page_title: Herculaneum
section_title: College of the Augustales
hierarchical_section_title: Herculaneum / The site / College of the Augustales
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Le Giocatrici di astragali, da Ercolano, dipinto su marmo, opera firmata da Alessandro di Atene (ALEXANDROS ATHENAIOS EGRAPhEN - Alessandro ateniese dipinse - nell'angolo in alto a sinistra), oggi nel Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Naples) (inv. 9562). I nomi scritti in greco accanto alle diverse figure permettono di identificare con sicurezza la scena: si tratta di Febe che cerca di pacificare Latona e Niobe, mentre a terra due delle niobidi, Hilearia e Agle, continuano a giocare con gli astragali, inconsapevoli della loro imminente morte. Français&#160;: Joueuses d'osselets, Ercolano, Peinture sur marbre, Inv. 9562 Musée archéologique national de Naples.
context_page_description: Herculaneum was an ancient town, located in the modern-day comune of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. The city was destroyed and buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
  Like the nearby city of Pompeii, Herculaneum is famous as one of the few ancient cities to be preserved more or less intact, with no later accretions or modifications. The thick layer of ash that blanketed the town also protected it against looting and the elements. Unlike Pompeii, the mainly pyroclastic material that covered Herculaneum carbonized and preserved more wood in objects such as roofs, beds, and doors, as well as other organic-based materials such as food and papyrus.
  The traditional story is that the city was rediscovered by chance in 1709, during the digging of a well. Remnants of the city, however, were already found during earlier earthworks. In the first years after its rediscovery, tunnels were dug at the site by treasure hunters, and many artifacts were removed without authorization. Regular excavations began in 1738, and have continued ever since, albeit intermittently.
context_section_description: Temple of the augustales or priests of the Imperial cult.
caption: A marble tablet from Herculaneum showing women playing knucklebones, depicting Phoebe, Leto, Niobe, Hilearia, and Agle, painted and signed by an artist named "Alexander of Athens", now in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Naples)
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