Located in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, Herculaneum (Italy: Ercolano ) is an ancient Roman city that was destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in 79 AD. The ruins are located in the comune of Ercolano, Campania, Italy.
As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this place is famous as one of the few ancient cities now seen in many of its original splendor, as well as being lost, along with Pompeii, Stabiae, Oplontis and Boscoreale, in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD which buried it. Unlike Pompeii, pyroclastic material that coats preserved wood and other organic objects such as roofs, beds, doors, food and even about 300 skeletons found in recent years along the coast. It had been thought up until then that the city had been evacuated by the inhabitants.
Herculaneum is a much richer city than Pompeii, has an extraordinary density of luxury homes with, for example, a much more luxurious use of colored marble marbles.
Video Herculaneum
History of Herculaneum
The ancient traditions connect Herculaneum with the heroes of the Greek Heracles ( Hercules in Latin and consequently Roman mythology), an indication that the city was of Greek origin. In fact, it seems that some of the ancestors of the Samnite tribe in mainland Italy established the first civilization on the site of Herculaneum at the end of the 6th century BC. Soon after, the city was under Greek control and used as a trading post because of its proximity to the Bay of Naples. The Greeks named the city ?????????, Heraklion . In the 4th century BC, Herculaneum again came under Samnites dominance. The city remained under Samnite's control until it became a Roman municipality in 89 BC, when, after participating in the Social War ("War of the Allies" against Rome), it was defeated by Titus Didius, a representative of Sulla.
After the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, the town of Herculaneum was buried under about 20 meters (50-60 feet) of ash. It is hidden and largely intact until the discovery of the underground tunnels and tunnels becomes more widely known, and mainly follows the exploration of Prince d'Elbeuf in the early 18th century. Excavations continue sporadically to date and today many roads and buildings are visible, although more than 75% of the city remains buried. Today, the Italian cities of Ercolano and Portici are located on the Herculaneum forecasts site. Until 1969, the town of Ercolano was called Resina. It changed its name to Ercolano, the Italian modernization of the ancient name in honor of the old city.
Its inhabitants worshiped above all Hercules, which is believed to be the founder of the city and Mount Vesuvius. Other important gods worshiped include Venus and Apollo, depicted in several statues in the city.
Maps Herculaneum
Error AD 79
Giant eruption Mt. Vesuvius occurred on the afternoon of 24 August 79 AD. Since Vesuvius has been active for about 800 years, it is no longer even recognized as a volcano.
Based on archaeological excavations and two letters of Pliny the Younger to the Roman historian Tacitus, the course of the eruption can be reconstructed.
At about 1 pm on August 24, Vesuvius began spewing volcanic ash and rocks thousands of feet into the sky. When it reaches the tropopause (the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere), the top of the cloud is flattened, prompting Pliny to describe it to Tacitus as a stone pine tree. The prevailing wind at that time blew southeastward, causing volcanic material to fall mainly in the city of Pompeii and the surrounding area. Since Herculaneum lies to the west of Vesuvius, it is only slightly affected by the first phase of the eruption. While the roof in Pompeii collapsed under the burden of falling debris, only a few centimeters of ash fell in Herculaneum, causing minor damage but still pushing most of the population to flee.
Over the next night, a column of eruptions that had ascended into the stratosphere collapsed into Vesuvius and its wings. The first pyroclastic waves, formed by a mixture of hot ash and gas, billow through the town of Herculaneum are mostly evacuated at 160 km/h (100 mph). Succession of six currents and waves buried city buildings, causing minor damage in some areas and preserving structures, objects and victims almost intact. However, in other areas there is significant damage, tearing down walls, tearing up columns and other large objects; the marble statue of M. Nonius Balbus near the bath was flown as far as 15 m and the carbonaceous skeleton was found found 2.5 m above ground level in the Park of Telephus Assistance Home.
Recent multidisciplinary research on the deadly effects of pyroclastic waves in the Vesuvius region shows that around Pompeii and Herculaneum, heat is the leading cause of death of people who were previously thought to have died from shortness of breath. This study shows that exposure to waves, measuring at least 250 ° C (482 ° F) even at a distance of 10 kilometers from the vent, is enough to cause the immediate death of all residents, even if they are sheltered inside the building.
