Herculaneum
Herculaneum(see map: Italy) Roman municipium (municipality) on a spur of Vesuvius commanding the coast-road, 8 km. (5 mi.) south-east of Naples (Strabo 5. 4. 8). An independent member of the Samnite league centred on Nuceria in the 4th cent. bc and subsequently allied to Rome, it joined the allied cause in the Social War of 91–89 BC (see Rome (history), §1.5): Oscan civic institutions were replaced by Roman ones in 89 BC. Its origins are still obscure, though the regular street-plan and the name suggest that it may have been a dependency of the Greek apoikia (colonial settlement) at Naples (perhaps of the 6th or 5th cent.).
Recent discoveries have made its municipal life seem comparably vigorous with its neighbours', but restricted hinterland, limited communications, and a small harbour denied it much economic opportunity. On present evidence, the streets (whose plan is more regular...
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