This photo is a follow-up of one I posted a few days ago of Minerva. It's a relief panel from the small "Sacello de quattro dei," or "Chapel of the Four Gods," dedicated to Minerva, Neptune, Mercury and Vulcan. The remains of the chapel are located near the bath complex and is just above the boat pits. There are relief carvings of each of the deities, but this was one of the better preserved ones. I'm not sure which deity this is. I believe that it's probably Vulcan, but if anyone knows for sure please let me know.
Herculaneum was a small town with approximately four or five thousand inhabitants, which lies at the western base of Mount Vesuvius and was destroyed in the same eruption of August, 79 AD. The modern down of Ercolano is now home to almost 60,000 people! so another eruption of equal magnitude would be far more devastating. Excavation of this site only began in 1738, quite a bit later than in Pompeii, under the patronage of the King of the Two Sicilies. Herculaneum lies under more than 60 feet of volcanic debris, and much of the town literally had to be chiseled out of the dense pyroclastic material, making excavation much more difficult than in nearby Pompeii. Much of the town, however, remains unexcavated as it probably lies under the modern town.
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