Herculaneum: The Terrace of Marco Nonio Balbo

 This area, adjacent to the boat houses along what was the beach, is so named because of the Marco Nonio Balbo statue found there. Balbo lived in Herculaneum though he was originally from Nuceria. He was Senator and proconsul of the provinces of Crete and Cyrene and a patron of Herculaneum. Upon his death, he was cremated at this location and his ashed stored here.

 Now here is where it gets a little fuzzy. Everything I can find written about Balbo is in Italian, and my translations aren't the greatest. This object had a marble facade and, when it was further researched in the 1980s, was found to contain the ashes of Balbo in a clay container. In the background, the Suburban Baths are to the right and the ramp into Herculaneum proper are to the left.

The front of the object contained a description of Balbo's exploits and accomplishments. Note the far left edge of this object has been recreated.

 Also inside was found what translates into an uncremated "phalanx", which can either mean a body part or an array of soldiers. If anyone can fill me in on the real story, I would appreciate it.

This photo shows that part of the statue was missing and has been filled in to give an idea of what it originally looked like. As near as I can tell from the translations, this is a copy of the original statue, with the original on display in a nearby museum.

For anyone who can read Italian, here is the poster that was along the edge of the terrace. Maybe you can fill me in on what the real story is.

Herculaneum: The Suburban Baths

 Just to the right of the Balbo statue are the one of the two baths found in Herculaneum so far: the Suburban Baths, shown in the background of this first photo.

 Standing in the entry doorway to the Suburban Baths, this is the view inside. The Average Herculaneum home did not have bathing facilities, so all but the ultra wealthy used public facilities for bathing. In large cities, women and men bathed together up until about 100 AD. In smaller towns such as Herculaneum, men and women usually bathed in separate rooms of the same facility or at different times in the same facility.

 This floor plan of the Suburban Baths shows the doorway where the above picture was taken. In the first photo in this post, the doorway is directly behind the man in the black shirt. In this floor plan, the doorway is directly left of the the words "BASE DI STATUA". To the left and right of the door are unmarked cloakrooms where no doubt countless Herculaneum residents dropped their street clothes before entering the bathing rooms wearing a light wrap or towel.

 This is the Vestibule (A in the floor plan) which contained four red columns, a fountain, and a bust of Apollo. The valve that turns the fountain on and off still works with ease, just as it did 2000 years ago. One can imagine visitors gathering here for light conversation before continuing on to the bathing rooms.

 The cold plunge is at the edge of the exercise room (F on the floorplan). Other major rooms included the resting room (D) that overlooked the ocean and marina, the hot immersion bath room (C), the large swimming pool (T), and the room between C and T (labeled L?) that had large stucco warriors and marble benches.

 In many rooms the large wooden doors are still intact.

 In the hot immersion bath room (C), the volanic blast shattered a window, overturned a wash basin (shown to the right and forced it against a wall which shows the imprint of where that basin landed (shown to the right below).

What activities, besides bathing and perhaps eating a light snack in the resting room, took place in the Suburban Baths? We will likely never know for sure.

Graffiti was found written on the walls in room U whose function has not clearly been determined, but much of the graffiti was of an erotic nature. One entry has been translated to different meanings by different authors, two examples:

- "Apelles the Mouse with his brother Dexter lovingly screwed each other twice."

- "We, Apelles the Mouse and his brother Dexter, lovingly f***ed two women twice."

Personally, I don't put much weight on either of these translations being correct or of such an event happening.

I put it in the same category as the "For a good time call..." graffiti found in restrooms all over America. If modern graffiti doesn't state fact, why would an author think 2000 year old graffiti does? Maybe because it sells books.

Herculaneum: House of the Relief of Telephus

 The first home we entered upon entering Herculaneum from the boat houses was the House of the Relief of Telephus. The relationship of this home to the sites we have already viewed can be determined by looking at the map here. This home is actually the second home on the right side of the street, the first one being the House of the Gem which we did not enter. This first photo is of the atrium which is at street level.

 It is theorized that the HotRoT (what an abbreviation!) owner had wanted to purchase the HotG for it's oceanfront view but was unable to do so. The HotRoT owner proceeded to expand his home around the HotG house on the backside, which probably did not make for a friendly neighbor situation. This HotRot expansion was then connected to the Suburban Baths on the waterfront below - the only home in Herculaneum with a hallway that led directly into the baths.

 HotRoT is named after this marble relief. This home sat on the hillside above the Suburban Baths and took the full brunt of the eruption's flows, completely destroying the second floor and protecting the Suburban Baths below.

