Floors of Herculaneaum

Visiting just two of the Roman cities devastated by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. one realises the scale of the disaster, and how terrible an event it was. Most of the population of Pompeii had left after what they'd always believed was just a mountain overshadowing the city started smoking ominously. Ten percent remained and perished in the poisonous fumes and ash that inundated the city.

In Herculaneaum the city was buried by mud flows, and is better preserved as a result. One is struck by how beautiful and civilized the city and its grand villas must have been - walls and ceilings richly decorated, floors covered in intricate mosaics and colourful marble tiles. These are some of the floors I photographed there.