t Ruined houses and shops lining a street in Herculaneum
Named after Hercules, this ancient Roman town was destroyed by Vesuvius in AD 79 – the same blast that engulfed Pompeii with rocks and ash. Herculaneum was entombed in superheated mud and ash, and is now the best-preserved ancient Roman city in Italy. Along with the town’s buildings and decorations, wood, plants, textiles and other perishable materials have been uncovered in excavations.
Before the eruption of Vesuvius, Herculaneum fell under Greek influence around the 5th century BC and then under Samnite rule. In 89 BC the town became part of the Roman Empire, a residential municipium and resort.
Excavations began in the 18th century, and uncovered Roman houses built around a rectangular plan. Ancient Herculaneum is well below the level of the modern town, and the area is still being excavated. Highlights include the frescoes of the Villa dei Papiri (so-called because papyrus scrolls were discovered here), the frescoes in the College of the Augustales, the mosaics in the House of Neptune and Amphitrite, the changing rooms and mosaics of the City Baths, the two-storey Trellis House, and the replica sculptures in the courtyard of the House of the Stags. Look out for the remains of a wooden boat (complete with a coil of rope) in the Boat House, and for terracotta amphorae set into marble counters in the Thermopolia (the Roman answer to fast-food outlets). Many of the best-preserved sculptures and frescoes from Herculaneum are now on display in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
t Ruined houses and shops lining a street in Herculaneum
Experience Campania
t Visitors admiring the frescoes in the College of the Augustales
The J Paul Getty Museum in Malibu is a re-creation of Herculaneum’s Villa dei Papiri.