Frescoes preserved on the walls of buildings in the Roman city of Herculaneum that was partly destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79

---

Herculaneum, located on the Bay of Naples, was a Roman town which was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Like its neighbour Pompeii, the town was perfectly preserved by a metres-thick layer of volcanic ash which, in the case of Herculaneum, was then covered in a lava flow which turned to stone, preserving even organic remains. Multi-storeyed buildings, frescoes, papyri, and skeletal remains are just some of the excavated material which has helped archaeologists and historians piece together the daily life of a 1st-century CE Roman town. Herculaneum is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

---

Size: 8256px × 5504px
Location: Herculaneum, Bay of Naples, Italy
Photo credit: © Barrie Harwood / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 79, ad, ancient, architecture, ash, attraction, attractions, bay, buildings, campania, city, covered, destroyed, destruction, eruption, fresco, frescoes, frescos, herculaneum, herculanium, heritage, historical, houses, italian, italy, lava, molten, mount, mural, murals, naples, preserved, roman, rome, site, tourism, tourist, tourists, town, travel, traveling, travelling, unesco, vesuvius, volcanic, volcano, wall, walls, world