Pompeii was an ancient Roman city in what is now southern Italy that was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Pompeii was a horrible volcanic eruption of ash and heat that buried the city of Pompeii in Ancient Rome. Around 2,000 people died in the eruption. The name of the volcano/mountain is Mount Vesuvius. The eruption lasted for 2 days and buried Pompeii under thirty feet of ash and stone. Though many people did escape in the first hours after the eruption.