Life and Death: Pompeii and Herculaneum at the British Museum

Don't miss the British Museum's major exhibition on Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Pompeii and Herculaneum, two cities on the Bay of Naples in southern Italy, were buried by the cataclysmic volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The cities were lost until their rediscovery by archaeologists almost 1,700 years later, giving us a fascinating insight into Roman life.

This major exhibition at the British Museum brings together more than 250 artefacts from these Roman cities, including recent discoveries and celebrated finds from earlier excavations, most of which have never been seen outside Italy.  

Visitors will be given a taste of the daily life of the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum, from the bustling streets to the family home.

The exhibition features casts of some of the victims of the eruption, including a family of two adults and their two children who are huddled together under the stairs of their villa, and another famous cast of a dog.

Tickets to this exhibition are selling fast and advance booking is essential. Five hundred tickets are released on the day from 9am and visitors should arrive early to avoid disappointment.