New evidence strongly suggests that Pompeii was reoccupied after the devastating AD 79 eruption - a theory long speculated but now backed by archaeological proof, Euronews reports.
Though the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD turned Pompeii into a city of ash, killing up to a fifth of its 20,000 residents and leaving it in ruins, new evidence suggests that some survivors - and possibly newcomers - returned to the smouldering remains to rebuild their lives.
Fresh excavations from the Insula Meridionalis (Southern Block) of the archaeological park have revealed post-eruption modifications to buildings, signs of domestic activity, and adaptive reuse of the ruins.
Researchers now believe this post-eruption community lived in makeshift conditions, transforming the ruined homes into a kind of survivalist settlement.
Upper floors were re-inhabited while the ground levels - once elegant Roman spaces - were repurposed into cellars with ovens and mills.
These settlers may have included not only former residents, but also newcomers with nothing to lose - hoping to survive among the wreckage or even unearth valuables left behind.
