📷 Jiří Dočkal · Pexels

Where in the world

Italy

Herculaneum

Roman · Italy

Field notes

civilizations: Roman
types: City
occupied: 600 BCE — 79 CE
visitors: 563,165 / year
country: Italy

The site

Herculaneum is an ancient Roman town in Campania, Italy, buried under a massive pyroclastic flow when Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. Unlike nearby Pompeii, its searing volcanic material carbonized and preserved wooden roofs, beds and doors along with food and papyrus, making it one of the best-preserved Roman cities. First uncovered in 1709, it still yields only a fraction of its buried extent and draws over half a million visitors a year.

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