Photo: “Antigua ciudad de Herculano, Italia, 2023-03-27, DD 141”, Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized for the web.
ITALY · AD 79 (VESUVIUS ERUPTION)
Herculaneum
Herculaneum was a holiday resort, smaller than its neighbour Pompeii, the large commercial town, but its remains have survived in better condition. Both vanished under Vesuvius’s ash on 24 August AD 79. Archaeologists have been uncovering the town section by section since the mid-18th century, opening it to visitors as they go.
- Country
- Italy
- Period
- AD 79 (Vesuvius eruption)
- Civilisation
- Roman
- UNESCO
- On the World Heritage List
- Location
- 40.8060° N, 14.3470° E Open in OpenStreetMap Open in Apple Maps
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Areas of the site
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Excavations of Herculaneum
Buried by volcanic flows from Vesuvius in AD 79, the town kept wooden structures and household objects to a remarkable degree.
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Theatre of Herculaneum
The theatre, where excavation first began, still lies underground and can be reached only through tunnels.
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Villa of the Papyri
In this grand villa north-west of the town, a library of hundreds of carbonised papyrus scrolls was found.