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Here is an old entrance into the ancient city of Pompeii. Pompeii, of course, was the Roman city that was completely buried during a volcano eruption. In the background you can see the peak of Mount Vesuvius.

This was the main entrance into Pompeii. I am standing where the ancient shoreline used to be before the eruption pushed the shore back over a mile.

Here is a view of the main Forum of Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius stands in the background.

Here is another view with Italy's signature umbrella pine tree on the horizon.

These are the ruins of the Basilica, a large public building that the guide compared to that of today's stock market. It was also the seat of the city magistrate.

This is a picture of one of the major streets in the city.

Here we are outside the city's Grand Theater.

The theater was built much in the same style of the Greek Theaters. The seats would have been covered in marble, and the theater could hold up to 5000 people.

Leaving the theater, we travel down narrow side streets in a residential area.

Here are the remains of a Pompeiian home. In the center is a replica of a bronze bust that was found during excavation. Most of the artifacts were removed from the site and are on display in the nearby museum of Naples.

Periodically through the streets, you come across stepping stones such as these. Horses would pull carts throughout the city, so these stones were used by pedestrians to cross the road without stepping in manure.

Here is an old public water well. Water still runs to this day, and people from our tour can be seen refilling their bottles.

Here we are back to the main street that we saw earlier.

Now the guide is leading us off on another side street to an older district of the city.

This is the remains of a bakery. To the left you can see the oven and on the right are the large mills, made from volcanic rock, that were used to grind the flour and make the dough. Further to the right (but not seen in this picture) were tables used to work the dough and racks to cool the loaves of bread.

Not far from the bakery was this building with ten small rooms on two floors. It was one of the many brothels in the ancient city.

Here you can see one of the several small rooms with a stone bed. The bed probably would have had a straw mattress on top of it.

Since Roman soldiers came from many different countries and spoke many different languages, each room had a picture above its doorway to describe what service was offered in that room.

Here is another such picture.

And another.

Here we come across what would be the Roman equivalent of a fast food restaurant. Each pot would contain a different food to choose from.

Now we turn down another side street to see some of the homes of the upper class.

The entrance to this home is a beautiful stone mosaic that is still intact.

Here is one of the bedrooms of the home with its original wall paintings.

A close up of one of the painting shows a man hunting a deer with a cheetah.

Another painting shows a man hunting a lion with a dog.

Here is the courtyard of one of the main public baths. The baths were separated by the sexes, and this one would have been the mens bath. The courtyard would be used for exercise and socializing.

Here is the inside of one of the baths. It would have been feed with hot or cold spring water.

These are the remains of a Pompeiian man found during the excavation of the baths. When the Pompeiians were covered in volcanic ash, their bodies instantly burned, but a cavity was left in the ash. Archeologists discovered they could pour plaster into the cavity to get a mold of the person or object.

Here is a large arch, reminiscent of those we saw in Rome.

Here is another marble mosaic in the entrance of a Pompeiian home. This one says "Cave Canem" or "Beware of Dog".

Looking deeper into the home, you can see the personal well of the residence.

This well was beautifully decorated with blue stone mosaics.

Here we are at the remains of the Temple of Apollo. The broze staue is a replica of the original statue of Apollo found during excavations.

Here is a better view of the temple. The temple was destroyed in an earthquake a few years before the volcanic eruption and was being rebuilt when Pompeii was buried.

Brett is standing next to the statue of Diana at the Temple of Apollo. Again, the statue is a replica of the original.

The warehouses of Pompeii have been converted to hold and protect artifacts uncovered during excavation. (They estimate that up to one fifth of the city is still uncovered.) Here we see the remains of a pregnant woman trying to protect her belly.

Here are the remains of a little boy.

These are the remains of a dog that was left tied to it's chain.

Here we are exiting the city. The tall white pillar in the background is part of the ruins of the temple of Venus. Like the Temple of Apollo, the Temple of Venus was destroyed during an earthquake prior to the eruption and was being rebuilt.