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At its peak, the Roman city of Pompeii is thought to have been home to around 20,000 people. Cultured and cosmopolitan, it prospered on famously fertile farmland at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. We know so much about it, however, because in AD 79 its volcanic neighbour erupted, entombing the settlement beneath ash and pumice until it was rediscovered in the late 16th century. Pompeii’s tragic fate and spectacular preservation have long captured the popular imagination – and now a newly opened exhibition in London combines archaeological displays with cutting-edge technology to illuminate everyday experiences within the ancient town, as well as the infamous events that brought its occupation to an end.
The entire experience (which lasts for around 90 minutes) features ten galleries and installations covering 3,000 square metres. Your visit begins in a spacious room lined with information boards and scattered with cases containing Roman finds – artefacts and sculptural fragments – from Italy and Britain, as well as replica objects. After this brisk introduction to daily life in a Roman town, the next gallery comes as a starkly poignant contrast. It contains a cluster of 3D-printed replicas of some of the famous plaster casts that were created by Giuseppe Fiorelli in the 1860s, using voids left in the ash by the bodies of victims of the eruption, and these ghostly figures have a powerfully humanising effect.
After these tangibly grounding galleries, you enter the world of virtual reality. The first experience is seated, but far from static: as soon as you don your headset and earphones you are plunged into a vividly realised 360° world, racing along a road in a chariot and then entering an amphitheatre to witness dramatic gladiator spectacles and staged sea battles at close quarters. From there, visitors enter a hall whose walls serve as 8m-high (26ft) projection screens hosting a 26-minute display, divided into eight chapters. These include a colourful mosaic-style animation based on Pliny the Younger’s eye-witness account of the eruption, a fantasy section set in a theatre, and the story of the site’s rediscovery. My personal highlights, though, were the absorbing sequences leading you through the streets of Pompeii when still bustling with life; a fiery recreation of volcanic fury; and a virtual tour through the archaeological site as it looks today.
These vivid recreations are complemented by a number of interactive exhibits, including a large touchscreen that allows you to ‘excavate’ artefacts; replica objects and digital maps that provide information at the touch of a hand; a graffiti wall; and an AI photo booth that transforms visitors into Roman citizens. All of this culminates in a free-range ‘metaverse’ experience where you can put on a VR headset and wander freely through a colourful recreation of the Villa of the Mysteries. The threat of Vesuvius is never far away in this virtual world, but while its depictions of destruction are undeniably dramatic, just as powerful are the reminders of how vibrantly alive Pompeii was before disaster transformed it into an archaeological icon.
Further information: The Last Days of Pompeii: the immersive exhibition is in ImmerseLDN at Excel, Royal Victoria Dock, London, until 15 March 2026. Tickets from £24. See http://www.pompeii-experience.com/london for more details.
Image: The Last Days of Pompeii: the immersive exhibition
