We travelled about a third of the distance from Naples to
Herculaneum as we would have travelled to get to Pompeii, on the same local rail system (
Circumvesuviana). Herculaneum (Ercolano today) is a smaller excavation of a more exclusive seaside retreat than Pompeii. Extraordinary to be able to look down into, then walk down into, streets of antiquity inside a modern town.
Alarming to be allowed to walk into rooms, over tiled floors 2000 years old, with rain puddles in them and shoes of every description scraping over them.
It was something of a puzzle, watching bricklayers at work restoring or recreating walls, to know which parts of fascinating wall building styles should be attributed to the original town builders.
We later visited the National Archaeological Museum where we saw spectacular mosaics from Herculaneum and Pompeii, very valuable to have been first to Herculaneum — having done which we felt no need to go to Pompeii. Here are photos from Herculaneum:
click to enlarge this photo below, the detail may otherwise escape you...
... use the BACK button to return
... and here, finally, down at the seaside as was in AD79.
If he was a gentleman guardian of the town, he was, like the guns of Singapore in 1941,
looking the wrong way.
click here to see some items from here and Pompeii in the
