The buried town of Herculaneum and the local coastal morphology before the Vesuvius eruption of A.D. 79

Abstract

From study of core samples drilled in the present town of Ercolano, which includes the subsurface of the area of the an-cient Herculaneum, it has been possible to identify the substrate upon which the pyroclastic deposits of the Vesuvius 79 A.D eruption rest and therefore to reconstruct the local topography prior to the town burial during this devastating eruption. The restoration here proposed offers an alternative to the interpretation of the topography of the old town suggesting that the original morphology was that of a gentle slope degrading to the sea and flanked by two valleys. This reconstruction is in complete concordance with descriptions given by ancient authors before 79 A.D eruption and contrasts with the recent models of Pagano [1996], Pagano & al [1997] proposing that Herculaneum was situated on a terraced surface 15-20 meters above sea level.