Herculaneum

September 14th

We weren't up til close to 9 this morning. I fixed scrambled eggs, ham, a good cheddar cheese and onions for breakfast. Doug's coffee is always good! We were off the boat about 1130 for a trip south of Naples to Herculaneum.  

This picture is the church next to the marina.  This is the third wedding we have seen here.

 
What an adventure. We jumped the bus to Napoli, and due to traffic, didn't get into Naples until 1430 (2:30pm).  

 I sure do enjoy waking up next to this woman!!

We asked many people where to catch the train south to Heculaneum. It seems people had NO IDEA where we wanted to go.  We knew it was at the base of Mount Vesuvius and near Pompeii, as they had both been wiped out together when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. 

An elderly gentleman insisted on walking us to the train station.  He at least was interested in assisting us even though he couldn't speak a word of English!  So we got off the bus and we left trailing him as he walked us past one train station to another. 

Barb was certain the first was correct, but nothing would stop our guide from directing us elsewhere.  When we arrived, he bade us farewell, we spent 20 minutes investigating a train (regional) to Herculaneum, and finally gave up. We returned to the original station (local), and found one heading for Pompeii knowing we were still mystified as to where we really wanted to go. Again, requesting information, we found two couples from Canada and New York familiar with the area, and we were off the train at Ercolano. With a stretch of the English imagination, you can see the resemblance between the two names, Ercolano and Herculaneum.

A walk down the main street, by 1545 (3:45pm), we were at the gates of Herculaneum. 

Interesting place. Only about 10 percent has been uncovered (4 hectares [1 hectare is 10,000 square meters or 2.471 acres] of 44 hectares of land). You can see by the pictures, the volcano buried the town in some 75 feet of mud, dirt, and pyroclastic rock - unlike Pompeii which was buried in only about 10 feet of volcanic ash. The city had been built by at least the 4th century BC and destroyed in 79 AD. Here, unlike Pompei, you can walk through many of the buildings without the use of ropes to guide you away from sensitive areas. The excavations began in the early 1720's, again in the mid 1850's, but serious deep excavation didn't begin until 1924 and continued until 1944.  The city was actually in pretty poor condition until the early 2000's when a foundation began a concentrated archialogocal restoration of the city.  Again, unlike Pompei, this city was very well preserved of plants, foods, rope, leather, wood framing and structural parts of buildings, a boat, skeletal remains of people, fabrics, food and furniture. These artifacts have given archeologists a precise understanding of living conditions in the area. 

 Above is the rudder and bowsprit of the boat pictured below.

Due to depth of the mud and rock that covered the city, then covered by hot, pyroclastic ash, the city was preserved as the lower mud insulated the organic material of the boat, which was dried by the heated ash above it.

This was the warehouse area that originally defined the entrance from the harbor.  However, the eruption added another 1/4 mile of land between here and the ocean.  Of course, Herculaneum was Roman in origin, and the influence of the Romans exists throughout the city.

The below picture is of a restaurant, one of several on the streets.  It was common to eat breakfast and lunch at one of these eateries.  Fire caused by cooking stoves in the individual homes were very carefully monitored, as a wildfire caused by spilling cooking oil could destroy the entire city with ease.

On the other hand, kitchens were normally associated with pantries and sinks. They were often located in the rear of a house, and was usually adjacent to the bathroom facilities. 

Here the commode sits on the right of the above picture and is located below the kitchen sink.  In this way, the water from the sink would drain into the commode area and act to flush dross into the sewer system.  This was quite advanced for this civilization.

Wood throughout the city can be found that is original to the city (2,000 years old).  The wood in this partition is behind glass, as it is in the vicinity of people that could touch it.  This is an actual room partition in a public administration building used to separate space into individual offices.

Mosaic tiles and frescoes can be seen throughout the city.  Of particular interest was the women's baths.  This series of rooms were elegant, and the floor of intricately laid mosaic tile depicted a scene of Neptune, the God of water and the sea.

These streets were just wide enough to allow a chariot to be pulled through.  However, this city did not have the volume of chariot traffic Pompeii had.  Therefore, there were no indications of which direction the traffic proceeded.

 These are surviving frescoes on the walls of wealthy home owners.

 At the end of the day, we were pretty well wiped out.  After several beers for Doug and I and Cokes and water for the girls, we headed back to Mesino.  We're all pretty edgy and frustrated until we ran into 6 or 8 teenagers who found it delightful that we were Americans. 

They found it a challenge to communicate with us. Ranging in age from 14-17, each was enthusiastic, respectful, downright funny.  We laughed almost all the way home. We were all headed for Mesino or Bacoli. If it hadn't been for their assistance we would have been lost. The train broke down on our way back, requiring us to find a bus, then another train, then another bus. As the crowd began to decrease due to each getting off that their respective stops, one young attractive 17 year old girl remained with us to ensure we were dropped off in Mesino properly!

Dinner was at 2030 (8:30pm) and we were back on the boat for drinks and two fun games of FARKLE.  We think in all, we rode 4 busses, 3 trains, and walked close to 5 miles yesterday! 

When we got back to the boat there were 10 minutes of fast and furious fireworks-beautiful.

So tomorrow, Sunday, we will move the boat down coast about 5 miles to an anchorage. In the meantime, we will have sundowners without you. Oh well.

Jon and Renne'

Aboard Plankton with Doug and Barb