"For over two centuries, archaeologists have hailed Pompeii as a sophisticated city at the heart of an advanced ancient civilization. But a series of new excavations is paining a much more complex picture of the city tragically buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79. New archaeological finds - including 2,000-year-old lines of graffiti, human remains, and artifacts from ancient homes and businesses - are revealing a city of both staggering wealth and poverty, dependent on slavery, and riven by political rivalries, violence, and riots. Even before Vesuvius rumbled, the jewel of the ancient Roman Empire hid a very dark side." -- Container.