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Aerial view of Pompeii. The drawing is in landscape format and has no frame. Inscriptions appear on the reverse.
The city was built within a fortified enclosure, punctuated by towers and pierced by gates, not far from a river. It was built on a fairly regular checkerboard plan. The forum is on the left-hand side of the drawing. A vast courtyard houses the temple and basilica. The theater and its pleasure courtyard are built along the wall. They are flanked by a raised hexastyle temple. The amphitheatre is on the right-hand side of the drawing. The building’s velum is pulled back. To its left is a large palaestra with a central pool. The city is surrounded by agricultural fields. Vesuvius rises in the distance. Its eruption began at 1pm on August 24, 79.