Herculaneum and Pompeii rose again from their ruins in the reign of Titus; and they still existed with some remains of splendour under Hadrian[270]. The beautiful characters of the inscription, traced out on the base of the equestrian statue of Marcus Nonius Balbus, son of Marcus, are an evident proof of its existence at that period. They were found under the reign of the Antonines. In the geographical monument, known under the name of Peutinger's chart, which is of a date posterior to the reign of Constantine, that is to say in the commencement of the 4th century, Herculaneum and Pompeii were still standing, and then inhabited; but in the Itinerary, improperly ascribed to Antoninus, neither of these two cities is noticed; from which it may be conjectured, that their entire ruin must have taken place in the interval between the time when Peutinger's chart was constructed, and that when the above Itinerary was composed. The eruption, which took place in 471, occasioned the most dreadful ravages. It is very probable that the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii disappeared at that period, and that no more traces of them were left. It appears, by the observation of Sir W. Hamilton[271], that the matter, which covers the ancient town of Herculaneum, is not the produce of one eruption only; but there are evident marks that the matter of six eruptions has taken its course over that which lie immediately above the town; and which was the cause of its destruction. These strata are either of lava or burnt matter, with veins of good soil between them. The stratum of erupted matter that immediately covers the town, and with which the theatre and most of the houses were filled, is not of that sort of vitrified matter, called lava, but of a sort of soft stone composed of pumice, ashes, and burnt matter. It is exactly of the same nature with what is called the Naples stone. The Italians call it tufa; and it is in general use for building. HERCULANEUM was covered with lava; Pompeii with pumice stone; yet the houses of the latter were built of lava; the product of former eruptions. All memorials of the devoted cities were lost[272]; and discussions, over the places they had once occupied, were excited only by some obscure passages in the classical authors. Six successive eruptions contributed to lay them still deeper under the surface. But after that period had elapsed, a peasant digging a well beside his cottage in 1711, obtained some fragments of coloured marble, which attracted attention. Regular excavations were made, under the superintendence of Stendardo, an architect of Naples; and a statue of Hercules, of Greek workmanship, and also a mutilated one of Cleopatra, were drawn from what proved to be a temple in the centre of the ancient Herculaneum.