Herculaneum: House of the Wooden Partition

 After coming in through the out door, we turned right and walked past a number of unmarked rooms. We peered inside and saw this interior wall. This was our first up-close look at a Roman-era ruin! The colors were so rich it was hard to believe it was painted 2,000 years ago. These first two pictures are from the House of the Alcove, as close as I can determine.

 Herculaneum had an earthquake in AD 63, 16 years before Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. Therefore, much of Herculaneum had been rebuilt and was only 16 years old when the mud from the volcano covered the city. Herculaneum is much better preserved than Pompeii - the reason is that Herculaneum was covered in mud while Pompeii was covered in ash. In my opinion, Herculaneum is the better of the two, though much smaller. One thing that is frustrating about Herculaneum is seeing the modern graffiti and vandalism - note how someone has attempted to cut out the face on this painting.

 Returning to the first street we saw (Cardo IV) and heading up the street, we came upon the House of the Opus Graticium. This house gets its name from its construction method. Opus Graticium is a quick and inexpensive form of wall construction having a wooden framework combined with Opus Incertum (a wall with irregular facing of small stones overlain with mortar to form a cohesive mass).

 Here is a close-up of the front of this home.

Just past the House of Opus Graticium we came upon the House of the Wooden Partition. This home is particularly well-preserved and has also been reconstructed somewhat. This photo is taken standing on the street, looking in the entrance hall (the vestibulum).

 As with most Roman homes of the era, the center of the home is what we would now call a courtyard (atrium) with an open roof (compluvium). It has the typical basin (impluvium) to collect rain water as well as a bench.

 This house gets its name from these, the sliding wood doors that separate the atrium from the next room. These doors still slide on the original bronze tracks. How is that for long-lasting quality?

 The doors appear black because they were carbonized by the pyroclastic surge that whipped through the building before it was buried in the flow.

 Here is a close-up of the doors - note they are encased in glass now for protection from the elements...and vandals.

 The roof in this house has been rebuilt to protect the interior from the elements and to give visitors a feeling for how this home must have felt in AD 79. The temperature in this home was quite comfortable, even with the visitors that were coming through.

 Here is a close-up of the basin. Note the floor is fairly warped from being buried in mud for close to 2,000 years. But still, original tiles remain on the floor!

 Looking up and original wall paint in a sideroom.

And down at original flooring in a sideroom.