"What a difference 40 years make " a Herculaneum Travel Page by NedHopkins

I first visited Herculanĉum (modern Ercolano) in 1966. I came back, with my wife, 40 years later. The excavated area had more than tripled and a new entry gate had been erected. (Pompeii, with its spiffy new entry area, was almost as dramatically changed.)

The head-of-household for whom this mosaic was created may have been a gentle scholarly type; or a greedy merchant; a nice guy; or a jerk. He was a human being, just like you and I, except that he's been dead for almost 2,000 years. Still, try to imagine the pride and pleasure he -- and his family -- took as they viewed this beautiful work. Almost 2,000 years ago.