Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

But yes, yeah. So you can remake an ancient city. They decided to leave Pompeii and Herculaneum. It was like they'd met these forces of nature that simply overawed them and they weren't going to touch it. So what I'm saying is that it was never forgotten. You know, the stories of the destruction were some of the most vivid stories told from antiquity.

But yes, yeah. So you can remake an ancient city. They decided to leave Pompeii and Herculaneum. It was like they'd met these forces of nature that simply overawed them and they weren't going to touch it. So what I'm saying is that it was never forgotten. You know, the stories of the destruction were some of the most vivid stories told from antiquity.

Pliny's amazing letters describing the eruption. Wow! Imagine somebody who happened to be a brilliant writer, a brilliant journalist, being there at the moment and being able to write it all down. So they knew about it. They didn't forget it. And future generations read Pliny's letters and they thought, wouldn't it be amazing to rediscover Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Pliny's amazing letters describing the eruption. Wow! Imagine somebody who happened to be a brilliant writer, a brilliant journalist, being there at the moment and being able to write it all down. So they knew about it. They didn't forget it. And future generations read Pliny's letters and they thought, wouldn't it be amazing to rediscover Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Pliny's amazing letters describing the eruption. Wow! Imagine somebody who happened to be a brilliant writer, a brilliant journalist, being there at the moment and being able to write it all down. So they knew about it. They didn't forget it. And future generations read Pliny's letters and they thought, wouldn't it be amazing to rediscover Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Yeah. In a funny way, it's built into it. You can't do it without myth. Pompeii, above all, is the great mythical site. People just create myths around it all the time. Every single discovery has to be over-interpreted and turned into something larger than life. Herculaneum, as you rightly point out, doesn't quite have that public impact that Pompeii has. It isn't the same sort of myth generator.

Yeah. In a funny way, it's built into it. You can't do it without myth. Pompeii, above all, is the great mythical site. People just create myths around it all the time. Every single discovery has to be over-interpreted and turned into something larger than life. Herculaneum, as you rightly point out, doesn't quite have that public impact that Pompeii has. It isn't the same sort of myth generator.

Yeah. In a funny way, it's built into it. You can't do it without myth. Pompeii, above all, is the great mythical site. People just create myths around it all the time. Every single discovery has to be over-interpreted and turned into something larger than life. Herculaneum, as you rightly point out, doesn't quite have that public impact that Pompeii has. It isn't the same sort of myth generator.

One of the things that fascinates me is the way that it was once, because Herculaneum was discovered before Pompeii by these Spanish kings, the Bourbons. It's about 10 years earlier. The official date of excavation in Pompeii is 1748. 1738 is the start of exploration of Herculaneum. For that reason, when the Bourbons published their results, results from Herculaneum and Pompeii.

One of the things that fascinates me is the way that it was once, because Herculaneum was discovered before Pompeii by these Spanish kings, the Bourbons. It's about 10 years earlier. The official date of excavation in Pompeii is 1748. 1738 is the start of exploration of Herculaneum. For that reason, when the Bourbons published their results, results from Herculaneum and Pompeii.

One of the things that fascinates me is the way that it was once, because Herculaneum was discovered before Pompeii by these Spanish kings, the Bourbons. It's about 10 years earlier. The official date of excavation in Pompeii is 1748. 1738 is the start of exploration of Herculaneum. For that reason, when the Bourbons published their results, results from Herculaneum and Pompeii.

They called it the Antiquities of Herculaneum because Herculaneum was the big name. And everyone had been getting overexcited about Herculaneum. And it takes time for Pompeii to overhaul Herculaneum and become the place. And I think there are technical reasons for that too. And that is that it's so much easier to excavate in Pompeii than Herculaneum.

They called it the Antiquities of Herculaneum because Herculaneum was the big name. And everyone had been getting overexcited about Herculaneum. And it takes time for Pompeii to overhaul Herculaneum and become the place. And I think there are technical reasons for that too. And that is that it's so much easier to excavate in Pompeii than Herculaneum.

They called it the Antiquities of Herculaneum because Herculaneum was the big name. And everyone had been getting overexcited about Herculaneum. And it takes time for Pompeii to overhaul Herculaneum and become the place. And I think there are technical reasons for that too. And that is that it's so much easier to excavate in Pompeii than Herculaneum.

It cost them enormous amounts to work on Herculaneum, and it seemed to be worth it because they were producing amazing results. You think of the Villa of Papyri.

It cost them enormous amounts to work on Herculaneum, and it seemed to be worth it because they were producing amazing results. You think of the Villa of Papyri.

It cost them enormous amounts to work on Herculaneum, and it seemed to be worth it because they were producing amazing results. You think of the Villa of Papyri.

But you think of these bronzes as well as the papyri. And, wow, yeah, this is worth the digging. But then you get to Pompeii, and you don't have to hack through solid rock. You don't have to go down the same depth. Herculaneum is as much as 20 metres below the surface. That is serious rock. serious excavation, serious mining. They used engineers.

But you think of these bronzes as well as the papyri. And, wow, yeah, this is worth the digging. But then you get to Pompeii, and you don't have to hack through solid rock. You don't have to go down the same depth. Herculaneum is as much as 20 metres below the surface. That is serious rock. serious excavation, serious mining. They used engineers.

But you think of these bronzes as well as the papyri. And, wow, yeah, this is worth the digging. But then you get to Pompeii, and you don't have to hack through solid rock. You don't have to go down the same depth. Herculaneum is as much as 20 metres below the surface. That is serious rock. serious excavation, serious mining. They used engineers.