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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 12 2008, 10:15 AM EDT (current) | clemio | |
| Apr 1 2008, 6:05 PM EDT | meggle |
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The Suburban District lies outside the town walls to the south of Insula Orientalis I. It is accessed via the Marina Gate at the southern end of Cardo V (also from a narrow ramp at the southern end of Cardo IV). It is the ancient waterfront area and includes the Suburban Thermae and a large sacred area of which little remains except for a marble statue and altar.The photograph (left) is a view of Herculaneum looking north-east towards Vesuvius. The buildings along the escarpment at the southern end of Insula IV are (from left to right) the House of the Mosaic Atrium and the House of the Deer. The access ramp to the Suburban District is visible next to the sacred area (bottom right).
Suburban Thermae
The Suburban Thermae seem to have been a gift to the town by Proconsul Nonius Balbus. His statue and a memorial altar once stood in front of the building, which also gave access to the house thought to be the Balbus home.The Suburban Thermae held up remarkably well against the eruption. The fact that the shoreline was pushed nearly half a mile out to sea shows that the volcanic avalanche had not lost any of its strength when it reached the baths. The building owes its survival to its construction - walls of brick-faced concrete with vaults supporting the roof. Debris pouring in through a skylight and filling the interior may also have helped by offsetting the pressure from outside.
The main entrance to the baths consists of a portal with columns supporting a gable. The vestibule, pictured above and opposite, has a pierced vault supported by four plain columns topped by round arches. As can be seen in the photographs, a marble bust of Apollo stands on a pilaster which used to emit a stream of water into the basin below.
The vestibule gives access to all areas of the baths.
Unlike the Central Thermae, these baths were not segregated, and were probably used alternately by both sexes.
A single room, most of which is occupied by a pool, served as a combined apodyterium and frigidarium.
Between this room and the tepidarium was a waiting area decorated with splendid stuccoes and marbles with marble benches along each of the walls. The tepidarium, with its large pool, adjoins a rather small laconicum. The caldarium has a pool that was used for hot swims, and a basin that provided cold water.
The photograph on the right is of the frigidarium come apodyterium. In the extreme left of the photograph is a door that was plugged (and remains so) by the volcanic debris from the eruption.
Beyond the caldarium is the boiler room which served the whole complex.
Shoreline
In 1981, Italian public works employees, under the direction of Dr. Giuseppe Maggi, found bones next to the ancient beach whilst digging a drainage trench. Twelve stone boathouses lined the shoreline: it would appear that some inhabitants had probably taken shelter in these boathouses to wait for the worst of the eruption to pass. Close by, escape boats were found that the fleeing inhabitants had not been able to use.
Dr Sara Bisel, a physical anthropologist from the United States, was called in to oversee the excavation and study the bones.
Through the chemical analysis of those remains, Dr Bisel was able to gain greater insight into the health and nutrition of the citizens of Herculaneum. Quantities of lead were found in some of the skeletons, which led to speculation of accidental lead poisoning (the water supply was carried through lead piping).
Among the artifacts found were surgical instruments and women's jewelry. The skeleton of a woman in the photograph opposite still wears two rings on her left hand.
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