Herculaneum: Past and Future

Located between Naples and Pompeii, the town of Herculaneum was also destroyed by Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 C.E. This sumptuously illustrated book%E2%80%94including panoramic views stretching across four pages%E2%80%94provides an in-depth geological, architectural, and historical look at what is known about the town and its inhabitants, constituting the first book of its kind since Joseph Jay Deiss's 1966 study. The head of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, Wallace-Hadrill illustrates how its villas and apartments reflect status differences, how the numbers of freed slaves exceeded the freeborn so that Romans "fretted about the excessive number of ex-slaves making their way into citizenship, not unlike European anxieties about illegal immigration." Also included are a history of architectural efforts at Herculaneum, dating back to the early 18th century; a comparison of the city and Pompeii%E2%80%94Herculaneum is portrayed as "a place of greater wealth and sophistication"; and a discussion of conservation efforts. As important as the text are the color photographs of streetscapes, homes, and other buildings, and art (some of the latter seem strikingly modern, such as a silver portrait bust of the Emperor Galba). Perhaps the book's only flaw is the occasional unexplained reference, such as the intriguing "three good luck phalli" found in a bakery. Overall, however, one could hardly ask for a clearer, more comprehensive, and better illustrated guide to Herculaneum. (May)