The historic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 may have buried Pompeii and Herculaneum under a thick carpet of volcanic ash, but it preserved what is surely our most valuable archaeological record of daily life in Ancient Rome to date. Hundreds of excavated artifacts — from bronze fountain spouts to terracotta statuettes — have uncovered the public and private rituals of men, women and children, providing a timeless and thought-provoking window into classical antiquity. Here, Paul Roberts, author of Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum, compiles a visual guide and intimate examination of Roman life interrupted by the devastation of natural disaster.