Back in middle school, I did a project on the ancient city of Herculaneum. It was a city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mt.Vesuvius in 79 AD along with Pompeii. Mom and Dad had already been to see Pompeii so they were already interested in visiting Herculaneum. I just had to convince David to go along with the plan. We researched it a bit online and David agreed that Herculaneum would be a great place to visit. And it really was...
Mt. Vesuvius
We made a stop at a cameo factory on the way to the ruined city. Here is a man showing how to make the cameos. I didn't know they were made from shells.
Our first view of Herculaneum. You can see the modern city in the background. It was built right on top of the ruins. No one knew it was there until a well was dug and then little by little the city was uncovered.
The people who died here were were not cocooned as in Pompeii. There skeletons remained. 300 people were found here at the edge of the city where the sea used to meet the land at the boat docks. They were trying to escape to the sea but did not make it.
The colors on the ruins were very vibrant.
Here is a decoration on a wall
I'm touching history! (I have earphones in so I could hear the tour guide)
Beautiful wall decorations
Walking where ancient people walked
Courtyard of one of the beach houses. Herculaneum was a resort town for the people of Pompeii so only the rich and famous lived and visited here.
One of the beautiful mosaic floor that is still intact
Still life painting of the 1st century
You can almost imagine people walking down this street.
I thought these things were ingenious. It was an ancient "a.c." The rainwater fell from above and accumulated in this pool which made it cooler in the house. I guess it might be more compared to a swamp cooler.
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| The water fell though this opening in the ceiling and through the gargoyles mouths in to the pool down below. |
An ancient bed
Encased in this glass is a wooden wall that survived the eruption. The city was covered by landslides and not hot ash and lava like in Pompeii so things did not burn up as they did in Pompeii.
Their homes were so colorful. Many of the walls were painted.
The next few pictures are of the women's bathhouse/sauna. The men's sauna pictures are a little further down.
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| The women's locker room. |
The next few pictures show the wine shop as it was found when it was excavated.
They even had running water in this city. Here is a metal pipe that is beginning to show through the floor. Our tour guide said lead was used to make pipes because of it's durability but they didn't realize lead can cause health defects like insanity, hence the stories of crazy kings or emperors. Their water came into the castle by lead pipes.
Beautiful mosaics
I loved this balcony. Our tour guide said it was the only one in the city. This city had a more Roman design than any other. It even had crosses in the floor mosaics perhaps indicating that the person who lived here may have been an early Christian.
A statue replicating the scene on the beach.
I enjoyed seeing the many 2 story buildings here.
Such vibrant colors
Ok, Doctor Who fans, what do you think goes in there? The household gods, of course! As soon as our guide started describing the household gods, David and I looked at each other and whispered, "the Doctor and Donna!" Basically, each house had statues of certain gods they liked and they would be place in one of these alcoves where the people could pray to them and pay homage to their household gods. In one episode of Doctor Who, He and Donna helped save a family in Pompeii from the eruption and to show respect for them and what they did, the family made them their household gods.
This is the front of the forum of Herculaneum. Unfortunately, they cannot excavate any more because of the modern city on top of it. Their foundations are built upon the ancient city. More of the city can't be dug up because the modern city would fall down.
I don't know what it says, but I think it's cool that this sign still exists after all it's been through.
Very colorful wall paintings
Here are pictures of the men's bathhouse/sauna. Notice how much bigger it is.
This is a courtyard between the two bathhouses where the men would play sports.
As David said when he took the picture, "An Italian in an original Italian kitchen!"
Back in those days, the rich people ate at home and the poor people ate out because they didn't have a kitchen.
A view of the ancient city from the modern level of the land.
I hope you enjoyed the history lesson!
Next time, Sicily!!!!
