The excavations at Herculaneum are an anomalous cultural phenomenon. At the beginning they are more like a mining operation, perilous and exhausting. When the enterprise began in the eighteenth century, in the depths of underground passages dimly lit by lanterns and torches threatened by the mofèta (firedamp), it was disordered and often disastrous. But the digging yielded the most extraordinarily beautiful artworks. This is a revised edition of the book born following the headline discoveries at the beginning of the 1980s that radically changed the story of ancient Herculaneum: the shore, the victims who died from the eruption of 79 always denied even by renowned scholars, a boat and parts of others, sculptures and amazing jewellery. In this edition the reader will also find a new detailed account of the early excavations of Herculaneum beginning in the eighteenth century with the exhausting exploration of the tunnels, the unprofessional open-air enterprises of the Bourbons and the risorgimento, and on to the work of Amedeo Maiuri who took charge from 1927.

THE WRITER
Giuseppe Maggi was Director of the National Museum in Naples for ten years. Afterwards, his interests were mainly involved with the excavations at Herculaneum and Oplonti, where he rose to the position of superintendent. He has curated several exhibitions on Pompeii in the USA and in many European countries. He taught Roman History in an Italian branch of Tufts University. Amongst many acknowledgments of his work, he was made an honorary citizen of Herculaneum in 2006. Maggi is the author of several books. His L’archeologia magica di Maiuri was shortlisted for the prestigious “Viareggio” literary prize and was the winner of the  Adone Zoli” prize.