Herculaneum, on the Bay of Naples situated five miles (eight kilometers) south of the modern city of Naples, is connected by ancient tradition with the name of the Greek hero Herakles (Hercules in Latin and consequently Roman mythology), an indication that the city was of Greek origin.

In fact, it seems that some forefathers of the Samnite tribes of the Italian mainland founded the first civilization on the site of Herculaneum at the end of the sixth century BCE.

Soon after, the town comes under Greek control and is used as a trading post because of its proximity to the Gulf of Naples.

Herculaneum, now enjoying modest prosperity as a Roman resort in the first century CE, suffers a serious earthquake in CE 62 or 63, which destroys parts of the town and …

Mudflows from Vesuvius cover the town of Herculaneum in a layer of hot mud (not hot ashes, as at nearby Pompeii) to a depth of fifty to sixty-five feet (fifteen to twenty meters) thick.

All but a few of the approximately four thousand inhabitants of Herculaneum apparently escape.

As soon as the ashes cool, survivors attempt to dig out their possessions (but Pompeii will later be all but forgotten).

The Villa of the Mysteries is one of the many structures buried in the eruption.

Titus appoints two ex-consuls to organize and coordinate the relief effort, while personally donating large amounts of money from the imperial treasury to aid the victims of the volcano.

The town of Herculaneum, near Pompeii, likewise buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79, is discovered when workers attempt to dig a well over the ancient amphitheater.

The excavation of Herculaneum, a Roman city buried by Vesuvius in 79, begins in 1738.