"Traces of walls show that the city was occupied since the sixth century B.C. But the most interesting findings are the remains of third-century houses beneath the ones that visitors admire today," said archaeologist Fabrizio Pesando of Naples' Oriental University.

With his colleague Filippo Coarelli of Perugia University, Pesando basically brought to light a subterranean third-century settlement — the Pompeii that Mount Vesuvius did not bury.

At that time, Pompeii was ruled by the Samnites, a mysterious ancient people who inhabited the mountains of southern central Italy and expanded to the Pompeii area around the sixth century B.C.

Beginning in 343 B.C. the Samnites fought three wars with Rome, lost control of central and southern Italy, and were finally crushed in 82 B.C. before the gates of Rome by Lucius Cornelius Sulla.

As the Samnites were defeated, Pompeii became a Roman colony in 80 B.C. and later a favorite resort for wealthy Romans. However, recent finds have revealed the Samnites made it a sophisticated and thriving town already three centuries before Vesuvius erupted.

Archaeologists from the University of London and the University of Basilicata in Italy found this summer a pre-Roman temple to Mephitis, a female deity worshipped by the Samnites. Right on top of this temple, not by chance, sits the temple to Venus built by the victorious Sulla.