DiscoverScroll article

Herculaneum is an ancient Roman town located in the modern-day comune of Ercolano, Campania, Italy.

Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby city of Pompeii, Herculaneum is notable as one of the few well-preserved ancient Roman cities, as the volcanic material that buried the town helped protect it from looting and weathering. Although less known than Pompeii today, it was the first and, for a long time, the only discovered Vesuvian city (in 1709). Pompeii was revealed in 1748 and identified in 1763. Unlike Pompeii, the mainly pyroclastic material that covered Herculaneum carbonized and preserved more wooden objects such as roofs, beds, and doors, as well as other organic-based materials such as food and papyrus. According to the traditional tale, the city was rediscovered by chance in 1709 during the drilling of a well. Remnants of the city, however, were already found during earlier earthworks. In the years following the site's uncovering, treasure seekers excavated tunnels and took artifacts. Regular excavations commenced in 1738 and have continued irregularly since. Today, only a fraction of the ancient site has been excavated. The focus has shifted to preserving the already-excavated portions of the city rather than exposing more. Smaller than Pompeii with a population of circa 5,000, Herculaneum was a wealthier town. Buildings of the ancient city include the Villa of the Papyri and the so-called "boat houses", wherein the skeletal remains of at least 300 people were found.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 buried Herculaneum under approximately 20 m (66 ft) of ash. Excavations continued sporadically up to the present and today many streets and buildings are visible, although over 75% of the town remains buried. Today, the Italian towns of Ercolano and Portici lie above Herculaneum.

Since Herculaneum lay west of Vesuvius, it was only mildly affected by the first phase of the eruption. While roofs in Pompeii collapsed under the weight of falling debris, only a few centimetres of ash fell on Herculaneum, causing little damage; nevertheless, the ash prompted most inhabitants to flee. The first pyroclastic surge, formed by a mixture of ash and hot gases, flowed down the mountain and through the mostly-evacuated town of Herculaneum at 160 km/h (100 mph). Multidisciplinary research on the lethal effects of the pyroclastic surges in the Vesuvius area has shown that, in the vicinity of Pompeii and Herculaneum, intense heat was the main cause of the death of people who had previously been thought to have died by ash suffocation.

The publication of "Le Antichità di Ercolano" ("The Antiquities of Herculaneum") had a striking influence on nascent European Neoclassicism; by the end of the 18th century, motifs from Herculaneum began to appear on fashionable furnishings, including decorative wall-paintings, tripod tables, perfume burners, and teacups. The discovery of neighbouring Pompeii, substantially simpler to excavate due to a smaller layer of material covering the site (4m as compared to 20m at Herculaneum), diverted attention and effort.

Due to bradyseism, which affects the entire Vesuvius region, portions of the historic city of Herculaneum today lie as much as 4 metres below sea level.

These scrolls became known as the Herculaneum papyri or scrolls, the majority of which are today stored at the National Library, Naples.

The volcanic ash and debris covering Herculaneum, along with the extreme heat, left it in a remarkable state of preservation for over 1,600 years. A large number of artifacts from Herculaneum are preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.

However, in 2001, the Packard Humanities Institute began the Herculaneum Conservation Project, a private–public partnership initially set to provide financial aid to local authorities addressing critical issues. Since 2001, the Herculaneum Conservation Project has been involved in pilot conservation projects and has partnered with the British School at Rome for training students to maintain the site.

Quick Facts

• Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
• Like the nearby city of Pompeii, Herculaneum is notable as one of the few well-preserved ancient Roman cities, as the volcanic material that buried the town helped protect it from looting and weathering.
• Unlike Pompeii, the mainly pyroclastic material that covered Herculaneum carbonized and preserved more wooden objects such as roofs, beds, and doors, as well as other organic-based materials such as food and papyrus.
• Although less known than Pompeii today, it was the first and, for a long time, the only discovered Vesuvian city (in 1709).
• The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 buried Herculaneum under approximately 20 m (66 ft) of ash.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Herculaneum". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.