View in NE direction. Excavated area in the town of Ercolano. Unlike Pompeii, Herculaneum was not destroyed by ash falls due to the 23 November 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius (1281 m, right central background), but was deeply covered by pyroclastic surges during the following night. Many structures were preserved and then excavated since the 18th century. At the time the pyroclastic flows occurred, the inhabitants had already fled towards the coast, but those who had not been evacuated by boats on time died through the intense heat. Since 1981, may skeletons have been found in the boat houses and along the former beach (central foreground of the photo).