Pompeii, Italy

photo of Pompeii, Italy

The city of Pompeii in Italy, buried by the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius Volcano seen in the background, was and still is a time capsule of Greek and Roman art and architecture. Much, but not all, of the city has been excavated from beneath the 6 meters of ash fall and pyroclastic-flow deposits that blanketed the area. In a way, the eruption destroyed and preserved the city at the same time; few man-made places on Earth have survived for nearly 2000 years.

Photo copyright R.W. Decker.

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