Herculaneum
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An ancient Roman town in southern Italy that, like the better known Pompeii, was destroyed in a cataclysmic eruption of nearby Mt Vesuvius in the year 79 CE. But there are also a few significant differences between the two sites. Herculaneum was even better preserved than Pompeii, but the archaeological excavations have revealed only about a quarter of the town. It’s thus a much smaller place to visit. Plaster casts of victims, the main dark attraction in Pompeii, do not exist at Herculaneum, but you can see heaps of skeletal remains in a row of former boat shelters, plus the carbonization effects from the pyroclastic flows that buried the town.
More background info: Like Pompeii, Herculaneum was not founded by the Romans but by earlier peoples, and changed hands between several of them, e.g. the Etruscans and the Greeks, before finally becoming a Roman town early in the last century BCE. The town was smaller than Pompeii, with an estimated 5000 inhabitants, but it grew even richer than Pompeii, as evidenced by the dense assortment of grand mansions and villas, whose ruins you can see today.
For the chronology of the eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79 CE see under Pompeii!
Herculaneum survived the first phase of the eruption nearly unscathed, but in the second phase the next day it was suddenly and cataclysmically engulfed in massive pyroclastic flows/surges (clouds of volcanic ash and super-hot gases that race across the ground at great speed). These killed all the remaining people in Herculaneum instantly and also carbonized wooden structures, food in storage and other organic matter. The people, however, were basically cooked alive or even vaporized, so here no hollow cavities were formed in the ash from which plaster casts could be made from like at Pompeii.
It had originally been been assumed that Herculaneum’s residents must all have managed to flee in time. But in the early 1980s, the skeletal remains of over 300 people were found in a row of what used to be boat shelters just outside the old city walls. Herculaneum used to be right on the seafront (while today the shore is a few hundred metres away). That so many people had gathered in these confined spaces (basically stone vaults) suggests that they were trying to seek shelter from the eruption. Yet, the heat from the pyroclastic flows was so intense that even such a shelter proved useless. The finds of these bones also allowed for forensic investigations – see e.g. this article reporting such scientific studies (external link, opens in a new tab)
The physical effect on the structures of Herculaneum was also different than in Pompeii. Whereas in the latter many houses collapsed under the weight of all the ash that had fallen, the pyroclastic flows that came into Herculaneum caused much less physical damage to the buildings. Moreover, the flows deposited a layer of volcanic material much thicker than at Pompeii (ca. 20 metres as opposed to the 4 to 6 metres in Pompeii). This much thicker layer also meant that Herculaneum was even better preserved as it more thoroughly protected the town’s remains not only from the elements but also from looters.
Yet Herculaneum was rediscovered decades before Pompeii was, namely in the early 18th century. Archaeological digs and investigations in the 18th century focused more on discovering valuable artefacts rather than the preservation of the site. That only came later.
Excavations up to now have revealed only about a quarter of the area of ancient Herculaneum. The rest still lies buried under its thick layer of volcanic material, on which later new settlements were built, including today’s town of Ercolano – so named in honour of Herculaneum only in the late 1960s (before that it was called Resina).
After previous efforts came under criticism, today’s main focus is on preservation rather than new excavations. Nevertheless fresh discoveries were still being made. Most significantly those stone vaults that were boat shelters containing the skeletal remains of over 300 people that were found only in the 1980s and 90s.
As in Pompeii, exposure to the elements, tourism and neglect caused some deterioration, but since the 2000s a more concerted effort is being made to preserve the site. The original skeletal remains have meanwhile been replaced by copies made from resin to protect the originals.
Being less world famous than Pompeii, Herculaneum is also less affected by over-tourism. At the same time, given its smaller area size, it is also more manageable for visitors than the vast site of Pompeii.
If you are very familiar with this website you will have noticed that normally there’s a time-fame constraint for the coverage of places, namely that they belong to the modern era (as outlined here). Obviously Herculaneum falls outside that time frame. Yet it was granted exception status for much the same reason as Pompeii (see the explanations in the background section there and also in this Blog post).
What there is to see: Quite a lot, especially for anybody with a keen interest in archaeology and ancient Rome. For those there’s plenty to see in terms of architecture, mosaics, frescoes, statues and everyday objects.
From the specific dark-tourism perspective there’s less, but one element is a stark “highlight”: the row of stone vaults (that were boat shelters back then) inside the former city wall where the waterfront had been in 79 CE: here hundreds of victims’ skeletal remains were discovered and put on display. You can still see them in all their gruesomeness – some skulls appear to be screaming! – though these days the remains are only copies made from resin, while the originals are kept under better protection now.
