anchor: Herculaneum is smaller (only a fraction has been recovered) and less renowned than Pompeii, but its very compactness and better preservation give a more immediate sense of the shape and ambience of a whole Roman town, this one just 7 km (4 1/2 miles) from Vesuvius.
positive: Herculaneum is a smaller yet better preserved town than Pompeii.
negative: Herculaneum is much larger than Pompeii and has been poorly preserved.