The story of this place
Wealthier and smaller than Pompeii, Herculaneum met a different fate in AD 79: instead of ash, waves of superheated pyroclastic flow and up to 20 metres of volcanic mud engulfed it, carbonising and sealing organic material. The result is astonishing—wooden beams, doors, furniture, food, and even a library of 1,800 papyrus scrolls (the Villa of the Papyri) survive. For centuries it was thought most residents had escaped, until the 1980s excavation of the ancient shoreline uncovered over 300 skeletons huddled in boat sheds, killed instantly by 500°C heat. Because the town lies beneath the modern city of Ercolano, only a fraction has been dug, leaving much still entombed.