A Trip To Herculaneum

After visiting Pompeii back in 2018 during our trip to Naples, we knew we had to come back to this area to see Herculaneum.

The train from Sorrento took an hour and cost about €2 each, each way. We should note that this train can get very busy. Take some water as it gets very warm because of a lack of air conditioning.

One thing to take into consideration is that there are two stops, Ercolano and Ercolano Scavi. Depart at the latter and you are just a short walk from the site.

Herculaneum

Herculaneum, an ancient Roman coastal town destroyed by the pyroclastic flows caused by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius back in 79AD. Famous for its well-preserved buildings, frescoes, paintings and the skeletons of people fleeing the eruption found in the 1980s.

The site was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. In 2010, the site suffered serious damage from heavy storms and torrential rain. Many buildings collapsed, including the Schola Armaturarum, the Gladiators’ house.

Herculaneum, A Selection Of Photos

We spent a good few hours here just wandering from building to building. Unlike Pompeii, it was nowhere near as busy. Therefore, we found it more enjoyable but just as beautiful, if not better. Some frescoes and mosaics here were mind blowing. Look for yourself in this selection of photos.

The Skeletons Of Ercolano

The skeletons of people fleeing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius were found sheltering in boat sheds in 1982. They believed everyone had escaped the eruption until they made this discovery. The skeletons that lie here today are fibreglass copies. This gives you an idea of how they huddled together when they died. They have since moved the original bones into storage for further examination.

We hope you enjoyed these photos. One last image we will share with you is this. An eerie photo of Vesuvius looking down over the new town of Ercolano and the ancient Roman town buried underneath. You get a better idea of just how much ash and pumice covered over the area by the way the excavations are dug out. The new town built on top.

To read about our time spent visiting Pompeii, click on the following link Pompeii And Vesuvius. To read about the rest of our time in Sorrento and Positano, check out this post Four Days In Sorrento.