The historical consensus — largely based on the accepted translation of an accepted copy of a letter that Pliny the Younger wrote a couple of decades after the fact — was 24 August, AD 79. While the provenance of that date rests on shaky ground (so to speak), it's been accepted as correct, not likely to be challenged, and promulgated in plaques and museums and history books for generations.
But charcoal notes found scrawled on a wall in an area of the city being newly excavated indicate it may well have been months later that same year.
The inscription discovered in the new excavations is nothing more than a scrawl in charcoal, likely made by a worker renovating a home. But it is dated to 16 days before the "calends" of November in the old Roman calendar style – which is 17 October in our modern dating method.
"Since it was done in fragile and evanescent charcoal, which could not have been able to last long, it is highly probable that it can be dated to the October of AD 79," the archaeology team said in a statement.
It's kind of cool how new bits of history can still be uncovered.
(Folk who've never had the privilege of visiting Pompeii may not realize how much of it lies unexcavated or only partially studied. It's a remarkable site, as is nearby Herculaneum.)
Pompeii’s destruction date could be wrong
Mount Vesuvius erupted on 24 August, 79 AD – or at least, that’s what historians thought until now.
Cool!
Actually, what's just as cool to me is that they're excavating new areas.
+Dave Hill yeppers!