Garden of the Fugitives, Pompeii

Archaeological site in Regio I, Insula 21 of ancient Pompeii containing plaster casts of 13 victims of the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Discovered in 1961 under the direction of Amedeo Maiuri, the casts were created by pouring liquid plaster into cavities left by decomposed bodies, a technique pioneered by Giuseppe Fiorelli in the 19th century. The victims, including men, women, and children, were caught by a pyroclastic surge while fleeing toward the Nocera Gate. The area had been a vegetable garden and vineyard with a triclinium for outdoor banquets before the eruption.