Description Pompeii was encircled by three kilometres of defensive walls pierced by seven gates with watch towers at the weakest points on the northern and eastern flanks. The seven gates, the purple pins on the plan below, were (clockwise): the Marina Gate, the Herculaneum Gate, the Vesuvius Gate, the Nola Gate, the Sarno Gate, the Nocera Gate and the Stabia Gate. Of these, the best preserved are the Marina Gate, the Herculaneum Gate, the Nola Gate and the Stabia Gate. The Vesuvius and Sarno gates both sustained considerable damage during the eruption. An eighth gate, the 'Capua Gate' is often reproduced on plans of Pompeii between the Vesuvius Gate and the Nola Gate. However, its existence has never been proved. Looking logically at the road layout of the city, the suggested location for a gate catering for a major artery in the area seems highly unlikely. Indeed recent excavations have shown that there was no such gate. The City's Gates Name of Gate Location Rating Marina Gate At the western limit of the city on the Via Marina. ...* * * Herculaneum Gate In the northwest corner of the city on the Via Consolare. ...* * Vesuvius Gate On the north western flank of the wall, on the Via del Vesuvio. ...* Nola Gate On the north eastern flank of the wall, at the eastern end of the Via di Nola. ...* Sarno Gare At the eastern limit of the city, on the Via dell' Abbondanza. ...* Nocera Gate On the south side of the city, at the southern end of the Via di Nocera. ...* * * Stabia Gate At the southern limit of the city, on the Via Stabiana. ...* * ..

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