Highlights of Herculaneum (Part I)

An introduction to Herculaneum, buried and preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. This video surveys the site and some of its public monuments.
Part II explores Herculaneum's incredibly well-preserved houses: • Highlights of Herculan...
Check out my other channels, ‪@toldinstone‬ and ‪@toldinstonefootnotes‬

[@PeculiarNotions]

Fantastic look at Herculaneum. I'm anticipating part 2.

[@mnossy11]

You could make these videos like twice as long! I just love to soak up all the details and image how it used to look!

[@scenicroutestothepast]

You're in luck - stay tuned for part 2!

[@JDfromTBC]

Your videos are THE BEST. Can't wait for part 2!

[@Gudha_Ismintis]

Great content as usual

[@chasbodaniels1744]

The view at 1:02 is a jaw-dropper, when you realize how much volcanic material was deposited!

[@RickLowrance]

When I was there you could buy a three day pass and see up to three places along the Circumvisuvius (sp?) train route. We chose 2 days in Pompeii and one in Herculaneum. I found Herculaneum to be the best choice. It was actually possible to see the entire thing in one day. It appeared to me to be the best preserved. Also, it was very cool to see how the ruins area was recessed below the surrounding city which came right up to the edges of the historic site.

[@rickb3078]

I’ll be here in October. Can’t wait, and a great introduction. I’ve been to Ostia antica and Pompeii. Very curious about Herculaneum. Also the video about the Villa close to Pompeii led me there to explore it. This channel and the creator are a treasure trove.

[@atlantic_love]

🍪?

[@rickb3078]

@@atlantic_love 🍺

[@dennisphillips7589]

Bravissimo. Ercolano (Herculaneum) is an amazing site. Vorrei parte seconda!

[@nico-9805]

I’ll be going to Herculaneum for the first time in August I can’t wait!!

[@vcolin]

We brought a visit there this year. Absolutely stunning location.

[@tysonjankowiak]

So happy you are around Napoli, there is also the Anfiteatro in Pozzouli and also Lago D'averno with the Cave of the Sibyl you once made a video about :))

[@nebulascorpious]

This is amazing. It feels like I am actually there, love it!. Thank you for sharing this with us. May you and all the viewers here be blessed with good health, peace, happiness, wealth and success. 🙏

[@RevisitingHistoryChannel]

Super interesting ! The tunnels are crazy!

[@TattooedTraveler]

Great video, was there last year and now I'm kicking myself for missing the tunnels 😆

[@yippee8570]

This is so cool. I get to see it in advance of when I go and explore for myself, with my very best friend (my husband) in March of next year 😁

[@b.a.erlebacher1139]

Good video. I was amused by the fake stone columns that were actually brick covered with concrete shaped to look like carved stone. I wonder if it was common to paint pillars red. I'm also impressed by the amount of work it must have taken to remove all that overburden carefully enough not to destroy what's underneath. Volcanic ash often sets like concrete so it can't have been easy. It would be interesting to see how they work.

[@brick6347]

It actually reminds me a lot of later renaissance architecture. Most of the columns etc on the older buildings in my city are basically either plaster moulding or painted. The best preserved, if you're curious, is. Krasiczyn Castle.

[@femalism1715]

Mind blowing! Thank you for the tour and the description. I watched Part 2 first but it really doesn't matter because every detail of everything is beyond fantastic. Oh how human standards of beauty have devolved over the millennia...so sad really.

[@s.thomas3289]

Love the content and the format. Many thanks !

[@jimsubtle886]

Such an amazing video. I am so grateful that you can travel to these places. These sites are just too far away for me at the moment. If I understand this correct, the eruption was 79CE and there are so many visuals of the entire city having issue with disrepair / lack of mortar / tuck pointing maintenance. I always wonder how such large stone work can be constructed, but then paused in time, you can see all of the places that were just missing their maintenance upkeep guys not getting funding or time to keep things looking "fresh". You could argue the pyroclastic flow may have dislodged or eroded some spots if it was in the "wind" of it, but the whole place appears to be, "Not kept up". I have always found this fascinating.

[@brianholihan5497]

I wish I could have gone into the suburban baths. The building is so well-preserved that it's like a time machine.

[@flamencoprof]

I am glad I added a Herculaneum visit after Pompeii on a driving tour in 1996. I thought the state of preservation at Herculaneum was marvellous. I understand that many building contents have been removed to museums, but the wall decorations were a sight to behold. It was a sad commentary on the local culture that the tourist parking area was at the back of the local police station premises.

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

Herculaneum is amazing, such great preservation! Much harder digging for the archaeologists, though. I look forward to all new finds from Herculaneum and Pompeii. Thanks, Dr. Ryan🙂

[@djsheahen]

Thank you!

[@brucefreadrich1188]

Jaw on the floor - amazingly well preserved. I recently visited York (Eboricum). They have a nice Roman column. Singular. I read "Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants" on the plane. Informative and fun with great footnotes. I highly recommend.

[@atlantic_love]

I like how they marked off where the water line was originally.

