What is Herculaneum?
[[File:Cardo V de Herculano.jpg|thumb|250px|Herculaneum today]] [[File:Herculaneum Neptune And Amphitrite.jpg|thumb|250px|Herculaneum: Neptune and Salacia, wall [[mosaic]] in house number 22]] '''Herculaneum''' was an [[Ancient Rome|ancient Roman]] town. It was completely destroyed when the [[volcano]] Mount [[Vesuvius]] erupted on 24 August, 79 AD.<ref name=bf >{{cite book|title=Herculaneum: Civilisation and Art|author=Claudia, Coverso|publisher=Monaco Press|page=4|date=2000|language=English|isbn=9788881801442}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roman-empire.net/articles/article-011.html|title=Herculaneum|publisher=Roman Empire.net|accessdate=2011-03-23|author=Dickson, Iain|archive-date=2011-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607225842/http://www.roman-empire.net/articles/article-011.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=un /> Herculaneum was covered by volcanic mud during the eruption, which quickly hardened to a semi-rock material.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ondaverde.it/ercolanoi.htm|title=Erculaneum|publisher=Hotel Onda Verde|accessdate=2011-03-23}}</ref> Herculaneum is a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].<ref name=un>{{cite web|url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/829|title=Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata|publisher=UNESCO|accessdate=2011-04-02}}</ref> Unlike [[Pompeii]], the deep [[pyroclastic flow|pyroclastic material]] which covered it preserved most objects in its path. [[Archaeologists]] have recovered wooden and other objects such as [[roof|rooves]], beds, doors, and food. Some 300 [[skeletons]] were discovered along the sea shore. It was thought until then that the town had been evacuated by its inhabitants. Herculaneum was a wealthier town than Pompeii, however it was not as famous after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. It had many fine houses with a lavish use of coloured [[marble]] cladding, [[mosaics]] and wall paintings. ==References== {{reflist}} {{World Heritage Sites in Italy}} {{WHSite}} {{geo-stub}} [[Category:Ruins]] [[Category: