Herculaneum

Hercolaneum lies from the top of Vesuvius to the sea. It is situated
in the middle of the Bay of Naples, in a wonderful position.
It has a very complex landscape, characterized by a mix of archaeological
and historical town up to the current one. The modern
Hercolaneum was built on the ancient one, which it is, in
some parts, 30 metres underground. During the great eruption of
Vesuvius in A.D. 79, the ancient town was covered by mud and
ash that, once solidified, became a good base for the new town.
Therefore, Herculaneum and Resina were independent. They were
collocated in two different heights, but in the same way they feed
each other. The Vesuvius overlook the landscape and it’s a perfect
background of the modern town, in which volumes and curtain
walls stop in order to give space to the ruins. The dissertation
wants to show the connection between the archaeological site and
the urban pattern, through the consideration of Bay as the main
parameter during the processes of restoration and preservation.

Addressing the use of reinforced concrete for restoration at archaeological sites, Paola Pesaresi, the conservation architect with the Herculaneum Conservation Project, reviews how concrete was employed at Herculaneum during the first half of the twentieth century, and how the subsequent deterioration of the concrete elements incorporated into the site is now being handled by authorities there.

This reconstruction of Plato’s biography was researched and written when I was at the London School of Economics Department of Government in 2004-05. As an attempt to reconstruct Plato’s life with more detail than had been done before, I hope it may be of interest.

Although it’s not complete and hasn’t been used for a publication, I intend to use this material at some point in the future. I welcome any comments. Feel free to write me at benjamin.bilski@periclesfoundation.org.

Guidobaldi, M.P., Camardo, D., Esposito, D. & Tommasino, E. (2008) I solai e gli architravi lignei dell’antica Ercolano. In P.G. Guzzo and M.P. Guidobaldi (eds) Nuove ricerche archeologiche nell'area vesuviana (scavi 2003-2006). Proceedings of the international conference, Rome, 1-3 February 2007. Roma, L’Erma di Bretschneider: 558-559.

The Herculaneum Conservation Project (HCP) is a project of the Packard Humanities Institute in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei and the British School at Rome. The project arose from a recognition of the risks to the survival of the unique and irreplaceable heritage to be found in Herculaneum. Its aim is both to support the Italian heritage agency in the protection and preservation of the site, and to extend scientific understanding and public interest and wareness. The most immediate task is to halt the widespread decay afflicting the entire site. The longer-term aim is to develop a conservation strategy which will ensure its survival, understanding and enhancement. The project aspires to learn lessons that will not only feed into the management of the site of Herculaneum, but that can enrich conservation working ractices in Pompeii and elsewhere.
In 2006 trials were launched to see how three-dimensional laser scanning could help the project, not only in terms of documentation, but also as a tool for monitoring decay and informing conservation decisions, and as a source of rich but accurate visual material to illustrate areas of the site currently closed for conservation works and thereby enhance the visitor experience. In collaboration with the University of North Carolina, the Suburban Baths were chosen for trial survey work with a 3rdTech Inc. DeltaSphere-3000 laser scanner.
This Roman bathing complex is remarkably well-preserved with intact wood, metal and decorative features, but the delicate nature of these architectural features together with a variety of grave conservation problems throughout the structure mean the
area is currently closed to visitors. The 3D survey work was carried out as an analytical basis for the technical/scientific studies that are underway in this building in order to conserve it and reopen it to the public. This paper describes the experience of the HCP team using the 3D laser scanner, and discusses the success and challenges of the work and the potential applications the results have both for the mix of heritage professionals working within the HCP team and for the wider public.

De Vita, A., Simeti, S. & Volta, S. (2013) The conservation of the Neptune and Amphitrite wall mosaic at Herculaneum: an interdisciplinary partnership. In G. Biscontin & G. Driussi (eds) Conservazione e valorizzazione dei siti archeologici: approcci scientifici e problemi di metodo. Atti del Convegno di Studi Bressanone 9-12 luglio 2013. Scienza e Beni Culturali 29: 935-941.

