Ercolano

Soon after the crew of adventurers left the Pompeian city–forever held captive in the aesthetics of 79AD, they trekked to a smaller but better preserved site, Ercolano (Herculaneum). Said to be founded by Telephos, the son of Herakles, Ercolano suffered the same fate as Pompeii. Herakles, himself, would have shaken nervously had Eurystheus commanded him to divert the pyroclastic flow, even though he was believed to be the founder of the volcano by the Herculaneans.

Ercolano, as many know, remains magnificently preserved to an unbelievable degree. Aside from the completely empty streets, one can feel the pattern of life in a small Italian port town (to Pompeii) of the 1st century AD. Some interesting notes to point out: much of the wood in the pictures are modern, although some still exists from antiquity; and secondly, the ship sheds below appear on land now, but before Vesuvius added an extra 400 meters of land to the area, it would have led straight to the sea. Approximately 300 skeletons are preserved in the ship sheds from the pyroclastic flow that entrapped the people as they were waiting for rescue vessels, painting quite a grim picture in ones mind.