Herculaneum

Product Description

In ad 79 the volcano Vesuvius erupted burying the cities of Pompeii & Herculaneum under ash & rock & leaving them remarkably well preserved for centuries. While Pompeii has been extensively written about & popularized the remains of its sister city a smaller yet wealthier community close to the sea are less widely known but they have yielded spectacular archaeological evidence. This is the first major study of Herculaneum since that of Joseph Jay Deiss published in 1966 & last revised in 1993. & in any language there have only ever been a handful of books available mostly guidebooks & exhibition catalogues. Herculaneum is based on the latest excavation work & incorporates much new material that has revolutionized our understanding of the site. The book draws on a decade's work with the Herculaneum Conservation Project which thanks to the Packard Humanities Institute has begun to reverse the neglect of previous years which had reduced this extraordinary site to a critical condition. Illustrated with more than 300 newly taken colour photographs & archive illustrations plus eight spectacular 360-degree panoramas it is the definitive overview for the general public of what we know & understand about Herculaneum of what is still unknown & mysterious & of the potential for future discoveries in both archaeological & political contexts.