Hike up a Hill by the Studio

Tiberius, Emperor of Rome, had signaling places from Rome to various hills around Italy and the Island of Sardinia. One such signaling place is on a hill just above the studio. So off we went on a fine spring day to see what the Roman soldiers could see. It was a very nice walk, with only a wee bit of getting, well, not lost, but differently directed.

We couldn't climb the hill from our studio because we would have to fight our way through this (at about a 45 degree slope). We came through a bit of this coming down while we looked for asparagus!

We drove around earlier trying to find the best access to the hill. This appeared to be the best bet, so started from here.

Almost to the top. . . but not really. It is much farther than it looks.

 At the top!

Arpino is behind me and to the right.

There's not much of the site left standing.

 Northeast.

 Arpino.

Southwest towards the coast.

Down towards the studio (roughly about where the bigger orange-topped building is in the middle).

Pax my friends!

Herculaneum

Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, destroying Herculaneum with volcanic pyroclastic flows. The town was covered in 60 feet of mud and ash, and lay hidden for nearly 1600 years until it was discovered by accident. However, Pompei was soon discovered, and because it was buried under only 12 feet of debris, it was easier to excavate. Herculaneum was then mostly ignored until 1981, when bones were found on site. Since the Romans burned their dead, actual bones from this time period were a major find. Some 300 bodies were found by the seashore. They were overcome by the pyroclastic flow as they waited for boats to evacuate them.

Reading about it was very interesting, but walking the actual ground was amazing! I could close my eyes and just about feel the rush of the Romans as they walked about this special place.

The walls show you how deep the town was buried. The original shoreline was on the other side of the this wall. It is now about half a mile further out.

 I was amazed at the variety of building materials. The dark stone here is volcanic stone from previous eruptions.

 View towards the existing town that was built on top of Herculaneum.

 The mosaic work is very impressive.

A wide variety of building materials was used throughout the town.

 Repairing the mosaic flooring.

 Main Street.

 The houses were richly decorated, many with amazing paintings and murals.

Inside of a column.

The plaster on the walls is very thick!

Notice the original scoring/tracing lines for the artwork.

This wood balcony survived the pyroclastic flow.

Marketplace stall urns.

Very thick walls of the residences.

Water fountain.

There were quite a few two-story residences.

Houses had indoor plumbing and an underground sewer system. This is a copper pipe running down the side of a house into the sewer.

Women changed in this room, then. . .

Took a sauna bath in this room, then. . .

Cooled off in the pool area.

The tile and mosaic work is beautiful!

The old seashore is where the grass is now.

This is where the 300 bodies were found.

However, the beauty of Herculaneum is what I wish to remember.

Peace my friends!