Pompeii

Pompeii was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples in Campania. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae and many surrounding villas it was buried under four to six metres of volcanic ash and pumice when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Because it was covered rather than destroyed, it preserves a snapshot of Roman life frozen at the moment of burial, streets, shopfronts, graffiti and wheel ruts. It is large enough that a half-day only shows a fraction, and there is almost no shade.