Pompeii may have perished later than historians have previously thought

The charcoal inscription could change the classical dating of the Vesuvius eruption that destroyed Pompeii. The date, along with a humorous inscription, might have been written by "a jovial worker on the wall of a room being repaired", thinks Massimo Osanna, the director of the archaeological site in Pompeii. He added that the date was already questioned in the 19th century due to the discoveries of pomegranate seeds, hearths, and branches with berries that grow only in autumn.

Archaeologists encountered the inscription in a house where researchers earlier in the month also found a room for a household altar, known as a lararium. The place is nicknamed "the magical garden" due to its richly painted scene. The entire house was undergoing renovation at the time of the volcanic eruption. Therefore, besides the rooms with frescoes and flooring, archaeologists found rooms that were merely plastered and unpaved.

On the walls of the atrium and corridor of the mentioned house, a whole series of inscriptions and drawings, sometimes obscene, made with lime, plaster, or charcoal have been preserved. Among them is also the humorous inscription with the pivotal date.

Pliny the Younger dates the eruption of Vesuvius, during which his adoptive father Pliny the Elder died, in his letter to the Roman historian Tacitus.

However, Pliny the Younger's letters, warns the BBC, have survived the centuries only through copies and translations. Different copies thus indicate varying dates of the city's destruction ranging from August to November.

Pompeii has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997. This ancient city near Naples was completely buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The remains of Pompeii, preserved under volcanic ash, are among the most visited tourist attractions in Italy. The site attracts more than 2.5 million visitors annually.