Historian Dan Snow travels to Italy to delve into one of the greatest archaeological time capsules of all time and learn more about a story that has long captivated and intrigued: what unfolded in the final hours of Pompeii? In 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted, covering this once bustling Roman metropolis – its buildings and inhabitants alike – under a thick layer of hot ash, molten rock and pumice. The ruins were discovered by a surveying engineer in 1748. Snow follows in the footsteps of treasure hunters and archaeologists who, across the centuries, have sought to explore – and sometimes plunder – this lost city. He retraces some of the remarkable finds, including a theatre uncovered 25 metres (82 feet) beneath the volcanic debris.