This is the Forum of Pompeii as it would have looked in the year 61 AD. In February of 62 AD, an intense earthquake left the Forum and various parts of the city in ruin. Seventeen years later on Aug 24 in 79 AD, Mt.Vesuvius erupted. It buried an ancient city called Pompeii. The Emperor Nero ruled the Roman Empire at this time. It is estimated 2 to 3 thousand people died out a population of about 20,000. Most of the population evacuated the city just after Vesuvius erupted. The citizens and slaves took what they could carry on cart or on their backs, leaving behind treasures of artifacts still in place.

The Forum of Pompeii when I visited Pompeii in 2010.