The monumental centre of Herculaneum: in search of the identities of the public buildings

Abstract

This paper arises from recent work on site, under the aegis of both the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) and the Soprintendenza Speciale per i beni archeologici di Napoli e Pompei, particularly preliminary explorations in the area of the basilica designed to assess the feasibility of further excavation. It will focus on the problem of the identity of the three public buildings at the centre of the town mapped by the 18th-c. excavators, and the problem of the location of the forum. It forms a companion piece to the publication of the new work in the area of the Basilica by D. Camardo and D. Esposito (forthcoming in JRA 24)