A-Z Blogging Challenge: H Stands For: Herculaneum

I know I've posted about this before, but since I really do think this city deserves more attention . . . have you ever heard of Herculaneum?

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You know, the city that got destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 AD?

Yes, Pompeii was bigger. Yes, they found buildings and macabre human-shaped cavities. Yes, there is some interesting stuff at the city.

But I still think Herculaneum is cooler.

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Recently, archaeologists have found the old basilica, a painted statue head, mosaics, a loaf of bread, even wooden structures such as furniture and buildings, thanks to the heat and intensity the pyroclastic flow. And that's after people back in the 1700s or so looted the place, digging tunnels throughout the ruins (Herculaneum was buried under 65+ feet of ash) and hacking apart many of the paintings to sell.

The only problem with excavating it is that there's a city above the ruins.

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Of course, having a city there is rather dangerous. If Vesuvius erupts again like the way it did in 79 AD--and that's not impossible in the least--it could mean a disaster many, many times greater than the one thousands of years ago. 6 million people live where Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabiae, and Oplontis (those are the other towns destroyed) used to be. Evacuation plans for the Bay of Naples only account for 600,000.

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If you'd like to learn more, go HERE to the PBS Secrets of the Dead and watch the video.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herculaneum

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The danger of a volcanic eruption aside, it's a cool site, don't you think?


-----The Golden Eagle

Herculaneum Was There, Too!

You've heard of Pompeii, I bet. You also probably know what happened that day, August 24th 79 AD. But did you know about Herculaneum?

I've noticed that in a lot of history books there's practically nothing about Herculaneum. The most I've found is a mention that it was buried under 65 feet of ash. You would think that there would be more about a city buried under 65 feet of ash, but unfortunately, no.

That's why I was thrilled when Secrets of the Dead: Herculaneum Uncovered was aired last night:

Watch the full episode. See more Secrets of the Dead.

Because someone had decided this Roman city was finally worth looking into!

I didn't know about much of what they said. Like, that the Bourbons looted the place through a maze of tunnel leading underground. Or that the citizens of Herculaneum hid in the boat sheds as the pyroclastic flows enveloped their city. Or that 2000 year-old-bread is in existence, and even has its owner's name on it. There's ancient, carbonized furniture, and some pieces of wood that were not carbonized.

But even Pompeii and Herculaneum weren't the only cities--Stabiae and Oplontis were also wiped out.

I always find less-discovered places and people fascinating. There's so much more to learn that way. :)


-----The Golden Eagle