8th century                   Small settlement at the site of Pompeii

6th century                   City walls built at Pompeii; archaeology suggests influence of Greeks, Etruscans and local Italians

5th-4th centuries         Samnites dominant at Pompeii

Late 4th century          Pompeii becomes allied to Rome after the Samnite Wars

Late 3rd century          Substantial increase in housing at Pompeii

2nd century                 Significant urban development of public buildings, many in the Hellenistic fashion

91-89                            Pompeii besieged by Sulla during the Social War

80                                 Pompeii becomes a full Roman colony; at least 2,000 Roman veterans are settled

20s                               Aqua Augusta aqueduct built to serve the Bay of Naples

CE

59                                 Riot in the Pompeian amphitheatre

62                                 Huge earthquake devastates the region

79                                 Eruption of Mt Vesuvius