Skip to main content

Tuesday Travels: Herculaneum

Photo: A panoramic view of the ruins of the ancient city of Herculaneum

 One of the days we stayed in Naples, John and I decided to get brave and use some of our free time to take the train to the nearby town of Ercolano to view the ancient ruins of Herculaneum. We caught the early train, so we could arrive at opening "to avoid the crowds." The rain did a good job of keeping the (albeit, off-season) crowds at bay, but our early arrival on an inclement morning did assure that we toured an almost-empty city.
Photo: An empty abandoned narrow path in Herculaneum
You may not have heard about Herculaneum; everyone seems to know about Pompeii, but Herculaneum also fell victim to Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. According to our tour guide, Herculaneum was a more upscale town. At the very least, it utilized a sewer system that went under the streets, as opposed to the above-ground, free-flowing waste that traveled the streets of Pompeii. 

 Another major difference between the two cities is that Pompeii was covered with ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, but Herculaneum was buried in mud. Because of the mud, air could not reach the ruins, so wood that normally would have decomposed is still preserved. The eruption occurred in 79 A.D., and it amazes me to think that anything wooden could still be around from that long ago!
Photo: John and I stand between the panels of the large sliding wooden door

 The mud also helped preserve the vibrant colors of the art on the walls of the homes and shops. 
Photo: A room from a home in Herculaneum is covered with vibrant red and blue murals
Photo: A mosaic on a wall of a home depicts various animals against an intensely deep blue sky
Before Herculaneum was covered in mud, it sat right at the edge of the sea. (The mud extended the shore out quite a bit.) When Mt. Vesuvius first erupted, some of the residents of Herculaneum fled to the boat houses to await rescue. Unfortunately, rescue did not come. An intense blast of heat from another eruption instantly killed the waiting people. Today, around 300 skeletons can be seen at Herculaneum. According to our guide, DNA analysis has proved the familial relationships of some of the remains. It is a somber thought to reflect on the circumstances of the death of so many people. 

 Seeing the skeletons, and hearing the information our tour guide, Luciano Leone, told us, really helped bring Herculaneum to life. If you ever visit, I would recommend hiring a tour guide. I learned so much more than I would have if I had just explored on my own. 
Photo: Our tour guide (Luciano Leone), poses for a selfie with John and me

Comments

  1. messymimiMarch 26, 2019 at 6:01 PM

    Our tour went to Pompeii instead, and i always wished i could have seen both.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 27, 2019 at 12:00 PM

      There are always more places to explore, aren't there?

      Delete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...
4 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Live from Oregon, part 2

stock photo of old computer monitor When I was 10 or 11, I remember sitting next to my dad in our living room and reading computer code to him as he entered it into an Apple computer. We would finish the exercise and he would hit enter (or was it "run"?) and wait expectantly for the green type to appear on the screen. If we were lucky, the whole conversation would occur. Most often, there would be an error either in my dictation of the code, or in the typing of the code. We would then go painstakingly back through the lines, character by character, to find and correct the error. After what seemed like hours (and might have been), we would succeed and the computer would finally run the entire program. It was magical! My dad designed and built an earth-sheltered, passive solar home decades before solar panels were commonplace. He also was on a 9-month waiting list for a Prius, when hybrids were not seen on every street.  While my dad is definitely on the cutting edge of technol...
5 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Oregon Edition, Part 3

  A western bluebird, sitting at the base of a house window, looks inside Thanks (1) to those who have sent well-wishes for my mom's recovery. Her wrist is healing up nicely. I met a friend from high school for lunch this past week. It was so nice to have a chance to visit with her for a couple of hours. She is one of those friends who it doesn't matter how much time has passed, we can pick right back up into meaningful conversations. Lunch ended all too soon, but I'm so thankful (2) for her, and I'm thankful (3) that she reminded me of the importance of reaching out to others.  Being in my parents' home this week, visiting with a long-time (I'm not saying old!) friend, and with Mother's Day tomorrow, my mind naturally reflects upon the women in my life. I'm thankful (4) for an incredible mom--a gentle woman who taught and loved and guided us (and still does.) I'm thankful (5) for grandmas who were different in their personalities but united in their...
3 comments
Read more