Vesuvius’s FIRST VICTIM I
n AD 79, Herculaneum was a small seaside town. Fishermen coming home from their day’s labor on the water landed at the docks beside the beautiful, arched vaults of the city. Looking up, they would have seen their home. Unfortunately, Herculaneum was nestled at the foot of an active volcano. There was no time to prepare, only to run. The ground juddered. The sky burned. It must have looked like the end of the world. Remarkably, some of the inhabitants escaped, but not all were so fortunate. Hundreds perished before they could find safety; skeletons huddled together by the shore testify to this fact. The remains were preserved there for centuries.
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Skip Pompeii, Try Herculaneum When you hear the word Vesuvius, the name of that infamous Italian volcano, you probably think of Pompeii. Not far away, however, lies its lesserknown counterpart: Herculaneum. This small town on the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea lies beneath and alongside the modern city Ercolano. While you may not have heard of it, this city should rival Pompeii as a “must-see” place to visit on your bucket list. The sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum are comparable, but there are a couple of points to keep in mind. Herculaneum is smaller
than Pompeii, making it a manageable day trip. It is also significantly better preserved than Pompeii, and, as a result, offers a number of sights that can’t be found anywhere else. This extraordinary preservation is due to the unique effect the eruption had on Herculaneum. Unlike Pompeii, Herculaneum was buried under up to sixty feet of ash and rock. The rock protected statues, buildings, and many other features of the city. Even fragile and organic items like food, fabric, papyri scrolls, wooden furniture, and human skeletons survived. The city was protected from time and weather as well as from those who would steal or disturb the artifacts. Herculaneum was discovered much
