Records of Pompeii's survivors have been found - and archaeologists are starting to understand how they rebuilt their lives

A new archaeological study of Pompeii and Herculaneum reframes the eruption of Mount Vesuvius as a story of survival and rebuilding. After eight years of studying Roman inscriptions, researchers found evidence of more than 200 survivors in 12 nearby towns, mainly north of the volcano and outside the zones of greatest destruction. The eruption on August 24, AD 79 ejected over three cubic miles of material and persisted for about 18 hours, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum. The findings challenge the notion that no one escaped, as migrants were traced through Roman names in neighboring communities. Results are featured in PBS’s documentary 'Pompeii: The New Dig.'