by Fabrizio Fiorenzano
Ancient Herculaneum was situated on a plateau overlooking the sea, with two streams bordering its east and west sides, and Mount Vesuvius behind.
According to mythical tradition, it was founded by the hero Hercules returning from Iberia, while the historian Strabo dates its foundation to various phases of occupation by different Italic peoples. Herculaneum rebelled against Rome but was finally conquered in 89 B.C., becoming a Roman municipality.
The city was rather modest in size, with a walled area of about 20 hectares, a street system based on decumani and cardini, and an estimated population of about 4000 inhabitants. In the Augustan age, like many other cities in the empire, it underwent a successful building renovation, with the restoration of many public buildings, including the Theatre and the Basilica of Nonius Balbus.
A devastating earthquake in 62 A.D. caused significant damage and then the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. buried the city forever. Herculaneum was rediscovered in the 18th century, with excavations conducted by the Bourbon kings through underground shafts and tunnels.
In 1828, excavations resumed “in the open” and continued until 1875. After a long period of interruption, work resumed in 1927 under the archaeologist Amedeo Maiuri, who led the project until 1958.
Further investigations were carried out during the 20th century and in the early 2000s, bringing to light a large part of the city’s waterfront and a small section of the Villa dei Papiri (Villa of the Papyri).
The Eruption
In 79 A.D., a sudden booming sound interrupted the daily routine of life on the slopes of mount Vesuvius. A column of volcanic material rose to a height of 14 km, releasing a shower of lapilli and pumice that began to be deposited on Pompeii and the neighbouring towns by the wind. It was the beginning of the catastrophe.
Within a few hours, the volcano released an astounding amount of pyroclastic material that would transform the landscape of the Vesuvian area forever. Herculaneum was first hit by fiery clouds with a temperature of around 400 °C, travelling at speeds of over 80 km per hour, and then by mudslides that buried the city under a blanket of around 20 m of volcanic material.
The Escapees
Another example of the exceptional nature of Herculaneum’s documentation includes a discovery made in 1980 of some 300 skeletons found in nine of the twelve vaulted spaces (fornici) facing the ancient beach, which were probably used as warehouses or boat shelters.
The objects found next to the victims tell us how everyone had taken their most treasured possessions with them, jewellery, baskets and bags with coins, money boxes, house keys, but also amulets and work tools, including an incredible surgeon’s set. They clearly hoped to one day return to their homes or make a new life elsewhere.
The victims are women and men, both young and old, masters and slaves, all equally huddled together in the hope of rescue. This group of skeletons constitutes an anthropological sample of absolute importance, being made up of individuals of different sexes and ages, who lived in the same period and historical context and died at the same time, yielding a great deal of information for palaeopathology.
All the words by the official site of the Archeological park of Herculanem
Photos by Fabrizio Fiorenzano