Archeology
In 1709, the deep digging of deep wells revealed some remarkable statues at the lowest levels which were later discovered to be theaters. Prince d'Elbeuf bought the land and began digging the tunnel from the bottom of the well, collecting the statues they could find. Among the earliest sculptures found are two perfectly fashioned Herculaneum Women now in Dresden Skulpturensammlung.
The main digs were continued in 1738 by Spanish engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre. The complicated publication of the AntichitÃÆ' in Ercolano ("The Antiquities of Herculaneum") under the patronage of King Two Sicilia had an effect on the new European Neoclassicism out of all proportion with its limited circulation; at the end of the eighteenth century, the motives of Herculaneum began to appear in stylish furnishings, ranging from decorative wall paintings and tripod tables to perfume burners and tea cups. However, excavations stopped after the nearest town of Pompeii was found, which was significantly easier to dig because the thin debris layer covered the site (4 m as opposed to Herculaneum 20 m).
Barker noted in 1908 his Buried Herculaneum , "On the orders of the land of Francis I was purchased, and in 1828 the excavation began with two separate sections 150 feet, under the direction of architect Carlo Bonucci In 1868 further land purchases were made, and excavations were conducted in the east until 1875. The total area is now open of 300 to 150 perched (1510 by 755 8 meters).The excavation borders to the north and east are the modern streets of Vico di Mare and Vico Ferrara.Here is only a small part of the ancient Herculaneum that can be seen on an open day. "
From 1927 to 1942, a new excavation campaign was started by Amedeo Maiuri, which exposes about four hectares of ancient city in the archaeological park seen today.
Excavations returned briefly in the city in 1980-1981 at the ancient coastline following which skeletons in boathouses were found.
From 1996-99, a vast area on the northwest of the site was excavated and exposed, including parts of Villa Papyri, north-west baths, House of the Dionysian Reliefs, and large collapsed monuments. This area is left in a state of chaos and since 2000-7 further work on the conservation of this area is done.
Many public and private buildings, including forum complexes, have not been excavated.
Site
Buildings on the site are grouped in blocks (insulae), defined by the crossroads of east-west (cardi) and north-south (decumani) roads. Then we have the Insula II - Insula VII which goes opposite from Insula II. To the east there are two additional blocks: Orientalist I (oI) and Orientalist II (oII). To the south of Orientalis I (oI) lies an additional group of buildings known as the "Suburban District" (SD). Individual buildings have their own entrance number. For example, House of the Deer is labeled (Ins IV, 3).
House Aristides (Ins II, 1)
The first building in Insula II is the House of Aristides. The entrance opens directly into the atrium, but the remnants of the house are not well maintained due to damage caused by previous excavations. Downstairs may be used for storage.
Argus House (Ins II, 2)
The second house in Insula II gets its name from the fresco Argus and Io who once adorned the reception room of a large peristyle. The fresco painting is now gone, but the name remains alive. This building must be one of the finest villas in Herculaneum. The discovery of a house in the late 1820s was notable because it was the first time the second floor had been dug up in detail. Excavations reveal a second floor balcony overlooking Cardo III, as well as wooden shelves and cabinets; However, with the passage of time, these elements have been lost.
House of the Genius (Ins II, 3)
To the north of Argus House is House of the Genius. Only partially excavated but it appears to be a spacious building. This house gets its name from the statue of the god of romance which is part of the candlestick. In the middle of the peristyle are the remains of a rectangular basin.
Alcove House (Ins IV)
The actual house is two buildings that are united. As a consequence of this it is a mix of plain and simple rooms combined with some very well decorated.
The atrium is closed, so it has no ordinary impluvium. It retains the original floor of opus tesselatum and opus sectile. Off the atrium is a luxuriously decorated biclinium with a fresco in the fourth style and a large triclinium that originally had a marble floor. A number of other rooms, one of which is a niche found after the house is named, can be reached through a hall that gets its light from a small courtyard.
Augustales College
Temple of augustales or imams of the Imperial sect.
Central Thermae
The Central Thermae are bath houses built around the first century AD. The bath houses were very common at the time, especially in Pompeii and Herculaneum. According to common practice, there are two different bath areas, one for men and the other for women. These homes are very popular, attracting many visitors every day. The cultural center is also home to several works of art, which can be found in various areas of the Central Thermae site.
