. >> reporter: massimo osanna is in charge.ained how less than a year ago this richly-decorated "house of dolphins" was hidden beneath a field. a third of pompeii has yet to be unearthed, only adding to the mystery of this place which drew more than three million tourists last year. visitors come to marvel at the preserved, ancient restaurants and frescoes that were sealed off for centuries. francesco muscolino is one of the archeologists. here you can get a sense for how this was all buried. >> yes, because this is "lapilli," the material that covered pompeii for three meters. >> reporter: the pumice and ash covered as high as 20-feet. underneath, they've recently found political signs painted just before the 79 a.d. eruption. and, in may, revealed this skeleton. at first, massimo osanna's team believed the man had been killed by a giant stone while fleeing vesuvius' eruption. later, they found an intact skull and determined he'd been asphyxiated. you're still learning as you go along. >> yeah, of course. this is really an exp