Rainer, L., Gittins, M., Camardo, D., Piqué, F., Arcudi, A., Barnaba, C. & Bonaschi, M.L. (2017) Investigations into the 1938 restoration of Roman wall paintings in the tablinum of the House of the Bicentenary at Herculaneum. In: Linking Past and Future. Pre-Prints of the 18th Triennial Conference of ICOM-CC. Copenhagen: ICOM-CC.

Recent explorations of the Bourbon tunnels in the upper terrace of the so-called Palaestra in Herculaneum have permitted the reconstruction of an important decorative
ensemble of the 4th Style. The ensemble is divided between the site and the Museo Nazionale in Naples. The rediscovery of its context allows new hypotheses about the function of the so-called Palaestra to be advanced. The building is extremely complicated and has not yet been well understood. It seems to have had several functions, not just that of a campus, as has been generally thought to-date.

Laino, N., Santamaria, U., Pelosi, C. & Agresti, G. (2017) Una sfida conservativa per il sito archeologico di Ercolano: ridurre la perdità di coesione della pellicola pittorica dei dipinti murali. In IGIIC (ed.) Lo State dell'Arte 15: 51-58. Firenze: Nardini Editore.

The Villa of the Papyri is a unique archaeological site and has been very influential in the field of classical studies. The papyri (the only intact library to survive from Greco-Roman antiquity) and bronze sculptures found in the villa have contributed to our knowledge of the ancient world and the villa has become for us the “ideal model” of Roman luxury villa culture.

This volume brings together papers delivered by experts in various fields addressing the cultural significance of this ancient site in its contemporary Roman context as well as its cultural reception from its discovery over two hundred and fifty years ago to the most recent excavations in the late twentieth century. They also explore the ways in which digital archaeology can assist our efforts to understand and investigate ancient sites. Topics treated include the Villa’s architecture, decoration, and content (i.e., wall-paintings, sculptures, and papyri); their reception since the 18th century; and the current state of knowledge based on the recent partial excavations in the Villa, presented here in English for the first time. Furthermore, the use of digital models of the Villa that incorporate the data from the new excavations and a discussion on the ways in which such models may be used for educational and research purposes are also presented.

This paper is an attempt to understand some of the implications the legal complexities of ius patronatus had for a historic analysis of Roman society. Since its main importance lay on the rights over the inheritance of freedmen, we must conclude that it was ill-devised as an instrument for an economic exploitation of freedmen by their patrons. We should also take into account the possibility that in certain cases there was no ius patronatus. This leads us to a deep analysis of the so-called incerti from the album of Herculaneum who are considered to be freedmen who lacked a patron (with the orcini as a relevant group within this category). Other options (such as considering them to be Junian Latins or promoted Junian Latins) are less likely.

Wallace-Hadrill, A. (2009) The Herculaneum Conservation Project: an introduction. In Coralini, A (ed.) Vesuviana: archeologie a confronto. Proceedings of the international conference, Bologna, 14-16 January 2008. Bologna, Edizioni Antequem: 203-207.

Biggi, C., Capasso, B. & Del Duca, F. (2018). The Herculaneum Centre: the reciprocal benefits gained from building capacities for cultural heritage among institutions and communities. In V. Apaydin (ed.), Shared Knowledge, Shared Power: Engaging Local and Indigenous Heritage. New York: Springer: 87-106.

Brizzi, M., Court, S., D’Andrea, A., Lastra, A. & Sepio, D. (2006) 3D laser scanning as a tool for conservation: the experiences of the Herculaneum Conservation Project. In M. Ioannides et al. (eds) The e-volution of Information Technology in Cultural Heritage. The 7th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage VAST 2006, Cyprus, 30 October-4 November 2006. VAST: 72-78.

