Excavations of Herculaneum: visit, history, hours and tickets

Herculaneum Excavations what to see

Visiting the Herculaneum excavations is an act of love for history and art. The archaeological park of Herculaneum, although only partially uncovered, includes many unmissable attractions. Here is what to see at the Herculaneum Excavations, what not to miss among noble villas, common houses, shops, and baths.

• Fornici: shelter for boats and warehouses
• Terrace of M. Nonio Balbo: large square in front of the bath area
• Suburban Baths: excellently preserved complex
• Sacred Area: two adjoining temples, west of the Southern Terrace, where the college of the Venerii met
• Shrine of Venus: temple dedicated to Venus
• Shrine of the Four Gods: dedicated to Minerva, Neptune, Mercury, and Vulcan
• House of the Relief of Telephus: three-level house, the second largest
• House of the Deer: servant quarters on the upper floor
• Taberna of Priapus: with basement with hearth where walnuts were found and storage
• Great Taberna: tavern with marble counter
• Taberna Vasaria: on the lower decumanus
• Gym: spacious room intended for recreational and sports activities
• House with Garden: house without particular decorations but with a large garden
• House of the Great Portal: with very beautiful semi-column portal
• Pistrinum and workshop of Sex Patulcius Felix: civic 8 of cardo V
• House of the Corinthian Atrium: one of the oldest
• Workshop of the Plumbarius: belonged to a blacksmith
• House of the Black Hall: with black mosaic floor
• Workshop ad Cocumas: entrance pillar with four depicted jugs
• Workshop: with wooden mezzanine and charred beam
• House of the Tuscan Colonnade: house that over time was incorporated with an adjoining one
• Thermopolium: refreshment place
• Shrine: overlooks the main decumanus
• Seat of the Augustales: where commercial and religious life took place
• House of the Two Atria: above the door the terracotta Gorgon’s mask
• Men’s Baths: with division between men’s and women’s baths
• Women’s Baths: very beautiful with seats and furnace for heating
• House of the Beautiful Courtyard: structure dating back to the mid-first century AD
• House of Neptune and Amphitrite: name due to the beautiful mosaic on the wall depicting Neptune and Amphitrite
• Workshop: grocery annexed to the House of Neptune
• Samnite House: house repeatedly renovated with original structure from the 2nd century BC
• House of the Alcove: double access due to the annexation of two houses
• House of the Mosaic Atrium: very elegant noble house
• House of the Bronze Herm: small dwelling with opus sectile floor
• Half-timbered house: rental house with upper floor for multi-family use
• House of the Wooden Partition: house with two seats for waiting
• Workshop of the Lanarius: adjacent to the House of the Partition, this was the shop of a wool seller
• House of the Genius: accessible only from the rear while the front part has not yet been uncovered
• House of Argo: main entrance on Cardo II still not found
• House of Aristides: first building on Cardo II
• House of the Skeleton: in this dwelling a skeleton was found, hence the name
• House of the Hotel: presumably a hotel due to the baths and spaciousness
• Villa of the Papyri and Northern Insulae: recently discovered with new millennium excavations

Herculaneum Excavation Map

History of the Excavations at Herculaneum

The Roman city of Herculaneum (known as Resìna until 1969), near Naples, destroyed and buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, was brought back to historical attention in the eighteenth century thanks to the Bourbon explorations. Equipped with modest walls, the inhabited center was built on a volcanic plateau towering over the sea at the foot of Vesuvius, bordered on the east and west sides by two streams; two river inlets formed natural and safe harbors.

The size of the city was actually quite modest: it is hypothesized that the total area enclosed by the walls was about 20 hectares, of which about 4.5 hectares are now visible in the open air, for a population of about 4000 inhabitants.

Only a Part of the City of Herculaneum Has Emerged

Despite the centuries-old history, therefore, the excavations have unearthed only a part of the ancient city of Herculaneum, so much of the ancient Herculaneum remains still buried underground, preserving among other things the entire forum area, the sacred and civil buildings with their precious furnishings and decorative elements.

Currently, most of the visitable archaeological park consists, with the exception of the baths and the gymnasium, of private residences from the imperial age, characterized by great typological variety: houses with traditional layout, multi-family buildings, large residences that develop part of their quarters in a dominant position over the sea and astride the walls.

Despite the limitations of the city’s exposed area, it seems that the urban plan was structured on at least three decumani (only two excavated in the open air: the lower and the main decumanus, partly pedestrianized with the four-fronted arch to the west and the access to the temple of the Magna Mater to the east) intersected by five cardines (only three open-air), perpendicular to the decumani and to the coastline.

The southern boundary of the city is also sufficiently known, with its powerful vaulted substructures (fornici), the terraces above with suburban baths and large private domus, also arranged on multiple levels. Dionysius of Halicarnassus attributes the mythical foundation of the city to Heracles returning from Iberia, while Strabo reports that the city was first in the hands of the Opici-Osci, then the Etruscans and the Pelasgi, and finally the Samnites.

If you want to skip the line and visit the excavations at Herculaneum with an archaeological guide, we suggest you buy the ticket online.

