Buried by the eruption of Vesuvius on 24 August A.D. 79, Pompeii was lost for 1,700 years before being accidentally rediscovered in 1749. Pompeii was originally settled between the 7th and 6th centuries B.C. At the time of the eruption it is estimated that Pompeii could have been as large as 20,000 inhabitants, and was in an area where many Romans had their holiday villas.