Pompeii is still buried. Why don’t people dig up the rest?

Digging can mean damage. Everything people excavate starts to wear away. Tourists touch remains. Rain beats down on the sites.

Besides, archaeologists have much to learn from the parts of Pompeii already unearthed. They look at everything—and they look deeply.

Early explorers sought treasure. Modern archaeologists seek history. Recording findings on iPads as they move through dusty spaces, they study broken pottery and animal bones from the garbage. Microscopes help them analyze pollen still in the soil. Now even the casts of people get the high-tech treatment: medical scans. These reveal the age and health of the people lost at Pompeii.