
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in in 79 AD, Pompeii was not the only town to be destroyed by the eruption. Herculaneum, a favorite seaside resort in the days of the Roman Empire was also buried for centuries following the eruption of Vesuvius. Herculaneum was a smaller town with a wealthier population than Pompeii at the time of the destruction.
After the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, the town of Herculaneum was buried under approximately 20 meters of mud and ash. It lay hidden but nearly intact for more than 1600 years until it was accidentally discovered by some workers digging a well in 1709. From there, the excavation process began but is still quite incomplete. Today, the Italian towns of Ercolano and Portici lie on the approximate site of the ancient city of Herculaneum.
Until 1969 the town of Ercolano was called Resina, and it changed its name to Ercolano, the Italian modernization of the ancient name in honor of the old city. Pompei tours of the area usually combine with Herculaneum excursions as the history and circumstances are similar.
Herculaneum can be visited either by Pompeii tours coaches, which spend a few hours there on the standard tour or else it can be reached directly by using the Circumvesuviana railway line to the ‘Ercolano Scavi’ station, from where it is about one mile straight down the hill to Herculaneum excavation site itself.