The Buried City - Unearthing the Real Pompeii

You might think you know everything about Pompeii.
You don't.

In this revelatory history, Gabriel Zuchtriegel shares the new secrets of Pompeii. Over the last few years, a vast stretch of the city has been excavated for the first time. Now, drawing on these astonishing discoveries, The Buried City reveals the untold human stories that are at last emerging.

Pompeii is a world frozen in time. There are unmade beds, dishes left drying, tools abandoned by workmen, bodies embracing with love and fear. And alongside the remnants of everyday life, there are captivating works of art: lifelike portraits, exquisite frescos and mosaics, and the extraordinary sculpture of a sleeping boy, curled up under a blanket that's too small.

The Buried City reconstructs the catastrophe that destroyed Pompeii on 24 August 79 CE But it also offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the city as it was before: who lived here, what mattered to them, and what happened in their final hours. It offers us a vivid sense of Pompeii's continuing relevance, and proves that ancient history is much closer to us than we think.

About the author

Gabriel Zuchtriegel is Director General of the archaeological park in Pompeii. He studied classical archaeology at the Humboldt University in Berlin and received his PhD from the University of Bonn. In 2015, he became director of the Paestum archaeological park and museum, before being appointed at Pompeii in February 2021. He became an Italian citizen in 2020 and is currently overseeing the biggest dig of the site of Pompeii in a generation.

Summary

An internationally bestselling new take on Pompeii and our relationship with the ancient world, from a world-leading archaeologist and director of the World Heritage Site.

Product details

• Authors: Gabriel Zuchtriegel
• Assisted by: Jamie Bulloch (Translation), Bulloch Jamie (Translation)
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 27.05.2025
• EAN: 9781399741729
• ISBN: 978-1-399-74172-9
• No. of pages: 256
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 238 mm x 14 mm
• Weight: 394 g
• Illustrations: 2 x colour plate sections
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Politics; HISTORY / Ancient / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology, Ancient Rome, History: specific events and topics, Ancient History, 1st century, c 1 to c 99, Archaeological sites, Pompeii / Herculaneum