 Here is a closeup of that same marble relief showing Achilles consulting an oracle on the left, and Achilles scraping rust from his spearpoint to heal Telephus' wound on the right.

 This is a close-up of a portion of the structure behind the columns in the first photo. The deep rich reds are still eye catching.

 At the center of the atrium is this square fountain. Joseph Deiss' book on Herculaneum describes beautiful black and white mosaic pavement around this fountain, which is now clearly missing. Perhaps it was moved to a museum for protection.

 The trough along the edge of the fountain was likely used for a bed of flowers. It is also likely there was a statue in the fountain though it has not been found. There were a number of other objects found in the atrium, however, including bread, cakes, eggs, and a necklace.

 These three round marble oscillas have survived and are still mounted in their original locations. They are carved on both sides and depict scenes of Bacchic revels.

 The HotRoT is among the most sumptuous house inside of Herculaneum proper. Outside of the atrium area, most of the rest of the home was destroyed by the eruption, with only the bottom portions of walls and columns remaining.

 Because of its location and grandeur, it is considered likely that this home was owned by the family of Marco Nonio Balbo though no proof has been found. Balbo died a few years before the eruption, but his young son Marco Nonio Balbo Junior became head of the clan at that point.

 Doors opened out the backside of the atrium into other rooms that were also at street level, including a drawing room. The drawing room is 22x30 feet and included walls and floor of polychrome marble decorated with bands of very rare marbles such as African, purple, cipolin, black and green serpentine. I have no photos of that room because we must have missed it. It is likely that bedrooms and a dining room were also at this level and may yet to be excavated, as the back side of this home is still a mountain of unexcavated volcanic hillside.

 On the opposite side of the home from the House of the Gem were stables that also bordered the street, demonstrating the wealth the home's owners.

 This is a small sidestreet or alley in that same area.

And finally, this photo demonstrates a reason why you should probably think twice about vacationing with me. I set a very aggressive schedule, as my wife's face shows. It is relatively early in the day, yet the prior days' hectic schedule running around Paris for a week have clearly taken their toll.

Herculaneum: Fleeing the Eruption

 When Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24 in the year 79, Herculaneum had a population of about 5000 according to most historians. Since the entire city has not yet been excavated, that is a rough guess based on the size of the area where it sits and the size of the amphitheater. Excavations turned up practically no bodies until 1982 when the waterfront area was excavated. Almost all of the skeletons found in the city were found in the boat houses, shown in this first photo. Others were found along the beach which would have been in the foreground.

 Apparently the residents did what I would have done. If the volcano is erupting inland, I would run for the ocean and attempt to flee by boat. There is no way of telling how many people successfully did this, but we can determine how many people did not make it. We didn't get to tour the boat houses but from internet searches, it appears that many of the skeletons are still there (note in the first photo that some of the boat houses have tarps over their entrance). One of the skeletons found on the beach included one that has been dubbed The Ring Lady. As can been seen in this photo, she had an emerald and a ruby ring on her fingers when she collapsed on the beach.

In addition, she had a purse which contained two gold bracelets with serpentine heads that met as well as two gold earrings that probably held pearls. These were likely her prize possessions that she was attempting to take with her.

Here is a close-up of the rings. Examination of her body shows that she was a tall 45 year old woman in good health with good teeth but a bit of gum desease. She was likely knocked down by the pyroclastic blast and died immediately.

Another skeleton found on the beach was of a Roman soldier who collapsed, his fists clutching the sand. Every bone in his body except his inner ear was broken suggesting that he too was hit forcefully by the surge and knocked to the ground. He was about 37 years old, wore a sword and bone-handled dagger by his side and had a bag of carpenter's tool on his back. Soldiers often worked in that trade. Fifteen silver coins and three gold coins were found near him, likely originally held in a cloth moneybag.

Anthropologist Sara Bisel examined the body and found that he had probably been a warrior for quite some time. He was missing three front teeth (missing six teeth in total), had a mark on this thighbone where a prior wound had healed, and had thick well developed thighbones likely from frequent bareback horse riding as was common among soldiers of the era.

Roman soldier skeletons are a very rare find since the Romans usually cremated their dead. Note I did not take the photos of the Ring Lady, as she has long since been removed from the Herculaneum beach.

Herculaneum: Back on the Street

 After exiting the House of the Relief of Telephus, we were back on the main drag in Herculaneum again. The tunnel you see at the back of this photo leads back out to the beach and the statue of Marco Nonio Balbo. The walls of House of the Gem are on the left side of the photo. The doorway directly behind the head of the gentleman catching his breath is the entrance to the House of the Stags (HotS), also known as the House of the Deer or Casa dei Cervi in Italian. We'll go there next.

