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Herculaneum– A City by the Bay

Herculaneum– A City by the Bay

Last updated on: August 19, 2025 at 1:40 am by Ben Witherington

Herculaneum– A City by the Bay 2025-08-09T10:46:54-04:00 Ben Witherington

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The other major city destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was Herculaneum. It too has been extensively excavated however not to the degree of Pompeii, which is a much larger site, which has being dug off and on for 150 or so years… and still is not even half excavated! Herculaneum was right on the bay and many tried to escape by boat. In the little Herculaneum museum we have a boat dredged up from that very place.

In the picture immediately above, all those openings were where the boats we housed, so close was this city to the water (unlike today). Some of those fleeing thought they would be safe in the boat houses– and sadly they were wrong as the archaeologists later discovered.

While there is less to see here at Herculaneum than at Pompeii, there are nonetheless some quality exhibits to be seen as you stroll down the streets. Notice how much lower street level was then than now.

This is a fast food bar, serving up soup and other hot meals out of their clay urns. One could simply lean on the counter, be served and eat, perhaps before getting on a boat to one of the nearby islands. In general the houses here are just as impressive as the villas at Pompeii, there are just fewer of them. Here’s a spectacular mosaic floor from one of the houses. Notice how there was earthquake damage from below as well as fire rocks (lapilli), heat, and smoke from above. Notice the appropriate sea motifs for a seaside villa– featuring dolphins and presumably Neptune. Here’s also a small impluvium in a courtyard, which originally would have had a partially open ceiling so rain water could come in.

Here is a small water basin.

The villa with the most impressive mosaics is this one–

Many of these houses had their businesses right in the house, hence the signs hanging outside for the laundry, the bakery etc. The Romans used urine to soak their white togas in to bleach them clean, so you might will find a small catch basin in front of the laundry for men to liquidate their assets into, so to speak!

Below is a bedroom complete with double bed and frescoed wall. Below that is a table behind which the master of the house would sit to do business with his slaves and clients beginning at 6 in the morning!

On a nice day this little town would have been a very pleasant place on the bay to spend some time, with flowers in bloom, fresh fish on offer, and much more.

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