Herculaneum’s ancient Roman home is now open for public visits
Herculaneum’s ancient Roman home is now open for public visits
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Synopsis
Great opportunity for history buffs as an ancient Roman house that was buried under the ashes of Mount Vesuvius is now reopen to the public. The volcanic eruption occurred back in AD 79, and was shut for the last 36 years.
Great opportunity for history buffs as an ancient Roman house that was buried under the ashes of Mount Vesuvius is now reopen to the public. The volcanic eruption occurred back in AD 79, and was shut for the last 36 years.
The house is located in Herculaneum, and is a three-storey building called the Bicentenary House. Much like Pompeii, Herculaneum too was devastated by the volcano nearby, and this particular house was discovered in 1938. An extremely important artwork has now been saved in the house by excellent restoration work. The Bicentenary House was being mismanaged, and was declared unstable, and thereby closed for public back in 1983. According to Leslie Rainer, the site is a jewel, and considers this world heritage piece to be very unique.
Herculaneum, unlike its neighbour Pompeii, is a much smaller city. The ruins of Herculaneum is better preserved because they were buried in a deeper mass of ash. Experts also say that the city was wealthier than Poempeii.
The house in question here, called the Bicentenary House, was home to Gaius Petronius Stephanus, and his wife Calatonia Themis. It is said that it was one of the finest private houses in the city that contained mosaic floors, and frescoes with mythological scenes, and animal motifs depicted on them. Interestingly, the main sliding wooden grill at the entrance of the house survived the volcano, and is today 2000 years old.
With great precaution and care, the conservation team has now managed to restore the frescoes and other artworks.
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