Photos

This was a difficult photo to post because of the size constraints, but I still think this is better than the original. I sharpened quite a bit, as you can see, and adjusted the color and lighting, as the other one was for some reason super saturated, and I didn't even use post-processing. I also resized and added the black frame, which I think really enhances the photo and gives it a more "finished" look.

The mosaic from the House of Neptune (House #22) and Amphitrite, in Herculaneum. The colors of this one are absolutely fantastic. I'm not sure if this is the original or a replica, but I didn't see one like it in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, where many of the others, particularly ones from Pompeii are on display, so it's very possible that this one is original. It's also a wall mosaic, unlike many of the others, which are floor mosaics, and was fairly new when the volcano destroyed the down, as it dates to the first century AD. Depicted are Neptune and Amphitrite. Neptune (Greek Poseidon) holds a trident, and his queen holds a royal staff and rests on her elbow on a "plinth." It is surrounded by an extremely brightly colored wall featuring landscape and hunting scenes and is painted in bright orange, yellows and greens, so the house must have been absolutely stunning. The mosaic is located in the "summer" triclinium in the two-storied townhouse, which also features a small shop at the front of the house. Some of the furniture has even been preserved, along with goods that were for sale, which were found still sitting on the counter!

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.