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Herculaneum

American  
[hur-kyuh-ley-nee-uhm] / ˌhɜr kyəˈleɪ ni əm /

noun

  1. an ancient city in SW Italy, on the Bay of Naples: buried along with Pompeii by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in a.d. 79; partially excavated.


Herculaneum British  
/ ˌhɜːkjʊˈleɪnɪəm /

noun

  1. an ancient city in SW Italy, of marked Greek character, on the S slope of Vesuvius: buried along with Pompeii by an eruption of the volcano (79 ad ). Excavation has uncovered well preserved streets, houses, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • Herculanean adjective
  • Herculanensian adjective

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Finding furniture like that is very rare outside of somewhere like Herculaneum or Pompeii so to have it in a very muddy building site in central London is pretty amazing," he says.

From BBC

The other victims of Vesuvius whose remains have been uncovered at Pompeii and Herculaneum have remained relatively statuelike in their anonymity.

From The Wall Street Journal

One of the more remarkable findings was the product of pure scholarship: Mr. Goddio remembered a fresco he’d seen unearthed in Herculaneum, the city buried along with Pompeii by the Vesuvian eruption of A.D.

From The Wall Street Journal

Earlier this year, another team of scientists digitally "unwrapped" a badly burnt scroll from the Roman town of Herculaneum using a combination of X-ray imaging and AI, revealing rows and columns of text.

From BBC

A fragment of the organic glass found inside the skull of the deceased individual in Herculaneum.

From Salon