The Hero of Herculaneum investigates a forgotten chapter from the volcanic destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum: 300 mummified skeletons found buried in ash, including the body of a man armed to the teeth and carrying a huge cache of gold and silver. Who was he? What was his role in the disaster? And how did he die? For the very first time his story is told. <br /> <br />See how the eruption of Mount Vesuvius produced a 2,000-year-old Roman soldier mummy and a baffling mystery. <br /> <br />The eruption of Mount Vesuvius wreaked havoc on the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum 2,000 years ago, burying them in ash. But there's a forgotten chapter to this tragedy, involving a mass grave of 300 men, women, and children, unearthed in a Herculaneum boathouse in 1982. Found among the corpses: the mummified remains of a man, separated from the others, armed to the teeth and carrying a cache of gold and silver. Was he a hero or a villain? Scientists look for clues in the ancient city and on the body itself.
