There are many more things that can be learned through archaeology: more kinds of public buildings, town design, how people looked and dressed, architecture, art, how their water supply and waste was dealt with, their religion and so on.

The ash and pumice from that eruption of Mount Vesuvius, buried the towns but preserved much. These places give us real insight into life in that time. Pompeii and Herculaneum are among the most important archaeological sites in the world and are major tourist attractions.