Off to Napoli Garibaldi Station this morning for the 30 minute journey on a graffitied rattler to Ercolano, then the one kilometre downhill walk to the historic site of Herculaneum, with glimpses of the Mediterranean Sea on the way.
There is
some controversy over the origins of Herculaneum, but what is known is that it
was built on a volcanic plateau, on a sheer cliff overlooking the Mediterranean
Sea, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.
Although it is no doubt Greek in origin, there was profound construction
during the Augustinian period (the reign of Emperor Augustus - late 1st
century BCE/early 1st century CE), but an earthquake in 62CE made
many buildings unsafe.
The city of
Herculaneum, enclosed by walls, was spread over approximately twenty hectares
and probably had a population of about 4,000 at its peak. Today only 4.5 hectares has been excavated
and are visible; so much of the original city is still to be uncovered.
In 79CE,
Vesuvius erupted, covering Herculaneum in volcanic ash and pyroclastic rock that
solidified. This led to the preservation
of much of the city and its contents, a unique phenomenon that resulted in fabrics, furniture, wood, plants and even the upper floors of some buildings
being preserved in their form at the time of the eruption. Approximately 300 human skeletons have been
found so far, with evidence that some of the inhabitants attempted to escape to
the beach but were killed by the high temperature caused by the blazing clouds
exploding from the volcano. A
well-preserved 9-metre Roman boat containing skeletons and a bag of coins was
found.
We found
Herculaneum a much easier site to navigate than Pompeii and so much better
preserved. Many houses with a central courtyard pool – some of two storeys,
many shops, bars, mosaics, frescoes are to be seen. Even carbonized timber
beams are still visible. And to think
that only about 20% has so far been uncovered. However it seems that much of
the original city is now buried under the current town of Ercolano, and it was
found that there was 16 metres of ash covering the area following the volcanic
eruption, so it is doubtful that the city of Herculaneum will ever be fully
revealed.
We had a
late lunch then a slow walk back up the hill to the station and another journey
on the well-packed rattler back into Garibaldi Station and home for our last
night in Naples.
Tomorrow
morning we board the train to Milan and stay overnight at an airport hotel,
then an afternoon flight Saturday, arriving In Singapore early Sunday
morning. So no blogs for a couple of
days.
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