Pompeii quiz: How much do you know about the Roman town destroyed by Mount Vesuvius?

Mount Vesuvius behind the ruins of pompeii.

The ruins of Pompeii are still undergoing excavation. (Image credit: Buena Vista Images/Getty Images)

The ancient Romans were unaware of the massive danger posed by a volcano in their midst, so when Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, thousands of people scrambled to escape several small seaside towns.

As the largest town closest to the volcano, Pompeii suffered the most damage and was essentially wiped off the map. It was rediscovered in the late 16th century, but it wasn't until 1763 that the city was conclusively identified as Pompeii, when the Latin inscription rei publicae Pompeianorum — the state of Pompeii — was discovered at the site. Archaeological excavations at Pompeii continue to this day, with experts finding groundbreaking new information about the people who lived there in the first century and their tragic ends.

Are you up to date on recent research on Pompeii? Time to carpe diem and veni, vidi, vici our quiz!

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Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in anthropology and classical archaeology and was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.