Herculaneum: Italy's Buried Treasure [Paperback]

Joseph Deiss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 21, 1989 | ISBN-10: 0892361646 | ISBN-13: 978-0892361649 | Edition: 2

A vivid portrayal of life in Pompeii's sister city, this book includes a detailed description of the ancient Villa dei Papiri, on which the present Getty Museum in Malibu is modeled.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the first edition: "A fascinating book. The daily life of the Romans, rich and poor, has been wonderfully recreated."--Library Journal

"Exciting reading...A spirited guide."--The New York Times

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: J. Paul Getty Museum; 2 edition (September 21, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892361646
• ISBN-13: 978-0892361649
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent popularization of a horrific event, June 26, 2001

By 

tertius3 (MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Herculaneum: Italy's Buried Treasure (Paperback)

I greatly enjoyed this book. It carries you along deep into the personal lives of ancient Romans, nearly two millennia gone. Deiss constantly links the architecture to the minutiae of finds and to individual lives and actions. This is a wonderful way to do popular archaeology. It is worth taking along on a trip to visit Herculaneum, although slightly oversize for a pocket. It is not a street by street guidebook but rather is constructed by themes that make sense of the whole as well as the individual lives, and deaths, recovered deep in the ruins.

Herculaneum (and its neighbor Pompeii) are archaeological godsends, the rarest of time capsules showing the complete range of life at one particular instant in the Ancient world. The spectacular history, deep burial and rediscovery of Herculaneum is excitingly covered in the first five chapters, including eyewitness accounts of the fatal eruption of Vesuvius as lunches were being prepared on August 24, A.D. 79. In the next six chapters Deiss systematically tours you through Roman housing there, from top to bottom of the social hierarchy (including the astounding copy of a Roman villa Paul Getty built for himself in Malibu CA). Five more chapters take you through the public spaces and functions of the town revealed in tunnels and exposures. The book concludes with a summary of the skeletons and plans for site conservation and exploration. Yes, a few pages deal with earthy topics, just as the Romans frankly did. (I think the Getty Museum has since put out a separate book for parents of American kiddies.)

Excellent b/w photographs are found throughout. An absolutely vital aerial photograph and map is provided on p. 34 which you will want to bookmark. It's really too bad they are so tiny that a magnifying glass is needed to read the labels in order to locate the houses when their plans and ruins are discussed individually later in the text. Some locations are never identified. Larger foldout versions would be a real help in the next edition (excavations began in 1709 and new things are constantly found).

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on Herculaneum, August 10, 2004

By 

clwinter - See all my reviews

This review is from: Herculaneum: Italy's Buried Treasure (Paperback)

Very few people know of the other Napolitan city that was destroy in 69AD by the eruption of Vesuvius and because of this there are few good books that have been written on Herculaneum. Deiss' book on Herculaneum is probably the cream of the crop and an essential one to any scholar or amateur classicist/archaeologist who is interested in the other little seaside city. Deiss provides a good overview of the difference between the destruction of Herculaneum and the destruction of Pompeii which had a great effect on the excavation of the cities. He also chronicles the discovery of Herculaneum which occurred before Pompeii and the birth of modern archaeology through that discovery.

Deiss also gives a good overview of the town and what is know about it, the objects that were found there and how different buildings were used.

Essential to anyone interested in Pompeii, Herculaneum or ancient Roman culture.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What was Really Found - Primary Source, March 29, 2001

By 

Mary R McEllistrem (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Herculaneum: Italy's Buried Treasure (Paperback)

I bought this book to find out about soap factories supposedly found on Pompeii and Herculaneum but this book discounts the theory of several other places. There's a lot of history about the dig but you get much more information about what was actually found in the digs with pictures of the artifacts in the museums. The pictures are clear and the book reads very well. Lots of discussion about the various shops. Doesn't leave anything out. Does discuss the eros side a little. Not a good book for teachers of young students because of various images but overall an excellent secondary source of info with pictures from a primary source.