Villa from Papyri
The most famous of the luxury villas in Herculaneum is "Villa of the Papyri." It was once identified as a magnificent seaside retreat for Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, Julius Caesar's father-in-law; However, it has emerged that objects deemed to be associated with Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonius correspond closely to a highly standardized collection, and can not show, with certainty, the owners of the villa. Villa stretches out to the sea on four terraces. Piso, an educated man who belittled poets and philosophers, built a great library there, the only one that survived from antiquity.
Between 1752 and 1754 a number of unreadable papyrus scrolls were suddenly taken back from the Papyrus Villa by the workers. These scrolls are known as Herculaneum papyrus or scrolls, most of which are presently preserved in the National Library, Naples. The rolls are highly carbonized, but a large number have been unrolled, with varying degrees of success. Multi-spectral imaging with computers, in the infrared range, helps make the ink legible. Now there is a real prospect that it will be possible to read unopened reels using X-rays. The same technique can be applied to rolls waiting to be found in an unexplored part of the villa, eliminating the need to potentially damage the reels by unrolling them.
A team spent a month in the summer of 2009, making a lot of X-ray scans from two scrolls stored at the French National Academy in Paris. They hope that computer processing will convert scanning into digital images that show the interior of the scroll and reveal ancient writing. The main fear, however, is that Roman authors may have used carbon-based inks, which are essentially invisible to the results of the scan. The fear turned out to be a fact. They hope that scanning the reels with more powerful X-ray equipment will reveal the text. However, the subsequent X-rays still have not produced anything. However, hundreds, even thousands of scrolls that are still buried on the site may prove to have readable texts someday. By 2016, research and experiments have restored more scrolls and it is suggested that the new technique will allow more to read without unrolling.
Skeletal skeleton
In 1981, under the site administrator Dr Giuseppe Maggi, the excavations originally appeared over 55 skeletons (30 adult males, 13 adult women and 12 children) on the beach and in the first six boat spaces. Since the previous excavations revealed only a few frameworks, it has long been thought that almost all the inhabitants managed to escape, but this surprising discovery led to a change of view. The last people waiting for the rescue from the sea died instantly because of the great heat, though protected from direct impact. Studies of victims' posture and effects on their skeleton suggest that the first spike causes instant death as a result of fulminant shock due to a temperature of about 500 ° C (932 ° F). Severe heat causes contraction of the hands and feet and possible fractures of bones and teeth.
Further excavations in the 1990s revealed a total of at least three hundred closely assembled skeletons in twelve arches facing the sea and on the coast, while the city was almost completely evacuated. The "Ring Lady" (see picture), named for the ring on her fingers, was discovered in 1982.
The chemical analysis of the remains has led to better insight into the health and nutrition of the Herculaneum population. Dr. Sara C. Bisel (1932-1996) was a physical anthropologist and classical archaeologist who played an important role in early scientific research at Herculaneum. His pioneering work in chemical and physical analysis of the framework generates new insights into the nutrition and health of the ancient population. It is considered a breakthrough and helps advance the field of paleodemography. The amount of lead is found in some frames, leading to some speculation of lead poisoning. Also the presence of scarring in the pelvis, for example, can give an indication of the number of children a woman is born.
Skull bones were also produced, to replace the original bone after taphonomic studies, scientific documentation and excavation. In contrast to Pompeii, where a cast resembling the features of a victim's body is produced by filling the body traces in ash deposits with plaster, the corpse form in Herculaneum can not be maintained, due to rapid evaporation and the replacement of the victim's flesh by hot ash (about 500 ° C). A cast of skeletons dug in room 10 is on display at the Museum of Anthropology in Naples.
Conservation issues
Volcanic water, ash and debris covering Herculaneum, along with extreme heat, left it in a state of great preservation for over 1600 years. However, once the excavation begins, exposure to the elements begins a slow deterioration process. This was not aided by the archaeological methods used earlier in the excavation of the city, which were generally centered around restoring valuable artifacts rather than ensuring the survival of all artifacts. In the early 1980s and under Dr. Sara C. Bisel, preservation of skeletal remains is a top priority. Remnants of carbon from organic matter, when exposed to air, deteriorate for several days, and destroy much of the remains until the way they are preserved.
Today, tourism and vandalism have damaged many areas open to the public, and water damage from modern Ercolano has damaged many of the building's foundations. Reconstruction efforts often prove to be counterproductive. However, in modern times conservation efforts have been more successful. Excavation today has been suspended for a while, to direct all funding to help save the city.
A large number of artifacts from Herculaneum are stored in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments