The city of Pompeii provides a vivid representation of Roman life during the 1st century, immortalized by the volcanic eruption that recorded literally every detail of daily life. An example of this is found on the floor of the House of Siricus, where a famous inscription reading "Salve, lucrum" (meaning "Welcome, money") suggests a trading partnership involving two partners, Siricus and Numianus, although the latter could be a nickname, as "nummus" means "coin". The houses in the city are full of details about various trades, such as the laundry workers known as "fullones". In addition, graffiti on the walls provide examples of the colloquial Latin that was used in the street.

It is important to note, however, that the city that has been excavated today was not frozen at the time of the volcano's eruption. It is estimated that the population of Pompeii in 79 AD was between ten and fifteen thousand people, but so far only about two thousand corpses have been found. In addition, many of the buildings are damaged but strangely unoccupied, suggesting that much of the population may have fled during the earthquakes and explosions that preceded the eruption, perhaps recalling the great earthquake of A.D. 62. It is plausible that they would have taken some of their valuable possessions with them. This hypothesis could also explain the location of some treasures found in the city, suggesting that the fleeing residents hid them with the intention of retrieving them once the danger passed.

In addition, there is evidence that the city was looted, either by its former inhabitants or by others, in the months and even years after the eruption, with the purpose of recovering their belongings or taking valuable materials. Tunnels were dug through the hardened ash for this purpose.

In the year of the eruption, the population of Pompeii was estimated to be up to fifteen thousand people at most. The city was located in a region that was popular for vacation villas and had a number of amenities, such as the macellum (a large food market), the pistrinum (a mill), the thermopolia (a kind of tavern serving hot and cold drinks), the cauponae (small restaurants) and an amphitheater. The Campania region was known for being a fertile agricultural area since ancient times, and the city's active port made it possible to load and ship agricultural surpluses to Rome and other important cities, its wines being especially appreciated.

In 2002, a significant discovery was made at the mouth of the Sarno River, which revealed the presence of dwellings, many of them stilt houses with a canal system, suggesting certain similarities with the city of Venice.