The carbonizing effect of the heat of the pyroclastic flows (see above) can be seen in some houses whose half-timbered wood is all black, effectively turned into charcoal (these days extra steel supports have been installed to ensure the stability of such structures). Several similarly blackened objects are also on display in a glass case. In one corner of one of the houses are pieces of charred wood that are believed to have been part of a bed frame, so they’ve been put on a reconstructed new wooden frame.
To the south of the excavated parts of the town is also a cave you can partially enter. The main part features a modern Medusa sculpture, and behind that are deeper tunnels, but these are cordoned off (they look a bit like the Napoli Sotterranea tunnels).
In the north-eastern part of the complex you can see some un-excavated deposits of volcanic materials from the pyroclastic flows that buried Herculaneum.
Otherwise it’s all the ruins of opulent private houses, as well as public buildings such as Roman baths, as well as Roman-era artwork that can be admired: bas-reliefs, mosaics, frescoes and statues ... the works.
Yet more is on display inside Herculaneum’s equivalent of Pompeii’s “Antiquarium”, i.e. a museum. Herculaneum’s Antiquarium, by the way, is housed in a fabulously bold brutalist-style concrete edifice that fans of that architectural style will love.
Inside are yet more frescoes, mosaics, statues and so forth. But also several pieces of carbonized wooden furniture, including even delicate little tripod tables and a storage cabinet with glass and earthenware objects like bottles and cups.
Also on display are valuables, mainly coins and jewellery like rings and bracelets that were found together with the skeletal remains in those boat shelters. Clearly the victims had been gathering their most precious belongings in the hope of escaping the town together with those valuables.
Finally there’s also another, adjacent building in which the remains of a boat from the time of Herculaneum are on display together with several more, related artefacts.
All in all, Herculaneum may be smaller than Pompeii and lacks the famous plaster casts to be seen in the latter, yet it is also worth a visit, as Herculaneum also features elements that are absent in Pompeii, most notably those skeletal remains in the former boat shelters as well as the many examples of carbonization caused by the heat of the pyroclastic flows that destroyed the town.
Location: in the Campania region of southern Italy, a good four miles (6.7 km) west of Mt Vesuvius, six miles (10 km) south-east of Naples, and a good eight miles (13 km) north-west of Pompeii.
Google Maps locator: [40.806, 14.347]
Access and costs: fairly easy to reach from Naples (by train), not too expensive for what you get.
Details: To get to Herculaneum from Naples you just have to board one of the ordinary regional trains that run (usually half-hourly) on the Salento line (do not use the Campania Express line). It’s best to get the train from the terminus in Naples at Porta Nolana Station rather than at the Central Station. As it’s a normal commuter train, seats may already all fill up at Porta Nolana. But if you have to stand that’s not too bad – the ride only takes about 15 minutes. Tickets are quite cheap – and if you have a three-day Campania ArteCard public transport is even free.
From the train station of Ercolano Scavi you still have to walk a bit (a good ten minutes or so). Heading south-west first on Via Vittorio Veneto and then Via IV Novembre all the way to its end. Through the big ornamental gates to the archaeological park you then have to make your way to the ticket office, which is in the south-western corner of the park. En route you already get a good bird’s eye look at the ruins of Herculaneum.
If you are coming by (hire) car, you can find a large car park to the south of the ticket office off Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi (not free – and some reviews say a bit pricey).
Of course there are also guided package tours by coach/van even from Naples, some combining it with Pompeii and/or Vesuvius.
Opening times: daily except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. between mid-March and mid-October, but only to 5 p.m. the rest of the year. You have to leave the archaeological area half an hour earlier to make it to the exit of the complex in time.
Admission: the regular adult fee is 16 EUR, some concessions apply (18-25 year old visitors pay only 2 EUR!). If you have a three-day Campania ArteCard and haven’t used it more than once you get free entry; if you’ve already used it twice or more you still get a reduction (half price I believe).
Off season you can just rock on up, but in high season it may be advisable to pre-book your ticket online from the official website (ercolano[dot]cultura[dot]gov[dot]it).
Time required: I spent only a good two and a half hours at the site, but others with a keener interest in ancient Roman architecture and artefacts may well need much longer than that.
Combinations with other dark destinations: Most obviously the other, more famous such site: Pompeii. However, it might be hard to manage both sites on the same day, better spread it over two. Pompeii can be reached by the same train service as that getting you to Herculaneum.
From the train station Ercolano Scavi there are bus services taking visitors to the trailhead for climbing up to the crater rim of Mt Vesuvius, which quite a few tourists like to do (and I would probably have done that too, had the weather conditions not been so adverse).
And since Herculaneum is typically visited as a day excursion from Naples, that city offers plenty more combinations.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: Present-day Ercolano is a not unpleasant little town, and offers eateries for hungry tourists, but for proper sightseeing you should head back to Naples.