 In the meantime, let's turn our head to the right and look at a few of the smaller, less famous homes that line the street. Here is a wall with well preserved paint - note the small shade roof they have built to protect it.

 Another small home with nice decorative windows running along the top - this allows privacy yet lets in light. I still see windows like these in new homes being built today.

And finally, a couple more small yet tall rooms with modern steel framework supporting the ancient roofs. Italy is doing all it can to preserve this town for eternity...in some way it is a losing battle. But still one worth fighting.

Herculaneum: House of the Deer

 One of the most famous homes in Herculaneum is the House of the Stags (HotS) also known as House of the Deer or Casa dei Cervi in Italian. This first photo is a close-up of the wall in the entryway. I think the brickwork is fabulous.

 Looking down from the wall one sees this tile floor - very well preserved and very pleasing to the eye. It is not an unusual design, but it works well at this entry location.

 Here is a close-up taken from the same photograph. My first reaction was that the larger tiles were shards of broken pottery, but closer inspection reveals that these are tiles intentionally made for floors.

 Leaving the entryway and turning to the left we pass a few rooms and come upon a peristyle. on the house-side of the peristyle walkway there are a series of paintings that the Italians are attempting to preserve by placing glass over the top.

 The paint in many of the rooms is far from perfect, but enough of it remains to give us a clear feel for the decor of the rooms. HotS is not your typical Italic design and is built around one large outdoor rectangle about 140 feet long. It was 25 years old at the time of the eruption.

 Here is the tile in the walkway around the peristyle built on the edges of the rectangle. It is similar in design to the entryway floor we saw earlier.

 When we looked up from the floor and turned our head left, we saw this view out over the garden rectangle. The gazebo at the back of the photo would have had a wonderful ocean view - the levee and trees that are shown behind it are a result of Mt Vesuvius' eruption.

Here is what the view would have looked like the day before Mt Vesuvius erupted. From the view and size of the home, this home was obviously owned by one of the wealthier residents of Herculaneum.

 Turning my head a little further left revealed this scene - more of the peaceful, quiet garden rectangle.

 Another framed picture around the peristyle - this one is a painting of fruit.

 More fruit around the peristyle.

 We then walked out to the gazebo and took this photo. I could not determine whether this had been rebuilt or was the original wood. If I were to guess, I would say it is rebuilt. Right now, it is usually easy to determine what is original by the relatively poor shape of the wood - the rebuilt sections have very crisp, fresh wood. As the years roll by, telling them apart will become more difficult.

 Looking back toward the garden from the gazebo, this is the view. Most of the rooms in the HotS are behind that patio at the center of the photo.

 This is the view when I turned my head to the left from the same position by the gazebo.

 This house contained many famous statues that I had been aware of before the trip, including "Drunken Hercules". This light-hearted statue portrays an older Hercules barely able to remain upright after a night of revelry.

 Another famous statue showing a man with a bag of wine - this statue is titled "Satyr with a Wineskin".

 Note that all the statues on the site are reproductions - the originals are now in museums. This is a reproduction of the marble table that was found in the garden.

 And finally, one of my two least favorite statues: a deer being taken down by hounds.

 ...and the companion statue to the one above.

 One of the many rooms at the HotS. Most of the furniture in these rooms was removed by tunnelers during the 1800s. Some of that furniture is now in museums.

 Walking back to the main house, one can look out the window and see this view on the side of the house away from the street. My back would have been to the garden rectangle at this point.

 Another view look in the same direction, from a window not too far from the window above.

 This is the dining room which opens up onto the garden rectangle. It is decorated with red bands on a black background. Behind this room is a long hallway that leads to the kitchen and latrine. Having a kitchen is another sign that this home was owned by the wealthy.

 I am not certain what this room is called, but it is another great example of the fresco painting that was used throughout the home.

 As if any more evidence was needed as to the status of this family, a bronze bathtub was also found in this home eliminating the need for them to use the public baths. I'm not sure where this photo was taken in relation to the bathroom, but this is a shot I took as we headed back to the entry where we started our HotS tour.

 I believe this is the other wall in the entryway, opposite the first photo in this post but I'm not sure. It is somewhere in that general area.

And finally, back out onto the street we now call Cardo V. We are now heading inland, toward Mount Vesuvius and away from the beach. What house will we visit next? I have no idea! I'll have to go process more pictures in Photoshop!