Inarajin/Wikimedia CommonsThe ancient ruins of Herculaneum sit in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, which destroyed the town in 79 C.E.In August 79 C.E., Mount Vesuvius violently erupted, famously destroying the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. But several other towns were also buried beneath volcanic debris, including the small seaside retreat known as Herculaneum.Wealthy Romans flocked to Herculaneum during the summer months, where they vacationed in lavish villas overlooking the Bay of Naples. But the towns serenity was broken one hot August day by rumblings from Vesuvius, a volcano four miles to the west. At the time, there was no real word for volcano in Latin. The tens of thousands of people living in the shadow of Vesuvius had no idea of the devastation that was about to occur.Because of the wind direction when Vesuvius erupted, Herculaneum was initially spared, and many residents had time to evacuate. But deadly pyroclastic flows eventually burst through the town, killing anyone in their path, and ash and mud covered the streets and buildings. This material was different from the volcanic debris that buried Pompeii and it exquisitely preserved Herculaneum for centuries.The lost town was rediscovered in the 18th century, 1,600 years after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Archaeologists have been working ever since to uncover Herculaneum and the artifacts that its doomed residents left behind.Herculaneum, The Town Beneath The Shadow Of VesuviusThe ancient town of Herculaneum sat on the Bay of Naples in southern Italy. It was smaller than the nearby city of Pompeii, but it was wealthier and more exclusive, closer to a seaside retreat than a bustling urban center. Its population hovered between 4,000 and 5,000 residents, though elite members of Roman society didnt live there full-time.Its location on the sea provided abundant food and trade opportunities. Merchants, enslaved people, craftsmen, and wealthy Romans moved through its streets. Public baths stood at the center of daily life, with citizens gathering there to discuss business, politics, and local gossip. On the residential side of town, many of the homes were elaborate villas with multiple stories and colorful marble cladding.Carole Raddato/World History EncyclopediaThese columns once surrounded a sports complex in Herculaneum.However, by 62 C.E., the tranquil region was showing signs of instability. That year, an earthquake shook Campania. Seneca the Younger described the event three years later in Naturales quaestiones, writing, Part of the town of Herculaneum fell; the buildings left standing are very insecure.The town was still in the process of rebuilding when disaster struck again.The Destruction And Rediscovery Of HerculaneumIn late August of 79 C.E., Mount Vesuvius erupted, destroying Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the nearby towns of Torre Annunziata and Stabiae. The wind was blowing toward Pompeii, which lay southeast of the volcano, so it was hit first and hardest by falling volcanic debris. Still, there was enough time for some people to evacuate and for news to spread. So, while just a few inches of ash rained down on Herculaneum during the first day of the eruption, residents realized that the tide could turn quickly and started evacuating.It was a good decision. In the middle of the night, the first pyroclastic flow burst into Herculaneum, sending burning hot ash and gas through the town at high speeds. The surge was so powerful that a marble statue was blown 50 feet off its pedestal.Public DomainThe 1944 eruption of Mount Vesuvius as seen from Naples.By the time Vesuvius fell silent once more, Herculaneum lay beneath more than 60 feet of volcanic ash and mud that later solidified into a porous rock known as tuff. As the decades passed, its exact location was forgotten, and a new town was eventually built atop the site.Then, as the story goes, a local farmer named Ambrogio Nucerino was digging a well in the early 18th century when he uncovered ancient ruins. They turned out to be the remains of Herculaneums theater. Subsequent archaeological excavations were slow going. While Pompeii was mostly buried under softer ash, the tuff that covered Herculaneum required chisels and pickaxes to break through. Even after 300 years of work, less than one-third of the site has been revealed.But what archaeologists have found has been nothing short of extraordinary.Inside The Ruins Of The Doomed CityBecause of the unique preservation of Herculaneum, materials like wood and papyrus have been discovered beneath the stone. One multi-level building still has its wooden balcony, and archaeologists once found a wooden table leg engraved with intricate designs related to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.A residence known as the Villa of the Papyri was unearthed in 1750. It may have belonged to Julius Caesars father-in-law, and it held a library of 1,800 papyrus scrolls the only intact library from the ancient world ever discovered. While they were too charred to unroll, modern technology has started to reveal their contents, mostly Greek philosophical texts.Public DomainOne of the scrolls found at the Villa of the Papyri, which is now held at the British Library.Very few bodies were found in Herculaneum in the first few centuries of excavations, leading archaeologists to believe that nearly everyone escaped before the pyroclastic surges hit the town. Then, in 1980, a boathouse was discovered near the shore that was filled with nearly 300 skeletons. Next to the remains, archaeologists uncovered jewelry, house keys, amulets, and other valuables. One skeleton, called the Ring Lady, was even still wearing jewels set in gold on her fingers. Another had a surgeons tool set. These men, women, children, and slaves were seemingly waiting for a boat to come to their rescue when they were overtaken by a pyroclastic flow.Indeed, the hull of a wooden boat was also found on the beach. The skeleton of a man who appears to have been a military officer was discovered nearby along with his sword and dagger. One theory states that the vessel was part of the fleet of Pliny the Elder.Andrea Schaffer/Wikimedia CommonsHundreds of people died while sheltering in a boathouse on the shore of the Bay of Naples during the eruption.Pliny was commanding a fleet of Roman warships on the north side of the Bay of Naples at the time Vesuvius erupted. His nephew, Pliny the Younger, documented the disaster in a letter to the historian Tacitus.Pliny the Younger recalled the cloud of ash that burst from Mount Vesuvius, writing: I can best describe its shape by likening it to a pine tree. It rose into the sky on a very long trunk from which spread some branches The sight of it made the scientist in my uncle determined to see it from closer at hand.Just as Pliny the Elder was leaving to investigate, he received a letter from a friend who lived at the foot of Vesuvius. She was begging for help, and Pliny quickly changed his plans. After telling his nephew, Fortune favors the bold, he set out toward the looming cloud with several ships. Jebulon/Wikimedia CommonsA mosaic found in the triclinium, or dining room, of a villa in Herculaneum. The art depicts Neptune and his wife, Amphitrite.Unfortunately, Pliny the Elder met his end soon after reaching the shore of Stabiae, several miles south of Herculaneum. They tied pillows on top of their heads as protection against the shower of rocks, his nephew wrote. Then came a smell of sulfur, announcing the flames Supported by two small slaves he stood up, and immediately collapsed. As I understand it, his breathing was obstructed by the dust-laden air, and his innards simply shut down.Whether the boat found at Herculaneum belonged to Pliny or not, the terrified people sheltered in the boathouse there met an end similar to that of the famed Roman author and military commander. While theres no way to know exactly what their final moments were like, the ruins of the doomed town they were trying to leave stand as a chilling reminder of one of historys most notorious natural disasters.After learning about Herculaneum, read about the Armero tragedy, the volcanic eruption that killed 25,000 people in Colombia in 1985. Then, discover the tragic story of photographer Robert Landsburg and his death during the eruption of Mount St. Helens.The post Inside Herculaneum, The Roman City That Was Destroyed Alongside Pompeii During The Eruption Of Vesuvius appeared first on All That's Interesting.