PUBLISHED to accompany the major exhibition at the British Museum, this wonderful book reveals Pompeii and Herculaneum as they must have been and shows us the tragedy of their loss in AD 79 when Vesuvius erupted, producing an ash cloud 19 miles high.

Within 24 hours the two towns were completely buried, as were smaller settlements along the Bay of Naples.

This book and the exhibition look at the lives of the towns’ inhabitants examining the domestic spaces of a typical Roman home of the first century AD.

We learn about food preparation, interior decoration and more personal items such as jewellery and grooming equipment.

We read about how identification of buildings and their inhabitants have been made. By looking at 250 objects in this way we access the inhabitants’ lives in a personal way so that we get to know and understand the Roman people and feel their deaths even more.

This is an outstanding publication from the British Museum and if you don't want to pay the price of the hardback, there is a paperback for £25, either way the value is excellent.