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How much of ancient Pompeii had been excavated by the 1990s?

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Ruins of ancient Pompeii with stone columns and walls in the foreground, and Mount Vesuvius rising in the background under a partly cloudy sky. — Pompeii Mount Vesuvius rising up over the ruins of the ancient Roman city Pompeii.

By the 1990s, approximately two-thirds of the ancient city of Pompeii had been excavated.1

Systematic efforts to uncover the site have been ongoing since the mid-18th century, following the initial discovery of the ruins in the late 16th century. While early excavations were often haphazard, the work became more structured under the direction of Giuseppe Fiorelli starting in 1860, and later continued through intensive projects in the 20th century under archaeologists such as Amedeo Maiuri.21