Map of HerculaneumThis is a featured page


Watercolour of 1834

This map is based on a water-colour of the area painted in 1834 detailing the extent of the finds to that date. It shows the position of the Theatre (A), the Basilica (B) and the Villa of the Papyri (C) relative to the open excavation site. The positions are not very accurate, however, especially in the case of the Basilica Noniana, which is actually in Insula VII, just off Cardo III, virtually across the street from the College of the Augustali.

The detail and extent of the discoveries in the explored area is largely due to the diligence of a Swiss engineer, Karl Weber, who made the first map of the sub-terranean galleries and the buildings they led to. His methodology was continued by the Spanish architect Francesco La Vega who produced as complete a plan of Herculaneum as was possible from the available evidence.

Because of the manner of its burial and the fact that it lies beneath a populated area, the exact size of Herculaneum is still unknown, but it appears to extend over an area roughly 320m by 350m. The section excavated to date is in the southwest corner of Herculaneum and covers about a quarter of the city.


Index of Buildings


(a) Numbering of Buildings in Herculaneum


Plan of HerculaneumAs any visitor to the site will observe, Herculaneum was laid out in an orthogonal grid pattern of streets, the east-west streets (decumani) intersecting the north-south streets (cardi) almost at right angles. Two of the original decumani have been partially excavated, as have three of the cardi. The main east-west axis was designated the Decumanus Maximus by Amedeo Maiuri because of its width and the fact that it runs adjacent to important civic buildings, such as the College of the Augustali and the basilica.

The city blocks (insulae) created by the grid of streets were usually divided in two from east to west, then subdivided into properties of more or less the same width. Measurements obtained have shown that, with the exception of the large peristyle houses, house facades generally varied between 7m and 14m wide; the northern halves of the insulae adjacent to the Decumanus Maximus don't follow this pattern, but rather have been subdivided lengthwise, so that the houses opened onto the decumanus rather than the side streets.

The insulae have historically been numbered as shown in the accompanying schematic. Hence we have Insula II - Insula VII running anti-clockwise from Insula II. To the east are two additional blocks: Orientalis I (oI) and Orientalis II (oII). To the south of Orientalis I (oI) lies one additional group of buildings known as the 'Suburban District' (SD).

To further define a property's location, each entrance in an insula has its own individual number. Thus a property can be defined by its insula and entrance number. For example, the House of the Deer is labelled (Ins IV, 3).


(b) Featured Buildings by Insula


Insula Building Also known as Ref No
 Rating
II
 House of Aristides
 Casa di Aristide II.1
 ...*

 House of Argus
 Casa di Argo II.2
 ...* *

 House of the Genius Casa del Genio II.3
 ...*
III House of the Inn Casa dell' Albergo III.1, 9 ...* *

 House of the Skeleton Casa dello Scheletro III.3
 ...* *

 House of the Wooden Partition Casa del Tramezzo di Legno III.11-12 ...* * *

 House of the Opus Craticium Casa a Graticcio III.13-15 ...* *

 House of the Bronze Herma Casa dell' Erma di Bronzo III.16
 ...* *
IV House of the Mosaic Atrium Casa dell' Atrio a Mosaico IV.1-2
 ...* * *

 House of the Alcove Casa dell' Alcova IV.4
 ...* *

 House of the Deer Casa del Cervi IV.21 ...* * *
V Samnite House Casa Sannitica V.1
 ...* * *

 House of the Carbonised Furniture Casa del Mobilio Carbonizzato V.5 ...* *

 House of the Neptune Mosaic Casa di Nettuno e Amfitrite V.6-7 ...* * *

 House of the Beautiful Courtyard Casa del Bel Cortile V.8 ...* * *

 House of the Bicentenary Casa del Bicentenario V.15-16 ...* *

 House of the Corinthian Atrium Casa dell' Atrio Corinzio V.30 ...* *

 House of the Great Portal Casa del Gran Portale V.35
 ...* * *
VI Central Thermae Terme Centrali VI.1-10
 ...* * *

 House of the Black Hall Casa del Salone Nero VI.11-13
 ...* * *

 House of the Tuscan Colonnade Casa del Colonnato Tuscanico VI.16-18
 ...* *

 College of the Augustali
 Collegio degli Augustali VI.21-22 ...* * *

 House of the Double Atrium Casa dei due Atri VI.29
 ...* *
VII House of Galba Casa di Galba VII.1-2
 ...*

 Basilica Noniana Basilica Noniana VII ...*
oI House of the Gem Casa della Gemma oI.1
 ...* *

 House of the Relief of Telephus Casa del Rilievo di Telefo oI.2-3
 ...* * *
oII Pistrinum Pistrinum di Sex Patulcius Felix oII.8 ...* * *

 Palaestra
oII.4
 ...* *
SD Suburban Thermae Terme Suburbane n/a
 ...* * *

 Shoreline
n/a
 ...* *


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