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Herculaneum | Casa dell'Atrio a Mosaico

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Unlike Pompeii, the Roman town of Herculaneum was not destroyed by ash falls due to the 23 November 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but was deeply covered by pyroclastic surges during the following night. Many houses - including organic elements such as wooden features, but also mosaics and wall paintings - were not destroyed, but preserved and then excavated since the 18th Century.