12,000 inhabitants, Herculaneum was relatively modest in size. Unlike Pompeii, which was mostly a commercial city with ca. Herculaneum was then transformed into a purely Roman town and prospered as a quiet, secluded seaside resort for wealthy and distinguished Roman citizens who built beachfront residences with panoramic sea views. Photo by Carole Raddato, Flickr, Creative Commons View of the Decumanus Maximus (main east-west axis) of Herculaneum with the House of the Black Hall on the left and the House of the Bicentenary on the right. The town remained a member of the Samnite league until it became a Roman municipium in 89 BCE during the Social War. 64 BCE – 24 CE), the city was subsequently inhabited by Oscans, then Etruscans and Pelasgians, and finally by Samnites in the 4th century BCE. The precise early history of Herculaneum is unclear, but the urban planning suggests that it may have been connected with the Greek colony settlements in the Naples area. As its name suggests, it was originally dedicated to the Greek god Herakles, who, according to the legend told by Dionysius of Halicarnassus (60 BCE), founded the city after his return from one of his twelve labours. Herculaneum was a small walled town located a short distance from the sea, west of Mount Vesuvius. Its destruction and preservation have made Herculaneum an extraordinary place which genuinely deserves the same renown as its famous neighbour. In Herculaneum, there are two-storey buildings, wooden furniture, traces of wooden stairways and balconies, luxurious patrician villas and even merchant shops with their original wooden shelves holding amphorae. Located just 17 kilometres (10 miles) to the north of its more famous neighbor, the archeological site attracts fewer tourists, but the exceptional preservation of this Roman seaside town and the compactness of its exposed remains might even offer the visitor a more satisfying experience than Pompeii. In this second part, we look into the fascinating history of Pompeii’s “little sister”, the town of Herculaneum.
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In the first part of our new travel series devoted to the archaeological sites around the Bay of Naples, we shared some hints and tips as to how you can best prepare for your self-guided tour of Pompeii. The fascinating history of Pompeii’s “little sister”, the town of Herculaneum. Photo by Carole Raddato, AHE, Creative Commons Herculaneum, located on the Bay of Naples, was a Roman town which was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.
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