This article describes the results of advanced imaging pilot testing on unrolled Herculaneum Papyri undertaken in 2014 as part of a collaboration between the Universität zu Köln and the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli. 1 Building on results obtained by a Brigham Young University team in 1999–2002 using near infrared (NIR) photography, the aim was to test the potential for improving legibility and documentation of surface structures by combining the non-destructive techniques of NIR and Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI). The results show that, in addition to achieving super high-resolution images with enhanced contrast between the black ink and carbonised papyrus, NIR-RTI enables more accurate recording of surface morphology and enables the user to clarify the relationships between the ink constrate and the papyrus substrate. The article also identifies areas for improving image acquisition and usability.

When considered in light of contemporary seismological and volcanolo-gical research, an abundance of literary, archaeological, and epigraphic information can illuminate the natural and historical circumstances marking a series of natural disasters that beset coastal Campania between 62 CE and the early 80s. During this time, towns extending from Neapolis east and south to Salernum suffered damage from several earthquakes. The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 subjected the entire zone to damage as well, but outside the core pyroclastic zone the effects were variable. The quakes seriously affected Neapolis and its territory, yet the city survived and prospered due in part, it is argued, to an unusual and fortuitous antiseismic feature of its urban fabric. The volcanic eruption dealt a grievous blow to the local landscape and economy but Neapolis again demonstrated its resilience, providing assistance to the emperor's relief commission and refuge to many who escaped the eruption. In the aftermath of 79 this city may have undergone a mild form of colonization, selling the emperor agricultural land for future veteran settlement in areas where recovery could be expected and establishing a permanent suburban neighborhood, perhaps more than one, for refugees.

In late August, 79 AD, several Roman settlements, including Pompeii and Herculaneum, were completely destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Italy. Recently, over three hundred extraordinary well preserved human skeletons have been recovered from structures along the Herculaneum seashore. This assemblage represents a unique resource, a rare snapshot of a “living” population destroyed by a catastrophic natural event. This PhD will investigate this unique assemblage implementing some of the latest bioarchaeological techniques, in order to obtain unprecedented insights into diet and everyday life during the Imperial time.

Would you like to see actual and genuine photographs of scenes and people from the past, on the very day that Pompeii was buried? You can see them now in this document, which examines paranormal and trans-time photography, also serving as an introduction to trans-time photography, a little-known branch of paranormal photography in which images from the past, or more rarely, the future, appear on photographs.

The amazing images in 'Furious at the Royal Wedding' were extracted paranormally from TV footage.

Containing over 450 very clear, unusual and rare paranormal photographs, among the subjects covered are incredible trans-time photographic images from the day Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24th AD 79, and which are included in the document.

You will be able to see - in color - poignant photographic images of people and scenes as they were on that day almost 2,000 years ago. The images were extracted paranormally from footage of the ruins.

Court, S. D’Andrea, A., Del Duca, F., Pesaresi, P. & Thompson, J. (2019) 'Managing Herculaneum in context: measuring benefits for people and places' in Comer, D. & Willems, A. (eds) Feasible Management of Archaeological Heritage Sites Open to Tourism. London: Springer Press: 21-34.

Camardo, D., Martelli Castaldi, M. & Thompson, J. (2006) Water supply and drainage at Herculaneum. In G. Wiplinger (ed.) Cura Aquarum in Ephesus: Proceedings of the Twelfth International Congress on the History of Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering in the Mediterranean Region, Ephesus/Selçuk, October 2-10, 2004. Babesch Suppl. 12: 183-192.

Foresta, S., Notomista, M. & Santaniello, E. (2018) La memoria di un "tipo". Osservazioni sull'immagine loricata di Marco Nonio Balbo da Ercolano. In: Cipriani, M., Pontrandolfo, A., & Scafuro, M. (a c.) Dialoghi sull'Archeologia della Magna Grecia e del Mediterraneo. Paestum: Pandemos: 233-244.