The Arrival of the Romans

Like Pompeii and Stabiae, Herculaneum must have come under the influence of the Nucerian confederation. After rebelling against Rome during the Social War, it was attacked and conquered in 89 BC by the legate of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Titus Didius and was then included in the municipalization process led by the Romans affecting all of central and southern Italy. The life of the city was finally abruptly interrupted by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.

The Farmer Ambrogio Nucerino Discovers Herculaneum

Over time, the memory of the location of the ancient Roman city was lost, and only in 1710 did a farmer, Ambrogio Nucerino, digging a well to irrigate his garden, recover many precious marble fragments, which only later were understood to belong to the ancient city theater. Informed of the discovery, the noble Emanuel-Maurice of Lorraine, prince of Elboeuf, acquired the well and for nine months conducted tunnel excavations at his own expense, through which he recovered nine statues with which he paid tribute to the powerful people of the time.

The Bourbons Started the Open-Air Excavations

Only in 1738, at the behest of King Charles III of Bourbon, did systematic tunnel explorations of the ancient site begin. In 1828, under the reign of Francis I of Bourbon, “open-air” excavations were undertaken for the first time, carried out until 1875. After a very long interruption, the work was resumed in 1927 by Amedeo Maiuri, who directed them until 1958, but by 1942 almost the entire area that makes up the current archaeological park had already been unearthed and simultaneously restored and covered.

The Excavations of Herculaneum in the ’60s

Between 1960 and 1969 further work was carried out in the northern sector of Insula VI and along the main decumanus, while in the last twenty years the ancient beach, coinciding with the southernmost strip of the archaeological area, was explored. In this area twelve rooms with arched entrances (the fornici), shelters for boats and warehouses, where many Herculaneans sought refuge fleeing the eruption, were brought to light.

The Excavations of Herculaneum in the ’90s

In the years 1996-1998 open-air excavations were carried out in the area conventionally called “New Excavations,” connected to the archaeological park proper by a narrow and deep trench that, joining at the House of Aristides, continues with a gallery beneath the modern Vico Mare.

The Excavations of the 2000s: Villa of the Papyri and Thermal Complex

New excavation, restoration, and enhancement work was carried out by the Superintendence in 2007-2009 thanks to funding from the European Community. Currently, structures belonging to the Villa of the Papyri (atrium district, lower first floor, and terrace on the sea), already explored through underground tunnels in the eighteenth century, as well as part of a thermal complex of the northwest Insula and a luxurious residential building of Insula I are now visible. None of these sites has been fully exposed, as the structures are mostly developed beneath lands that have not been expropriated.

Main Decumanus of Herculaneum

A system of hydraulic pumps must permanently control the water table emerging due to the sinking of the ancient coastline after the eruption of 79 AD and related phenomena. The reopening of the Main Decumanus – the main street of ancient Herculaneum – marks the final stage of returning the Roman streets to visitors and concludes an important chapter of the works carried out that have involved the shops along the northern slope and some of the most interesting Roman homes of the archaeological site, including the House of the Double Portal, now finally accessible in all its splendor with its exceptional entrance, the columned portico, and the still intact wooden elements, while important restoration work is ongoing in the famous House of the Bicentennial. Further extraordinary maintenance work on infrastructure and conservation restoration of the buildings of the ancient city are also underway, as well as archaeological research activities within the framework of the interinstitutional project Herculaneum Conservation Project, conducted thanks to co-funding from the Packard Humanities Institute, in collaboration with the British School at Rome and other Italian and foreign universities.

How to buy tickets for the Herculaneum Excavations

Besides on-site, where it is possible to buy entrance tickets to the Herculaneum excavations with credit card (Visa and MasterCard circuits) and debit card.

If you want to skip the line and visit the Herculaneum excavations with an archaeological guide, we suggest buying the ticket online.

Alternatively, it is possible to purchase tickets online by connecting to the site and choose whether to receive the tickets at home, print them and then directly present them at the entrance turnstiles, or pick them up at a dedicated point located in Herculaneum and Pompeii Porta Marina.

Rules for Visiting the Herculaneum Excavations

• It is not allowed to stand on the edges of the excavations or climb on the walls
• Photographic and video recordings are allowed only for private use. For commercial filming and with a tripod, you must contact the offices of the Herculaneum Archaeological Park
• Bulky items such as backpacks, umbrellas, bags, etc., must be left in the cloakroom
• Smoking is not allowed
• No animals are allowed
• You must behave respectfully: no shouting, writing on the walls, and litter must be deposited in the appropriate containers
• The guided tour service must be conducted by qualified personnel
• It is recommended to wear comfortable clothing and low-heeled shoes

Excavations of Herculaneum ticket prices

If you want to skip the line and visit the Herculaneum excavations with an archaeological guide, we suggest you buy the ticket online.

• Full price € 11.00
• Reduced € 5.50
• Free on the first Sunday of each month, under 18s.

Herculaneum Excavation Hours

From April 1 to October 31

• 08:30 – 19:30 (last admission at 18:00)

From November 1 to March 31

• 08:30 – 17:00 (last admission at 15:30) – from November 1 to March 31

The archaeological park of Herculaneum is closed on December 25 and January 1.