Several new announcements are color-coded below!

American Friends of Herculaneum
promoting appreciation for herculaneum

The American Friends of Herculaneum (the AFoH) are scholars, students, and amateurs of all levels interested in the ancient culture, the volcanic catastrophe, and scientific rediscovery of Herculaneum. Formally incorporated in 2011 and directly affiliated with the UK Friends of Herculaneum Society (est. Oxford 2004), our common objectives:

to advance the education of the public concerning Herculaneum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in particular to create an archive of materials related to its study
to promote research on Herculaneum, including the continued investigation of the Villa of the Papyri, and the publication of important research
to promote the conservation, for the benefit of the public, of artefacts and buildings at Herculaneum

We hope you'll join us!

Partnering with the Ancient Graffiti Project

AFoH Board and membership proudly supports a fund-raising initiative to support the Ancient Graffiti Project.
Beginning 1 February 2018, AFoH members and the general public are encouraged to participate in a crowd-funding campaign
to help the AGP send students, train them on site, and purchase needed equipment for their exciting, on-going project.
Our understanding of ancient Herculaneum grows with each season of the AGP.
To learn more about:
the Ancient Graffiti Project, click here
the Friends/AGP crowd-funding campaign, click here
rewards for donation, click here.

The easiest way to contribute to the Ancient Graffiti Project is by PayPal through the AFoH.
Log in to your PayPal, select Pay or Send Money, then "Pay for Goods or Services" and enter "herculaneum@byu.edu".
All donations earmarked for the Ancient Graffiti Project will be forwarded to the AGP.
No donation is too small. Crowd-funding works best when large numbers contribute in small amounts each.
Forward links to this campaign on social media.

Why join the American Friends?

The AFoH promotes public awareness of issues surrounding Herculaneum.
We support students of papyrology, archaeology, history, and classical philology, and all who even have amateur interest in ancient Herculaneum benefit from membership.
Annual meetings, semi-annual publications of the newsletter, and on-site visits to Naples and Herculaneum arranged every other year (next in 2018) keep AFoH members up to date and well connected.
All donations and membership subscriptions are tax deductible. Join here.

Where we've Been

AFoH scholars have lectured in prominent venues from Malibu to Boston and beyond. Their studies of Herculaneum take them even farther afield.

Above, 2016 AFoH Scholar Ambra Spinelli pursues her doctoral study in the Casa di Tramezzo di Legno

Actively Fostering Young Scholars

AFoH membership supports one graduate student ($2500) and one undergraduate ($1500) fellowship annually.
The 2018 competition is now open; deadline for application is 1 April 2018.
(Click here to learn more.)

An exciting initiative in Spring 2018 encourages AFoH members to donate especially to support the Ancient Graffiti Project documenting graffiti inscribed on walls in Herculaneum. (Click here to learn more.)
Above, Gracie Gibson, AFoH Scholar, photographs a graffito at Herculaneum with Dr. DiBiase Sammons, her professor.

Where We're Heading

The annual meetings of the Society for Classical Studies, San Diego 6-9 January 2019, will include a full session of papers "Herculaneum: Works in Progress". Proposals for 15-20 minutes papers are due by 1 March 2018.
Follow this link for full information.

Plan on joining AFoH and UK Friends at Naples in June 2018.
Click here to learn more.