[@intractablemaskvpmGy]

I read an article today about a Greek(?) coin depicting a hydra such as this fountain. I have never seen the hydra depicted this way before. Fascinating

[@thomasfarley6052]

Really enjoyed this, looking forward to more.

[@levij4]

Love it! Keep them coming!

[@celsus7979]

I love the thumbnail! I visited a few years ago and tseeing that piece was the highlight for me.

[@paulkoza8652]

I have been to Pompeii, but I understand Herculaneum to be much better preserved. Is there any impetus to continue excavations?

[@scenicroutestothepast]

The recent success of the Vesuvius Challenge project might encourage the Italian government to finally restart the excavation of the Villa of the Papyri.

[@paulkoza8652]

@@scenicroutestothepast Ah, the problem is money.

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

@@paulkoza8652 Isn’t it always? Sadly, archaeological work is low on most priority lists.🙂

[@Reziac]

Easy to imagine how beautiful it was...

[@mikeFolco]

Great images, thanks.

[@speakupriseup4549]

It must be incredible to able to live in a region so richly endowed with easily accessible ancient history, I am so jealous.

[@hamiljohn]

Amazing, thank you!

[@Lurkzz]

Love these videos. Very calm and interesting. Makes it feel like I'm actually there! Perfect since I don't hsve enough money to travel right now

[@DJL78]

This was well done Garrett! I just wish your video’s were 3x longer.

[@crowleybo]

Thank you, that was very informative and interesting.

[@eclecticx]

Pompeii and Herculaneum are both incredible. Why people pit them against each other, I don't know. Why visit one or the other? Visit both, they are so near. Each has its own incredible insight into an incredible time in history.

[@briteness]

That hydra fountain: wow!

[@user-pc2jp2yr3c]

Great.

[@lazycrockett6605]

You sound like the doctor from Star Trek Voyager which makes this video much more enjoyable.

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

The pyroclastic flow that covered this city is called a “Nue’e Ardente”, French for burning cloud, by us geologists. These are so hot that they’re not survivable, sadly and they can move downslope incredibly fast. I hate the thought of the desperate people sheltering in the boat sheds, waiting for rescue by sea, which didn’t come in time. According to Pliny, some from the area were rescued this way, others, including him, were able to escape on foot from Pompeii, but still, many lives were tragically lost. I don’t think I could handle seeing the plaster casts of the trapped human and other animal bodies. I hope the Italian government has top-notch evacuation plans for this region, Vesuvius is still a quite active volcano.

[@benjaminsolsvig5584]

When I visited Herculaneum last spring, I saw what looked like preparatory drawings scratched underneath the plaster. My tour guide said they were original but I’m not too sure. Are they ancient?

[@scenicroutestothepast]

Almost certainly. We've found sketches like that beneath both frescoes and mosaics.

[@Ian_Bungy]

seeing that same style of counter in Pompeii is really interesting. Was it a popular style of the time? Was it the same artisan who built them in the region? Were there many artisans making these?

[@scenicroutestothepast]

You can see similar counters at Ostia, too. It seems to have been a standard design.

[@tatrankaska2305]

Was the part of Herculaneum from the video's beginning built on a steep hill or was the city built so densely in height? I see three different layers with terraces and houses connected with ramps and stairs

[@scenicroutestothepast]

It was located on relatively level ground, 5-10 meters above sea level. The layers you saw reflect the difference between sea level (at the boat sheds) and the city streets above.

[@celsus7979]

They paved the sea floor?! It looked so much better before.

[@raylivengood8040]

👍🏼

[@BamBamBigelow..]

The level of ash seems like cliffs

[@Mr_Squiggle]

I was impressed by Herculaneum, less so by Pompei.

[@johnspizziri1919]

Better than Pompeii

[@mm-yt8sf]

wow they were taller? i always thought the stereotype was in the past people were shorter. that's kinda neat..they really were just like us (well, better teeth i suppose 😀) it's strange to think of treasure hunters existing centuries ago too....i thought that was a modern thing...but then i remembered the pyramid robbers..but those seemed like they must have been big organized projects given the size of the stones to move/destroy. how did they not get caught...were they so devoid of tourists that no one saw large efforts like that?

[@brick6347]

Mesolithic people were considerably more healthy than neolithic people. They were hunter gatherers and ate a varied diet of meat, fruit etc. neolithic people were farmers who ate mostly grain. They had awful teeth, rickets etc. same reason people in 19th century industrial cities like London or NYC were often stunted, awful diet. Bread, bread, rice, bread, maybe some meat, rarely fresh vegetables. Medieval people were generally much taller than Victorians.

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

Praetor is pronounced PRY-tor in Latin. The ae sound is that as in the English I, or eye.

[@EdOestreich]

😅

[@TheZinmo]

I liked Herculaneum much better than Pompeii. It's much more conzentrated, while Pompeii can be a little bit of a slog.

[@SubTroppo]

The boathouses bodies reconstruction was the highlight of Herculaneum for me. Reconstruction is a problem in any video of this type; what to show? I cannot help but think that American censorship or self-censorship is part of the back-story with this video (as seemingly & effectively corporations are sovereign in the US).

[@owbeer]

and women wonder why men think about the roman empire atleast once a day.