#herculaneum

A mosaic depicting Neptune and Amphitrite is on the wall of a nymphaeum designed for banquets on Cardo IV Superiore in ancient Herculaneum, Italy.

A distinctive motif enlivens the floor of the tepidarium (warm room) in the woman's bathing complex at ancient Herculaneum, Italy. Shelves for the storage of clothing were above the masonry benches.

The floor of the changing room in the women's section of the central baths at ancient Herculaneum, Italy, is decorated with mosaics of cuttlefish, an octopus, a triton, and Cupid holding a whip.

As you patrol the empty streets of ancient Herculaneum, Italy, you gain insights into local life before the 79 AD eruption. You'll see a bakery, merchant's shops, noble homes, and the baths where 1st century Romans would go to relax.

The atrium of Casa Sannitica (Samnite House) in ancient Herculaneum, Italy, features an impluvium designed to collect rainwater through an opening in the roof. The reddish floor is paved with waterproof concrete dotted with white tiles.

Cardo III is typical of the well constructed streets of ancient Herculaneum, Italy. The carefully fitted stones created a level surface for wheeled traffic with sidewalks available to pedestrians.

The ancient city of Herculaneum between Mount Vesuvius and contemporary Naples, Italy, was entombed in mud during the 79 AD eruption. This preserved the marble floors, mosaics, paintings, and even carbonized woodwork still to be seen around the site.

Mount Vesuvius, source of the devastation caused by the 79 AD eruption, looms behind the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, Italy.