22 Lost Cities Underwater, On Land, and in Legend

The roar came in daylight. In 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted, covering Pompeii in ash and turning an ordinary Roman town into a time capsule. Excavations centuries later uncovered bakeries, gardens, and startled figures preserved mid-gesture. It’s haunting precisely because it’s domestic. Visitors still walk the stone streets and feel close to the lives paused there.

Cinema has retold the tragedy more than once, even with Kit Harington leading one version, but nothing on screen equals the silence of standing among walls that once heard laughter, plans, and music before the ash fell.