RonnieAdventures

Picture by Kolohe

Herculaneum, Italy, is in the same general area as Pompeii and suffered the same fate during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. However, while Pompeii was covered with ash and volcanic rock, the superheated pyroclastic material composed of hot mud and ash that covered Herculaneum carbonized and preserved wooden objects such as beds and doors. Even some food and papyrus survived, making Herculaneum the best-preserved ancient Roman city in Italy.

Because Herculaneum is much smaller than Pompeii, and not as well known, only about 10% of the people who visit Pompeii also visit Herculaneum. The population of Herculaneum was about 5,000 people in 79 AD, but it was a much wealthier city because it was a seaside retreat for the Roman elite.

Surprisingly, only about 25% of the ruins at Herculaneum have been excavated. Archaeologists have found that at both Pompeii and Herculaneum, once the frescoes and other art objects were exposed to the elements, they started to deteriorate. Therefore, the focus at Herculaneum has shifted to preserving the already-excavated portions of the city, rather than exposing additional ruins. The Herculaneum Forum, temples, theatre, numerous houses, and necropolis are still buried.

Two letters have been discovered from Pliny the Younger to his friend Tacitus, a notable Roman historian, and give a detailed description of the 79 AD eruption. The following summary was posted on the web. "At around 1 pm on the first day of eruption, Mount Vesuvius began spewing volcanic material thousands of metres into the sky. After the plume had reached a height of 27-33 km (17-21 miles), the top of the column flattened...The prevailing winds at the time blew toward the southeast, causing the volcanic material to fall primarily on the city of Pompeii...Herculaneum was only mildly affected by the first phase of the eruption...At 1 am the next day, the eruptive column collapsed onto Vesuvius and its flanks. 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 miles/hour). A succession of six flows and surges buried the city's buildings to approximately 20 m (66 ft), causing little damage in some areas...[and] other areas were damaged significantly, knocking down walls, tearing away columns and other large objects."

More modern research has indicated that intense heat was the main cause of death for people in Herculaneum who had previously been thought to have died by ash suffocation. Exposure to temperatures of at least 250 degrees C (480 degrees F) likely killed residents within 10 km (6.2 miles), including those sheltering in buildings.

Skeletal remains of at least 340 people were found in the twelve stone boathouses that were located on the shoreline facing the sea. It is believed that these were probably the last inhabitants waiting for rescue from the sea, but they were killed instantly by the intense heat, despite being sheltered in the boathouses.

The Herculaneum parking lot is at the top of a hill and on the opposite side of a ravine from the ruins. From the suspension footbridge that crosses the ravine, it is possible to get a good view of the boathouses.

Picture by Kolohe

The grain grinders used to make flour consisted of two parts: the cone was fixed to a base, and the top part revolved around it, grinding the grain. Printed literature stated that a lot of stone particles ended up in the flour.

Picture by Kolohe

A museum located at the top of the hill near the parking lot featured numerous displays of actual artifacts found in the Herculaneum ruins. An artistic rendering of what the remains of a boat discovered in the ruins looked like before the eruption.