Sealed beneath a 20-meter layer of volcanic mud and ash that hardened into a soft rock known as pappamonte, the ancient Roman town of Herculaneum preserved organic materials like wooden roofs, beds, and papyrus that perished elsewhere. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997 alongside Pompeii and Oplonti, the archaeological park welcomed 563,165 visitors in 2023. Prior to the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius—which evidence like heavy clothing, autumn fruit, sealed wine jars, and a coin minted in mid-September indicates occurred after October 17—the town was an exclusive seaside retreat for the Roman elite. Smaller and wealthier than Pompeii, it housed around 5,000 people, tracing its origins through Oscan, Etruscan, Greek, and Samnite rule before Titus Didius captured it during the Social War, making it a Roman municipium in 89 BC.
What to see
The classical street layout organizes the town into blocks (insulae) divided by intersecting cardi and decumani. Along the ancient shoreline sit the "boat houses", where between 1980 and 1981 archaeologist Giuseppe Maggi excavated the skeletal remains of at least 300 individuals. They were killed instantly by 160 km/h pyroclastic surges after the initial eruption column—described by Pliny the Younger to Tacitus as resembling a stone pine tree up to 33 km high—collapsed, bringing temperatures of 250 °C. The force blew a marble statue of tribune Marcus Nonius Balbus 15 meters away and lifted a victim in the House of the Relief of Telephus 2.5 meters off the ground. The 2nd-century BC city walls, up to 3 meters thick and featuring opus reticulatum on the coast, were later integrated into residences like the House of the Inn. Key structures include the Villa of the Papyri, discovered by Karl Jakob Weber in 1750 yielding over 1,800 carbonized scrolls, the northwest baths, and the House of the Dionysian Reliefs. The underground theatre, accidentally found in 1709 by a farmer digging a well, originally featured African marble and alabaster columns alongside an architrave honoring the consul Claudius Pulcher.
Visiting
Only a fraction of the ancient town is accessible today, comprising the four hectares unearthed between 1927 and 1942 by Amedeo Maiuri, who removed over 250,000 cubic meters of tuff after the Italian government rejected a 1904 international excavation proposal by Charles Waldstein. More than 75% of Herculaneum remains buried beneath Ercolano (known as Resina until 1969) and Portici. Formal excavations began in 1738 under Charles III of Spain, led by Roque Joaquin de Alcubierre and Giovanni Antonio Medrano. The ensuing publication of "Le Antichità di Ercolano" profoundly influenced European Neoclassicism, though Johann Joachim Winckelmann harshly criticized early treasure-hunting methods. Today, the focus is strictly on conserving the exposed architecture. The movable artifacts, including the exquisite Herculaneum women sculptures found early on by the Prince d'Elboeuf (now in Dresden), are primarily housed at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
Our editors' tip
To visualize the town before its destruction, pair your walk through the ruins with a stop at the nearby Virtual Archaeological Museum (MAV), opened in 2008, which offers detailed digital reconstructions of the buried city.