Hercules on Holiday

Ercolano Scarvi (Herculaneum), Italy.  Just when you thought you were done with ruins!

Ercolano (modern city) sits right over the Herculaneum ruins

Wall to left indicates the level of mud. This was once
the Port area of the city, at the water's edge.  Not now.

Hercules must have been a very busy boy as we had found yet another city (this one once buried under a sea of mud) said to have been founded by him.  

Following Vesuvius’s eruption in 79 AD, Herculaneum was sadly, another of its victims.  It is thought that not so many perished in this event, although a grim reminder of untimely death has been brought to light in dockside warehouses.

Once an elaborate villa

Street-side Bar & Fast Food

This once exclusive resort town on the edge of the Bay of Naples was patronised by many wealthy aristocrats.  In turn, such patronage attracted numerous talented craftsmen so we are left with an incredible legacy of mosaics, frescoes and sculptures.  One of the features of the site is an abundance of timber structures preserved by the mud (unlike Pompeii where timber burned).  One house, not opened for our visit, contained a small wooden cross which is considered one of the Roman Empire’s oldest Christian relics. 

Tomb of Marcus Nonius Balbus on the Terrace named for him

Grinding stone in the Baker's shop

Water Fountains were all decorated

Ercolano scarvi (ruins) are not nearly as large as Pompeii and are far more sheltered.  It requires little imagination however, looking down into the site, to see how much mud must have covered the town and how much more must lie buried beneath it still.  

Modern day Ercolano, built atop these ruins also hinders further excavation.  Although not quite so romantic as Pompeii, the ruins reveal a sense of life in this busy sea-side resort; enough for it to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.  Again, artefacts in the NMA in Naples add rich detail, although at times like this, it would be good to have on hand one of those computer-generated “fill-in-the-blanks” programs to see it as it might once have been.

College of the Augustales with its Hercules frescoes

Hercules in contest with River Arcelous 

Locals hiding in Port warehouses were suffocated by mud & fumes

We were not given any information/maps of Herculaneum with our ticket purchase and had to navigate using an old, out-of-date 2003 guide (yes, we're cheap!).  Most features were signposted though, however, we refrained from taking photos of them all.  Google will help fill in the gaps later - hopefully!

That said, we were free to wander and explore to our heart's content.  There were no guided tours, freelancing guides or even many visitors.  This made Herculaneum feel even more special than Pompeii as we felt so very close to it.  It was a humbling, if not spooky experience, in this city of lost souls.