Pompeii fresco restoration. Archaeological artist retouching a fresco taken from the wall of the Murecine hotel, one of the ruined buildings of Pompeii, Italy. The murals were carefully cut from the walls of the hotel, brought to a laboratory and will be replaced on the walls after this restoration work. Pompeii was a thriving town of some 20,000 inhabitants when it was destroyed by the eruption of the nearby volcano Vesuvius in 79 AD. The entire town was buried under a thick layer of ash, which preserved the town and its contents in good condition. The excavated town is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.