Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Herculaneum

After a good 6 hours wandering the streets of Pompeii we decided to move on to Herculaneum. Fortunately we had taped up the feet well enough to endure another couple of hours of walking. Just few train stops closer to Naples (and Mt Vesuvius) lies Herculaneum, the vacation spot for former dwellers of the bay of Naples. We arrived toward the end of the day and by the time we purchased tickets the site was only open for about 2 more hours.

Compared to Pompeii, Herculaneum is considered a much better preserved set of ruins due to its closer proximity to the volcano. Many of the second and third stories of the ancient businesses and houses have been preserved. Occasionally one can see some of the original wood used during construction of the buildings thousands of years ago that was instantly carbonized from the heat of the volcanic eruption. Some of the best mosaics and frescos of the site are not roped off or under restoration like they are in Pompeii. Unfortunately, much of the original city still lies buried underground. The current city of Herculaneum has been built on top of the old preventing any further excavation.


Again, the baths held many of the best preserved mosaics and original building materials in the entire site. One particularly cool building was an old wine/food shop. Carbonized original wood shelving still holding what were once storage containers for food and wine. A small staircase led from the bottom of this shop to the living quarters upstairs.


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