But Pompeii in particular was essentially unguarded for centuries.
Pompeii was buried under ash from the eruption. The ash layer, while deep, is easy to dig. In centuries past, many looters excavated and removed material from the site. The fact that Pompeii was buried under ash also explains the current condition of the site: most of the buildings are heavily damaged, having collapsed under the weight of that ash. The intact buildings there are far and few between, and I suspect that some of the intact buildings have been restored, at least to some extent. Most of the buildings that you will see there have only the foundations and may be a vertical foot or two of brick.
Herculaneum fared better from the looters, because it was buried under a scorching hot pyroclastic mud flow, which hardened into a substance called tufa. You can't dig it: you have to grind it or chip it. It's slow work: excavations at Herculaneum began in the 18th century, maybe a bit earlier, and after 300 years of work, only twenty percent of the city has been uncovered. Because Herculaneum was buried from the ground level *up*, the buildings have survived intact; mosaics and frescoes are still in situ and can be seen there today. Once under the mudflow, Herculaneum was invisible and over the centuries knowledge of its location was lost. It was rediscovered a few hundred years ago when a nobleman had a well shaft excavated, which had the good luck to bottom out in what was a small amphitheater.
Herculaneum was old money. Pompeii was new money. If I only had time to see one site, I'd go to Herculaneum. It's eerie, walking around in a town so well preserved that you expect to come around a corner and see Romans. I remember standing in the excavation at what used to be the beachfront (the pyroclastic flow protruded a half mile or so into the sea, so that the former "beachfront" of Herculaneum is now hundreds of yards inland). So there you are, at 79CE street level. You look up about 60 or 70 feet to see the street level and buildings of modern Naples. Looming behind those buildings is Mount Vesuvius, and you realize that if Vesuvius erupts without warning, the results will be catastrophic.
On the other hand, just north of Pompeii, and accessible from the site, is the Villa of the Mysteries. This villa is decorated with a series of frescoes that are well worth seeing, as they depict an initiation into a mystery cult of Dionysus. I can't remember if this is Orphic or not -- it's been a long time. So if you do go to Pompeii, don't miss the Villa of the Mysteries. Then go find somewhere to have a glass of wine ... io evohe.
J.
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