Spotlight on Herculaneum

By H. Stauffer

            When Mount Vesuvius erupted, Pompeii wasn’t the only city affected. Herculaneum, a smaller city supposedly founded by Hercules in close proximity to Pompeii, was also destroyed by the flow of the lava from the volcano.

            Very popular buildings such as the “House of Gem”, the “House of the Mosaic Atrium” and the “Villa of the Papyri” which was said to have been filled with hundreds of written scrolls were lost in the great eruption. The “Decumus Maximus”, or a theatre for the public, was another building that was lost to this eruption just a short few days ago.

            “Herculaneum was conquered by Sulla in 89 BC.” It then became a provincial town and took the name of a “municipum”. Herculaneum was a tourist “hot spot” for wealthy Romans because it provided seclusion, great fishing, famous vineyards, and exceptional sea views.

Multiple wall mosaics, marble furniture, and tunnel passages used for the transportation of goods have been lost in Herculaneum. Many, if not all of the residents died due to lead poisoning and from the sheer magnitude of the lava.