Pompeii is a volcano.
Pompeii . Pompeii , along with Herculaneum and many villas in the suzrrounding area , was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD . It came under the domination of Rome in the 4th century BC , and was conquered and became a Roman colony in 80 BC after it joined an unsuccessful rebellion against the Roman Republic . By the time of its destruction , 160 years later , its population was estimated at 11,000 people , and the city had a complex water system , an amphitheatre , gymnasium , and a port . Pompeii (film) . It premiered in France , Belgium , and Russia on February 19 , 2014 and was released over the course of the next day in Argentina , Greece , Hungary , Italy and later in many major territories , including the United States , Canada , India , and Australia , The film was released in United States of America and Canada on February 21 , 2014 .