Collezione Ercolano
Cardo and Decumanus crossroads
Herculaneum was located on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius and was buried by 30 meters of lava, ash, and mud in the eruption of AD 79. Excavations began in the 1700s and are still ongoing. The carbonization process has allowed for the discovery of intact structures of houses and objects, offering a valuable testimony of daily life in ancient Rome.
At the intersection of the Cardo and the main Decumanus stood the forum, but Herculaneum was not a commercial city, so the main commercial street was along the Decumanus.
Facts & Trivia
You can walk along the Decumanus Maximus, which was a pedestrian street closed to the public, occupied by merchants with their shops and goods. You can still see the colonnaded porch with its wooden elements still intact. The streets were paved with polygonal slabs and were not heavily worn by the wheels of carts because it was easier to transport goods on mules and on foot, given that the streets were steep.