Rising from the ashes: Herculaneum house restored

(23 Oct 2019) LEAD IN:
On August 24, 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius famously erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash, killing thousands.
Herculaneum was buried deeper in volcanic material than its more famous neighbour, meaning many of the town's stories are yet to be uncovered.
Today, new secrets are being revealed, with the re-opening of one of the town's most celebrated villas.

STORY-LINE :
In the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, lies the ancient town of Herculaneum.
Herculaneum and nearby Pompeii were destroyed in the dramatic eruption of 79 AD that killed at least 2,000 people.
The layers of volcanic ash preserved the sites for centuries, providing precious information on life in the ancient world.
Tourists visit Herculaneum and Pompeii in their thousands, hoping for a glimpse into a world long gone.
Now, one of the most precious houses of Herculaneum, submerged for centuries under tens of metres of ash, is reopening to the public.
The House of the Bicentenary, so called because it was discovered in 1938, exactly two hundred years after first excavations of the ancient city, was a Roman house of some 600 square metres.
It was a dwelling for a noble family, decorated with wall paintings showing mythical figures.
Jane Thompson, head of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, explains the importance of opening the house up to the public.
"Bringing back in the local community, visitors, the research community, is absolutely at the heart of looking after heritage and giving it a role in society today," she says.
The murals and mosaics are testimony of life in Herculaneum before it was devastated by the eruption.
Leslie Rainer, restorer of the Getty Conservation Institute, describes the damage the house suffered when the eruption took place.
"You know that there was a big pyroclastic flow that came, it covered, it came into all of the rooms, and covered the houses all the way up. At the same time, when it came, it destabilised walls," she says.
"The house was discovered in 1938 by Amedeo Maiuri, the archaeologist, who excavated the whole site. And the most precious decorations that were found were in this room, in the "tablinum", and they're the wall paintings, some of the most celebrated at the site, some of the most beautiful and highly sophisticated."
Herculaneum was buried deeper in volcanic material than its more famous neighbour, meaning many of the town's stories are yet to be uncovered.
Restorer Marc Ethans says it's a privilege to work on the project.
"It's obviously fascinating work, it's really, really interesting. It's a unique experience for every conservator in all the world to be able to work on this sort of painting," he says.
Archaeologist Domenico Camardo explains the importance of the tablinum, a room where guests were received.
"This is the public room of the house, the public part. It is the atrium where people were received by the landlord, who usually received them in the tablinum," he says.
The Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD is considered one of the most catastrophic natural events to have occurred in ancient times.
According to historical reports of Pliny the Younger, everything occurred in a handful of hours.
A huge cloud of gas and rocks erupted from Mount Vesuvius, reaching 14 kilometres (8.6 miles) in height and moving southwards.
The pyroclastic materials reached a temperature of 400 degrees Celsius (752 Fahrenheit).
Rocks and ash were set off at a speed of 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour, burning everything and anyone in its path.
The ruins are a silent witness to death, frozen in time.

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