The Roman site that has always struck me with the most interest is Herculaneum. At one time it was populated by over five thousand people, and was destroyed by the same volcanoes that it’s bigger brother known as Pompeii also suffered from. In contrast to Pompeii, the bodies of those killed at Herculaneum are not preserved in casts. Hundreds of skeletons have been discovered, mostly on what was once the ancient beach. Herculaneum was a smaller town with a wealthier population than Pompeii at the time of its destruction. The timber from the Herculaneum disaster is still preserved today, but is very charred and in rough condition. Clues from the charred timber gave archaeologists a much better idea of what a Roman town could have looked like. The idea of the way Herculaneum was destroyed was thought to be from a pyroclastic flow. A pryoclastic flow is described as a, ground-hugging avalanche of hot ash, pumice, rock fragments, and volcanic gas that rushes down the side of a volcano as fast as 100 km/hour or more. (D\'arms, J., 1970, Romans on the Bay of Naples: Cambridge, Massachusetts) The temperature within a pyroclastic flow may be greater than 500° C, sufficient to burn and carbonize wood. Once deposited, the ash, pumice, and rock fragments may deform or flatten causing them to weld together due to the intense heat and the weight of the overlying material.

Herculaneum was originally discovered when a well was being dug in the early 18th Century, between 50 and 60 feet below the modern surface. A series of ‘robber’ shafts and tunnels were dug to strip the site of any saleable valuables. Rocco Alcubierre and his assistant Carlo Weber became fed up with the way the site was treated and began to explore it on a more scientific basis between 1749 to 1765 for the Bourbon Kings of Naples and the Two Sicilies. Under the supervision of Karl Weber, a Swiss military engineer, a network of tunnels was dug through the debris clogging the great peristyle, the atrium and the Olympic-sized swimming pool. Cartloads of treasures were brought to the surface, destined for the art collection of the King of Naples. (One of several mosaics still preserved)
Throughout this time, mingled with the sculptures and glassware, workmen retrieved what looked like lumps of coal which they unthinkingly dumped in the sea. It was not until 1752 and the discovery of an intact library lined with 1,800 rolls of papyrus, that the excavators realized that what they had been throwing away were carbonized books. The site has since been known as the Villa of the Papyri. Once the villa had been stripped, 200 years ago, the tunnels were sealed. A basic plan of the town was mapped out and much of the portable remains were removed but eventually these tunnels collapsed and were closed down. The modern towns of Resina and Portici grew up over the site and knowledge of where the entrances to the tunnels were was lost to the scientific community. (D\'arms, J., 1970, Romans on the Bay of Naples: Cambridge, Massachusetts)
In the 20th Century, archaeological excavations started back up, but with a more modern and scientific basis. This led to uncovering a small section of the town, but the surviving buildings were damaged by earlier tunneling. The site suffered damage from exposure elements and periodic earth tremors, causing a constant battle over trying to preserve its remains. The first major discovery of 1st century A.D. Roman skeletal materials took place in Herculaneum. Because the Romans generally practiced cremation into the 3rd century, very little skeletal material remains for study. Excavation during the 1990s in the port area of Herculaneum turned up the skeletons of more than 200 individuals of different age,sex, and class. (D\'arms, J., 1970, Romans on the Bay of Naples: Cambridge, Massachusetts)The skeletons were preserved on the seafront, where people had fled in an attempt to escape the volcanic disaster. One of the most famous skeletons excavated is known as the “ring lady”.
(ring lady)
Recent archaeological work at the site has rediscovered potentially one of the greatest treasure houses of contemporary Roman knowledge. The Villa of the Papyri was initially thought to contain unreadable charred scrolls, fused into solid lumps when it was originally excavated in the 18th Century. Using various techniques some of the scrolls could be eased open and part of them could actually be read. A few were opened using an early mechanized method that allowed them to be slowly unrolled but could take up to four years to do. Even after this method was completed the scrolls were still very difficult to read when they were fully opened. Recent research using carefully measured chemical solutions is now enabling more of the 1800 to 2000 excavated scrolls to be opened into separate sheets but it is still a long process. Electronic equipment has recently been used enabling scholars to enhance the remaining script and more fully interpret some of the ancient texts contained on the scrolls. The scrolls opened and read to date appear to have mainly been various philosophical texts written in Greek rather than Latin but it is possible that more scrolls could be excavated in the future which will cover other aspects of Roman life. In doing my research on Herculaneum, I found this next part of its history to be most important and very intriguing. One article claimed that there is a very good chance that there are other Papyri with Latin texts in lower unexplored sections of the Villa. The Villa was owned by a relative of Julius Caesar, which presents several other possibilities. It’s also believed that there is a more complete copy of Julius Caesars ‘Civil War’, which has missing and corrupted sections. There could also be several numbers of texts that have been lost to history and still waiting to be rediscovered.

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