Herculaneum was an ancient town, located in the modern-day comune of Ercolano, Italy. The city was destroyed and buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like its neighbouring city Pompeii, Herculaneum is famous as one of the few ancient cities to be preserved more or less intact, with no accretions or modifications; the thick layer of ash that blanketed the town protected it against looting and the elements. Unlike Pompeii, the pyroclastic material that covered Herculaneum carbonized and preserved more wood in objects such as roofs and doors, as well as other organic-based materials such as food and papyrus; the city was rediscovered by chance during the digging of a well. Tunnels were soon dug at the site by treasure hunters, some artifacts were removed. Regular excavations began in 1738, have continued since, albeit intermittently. Today, only part of the ancient site has been excavated, attention and funds have shifted to the preservation of the excavated parts of the city, rather than focusing on uncovering more areas.

Although it was smaller than Pompeii, Herculaneum was a wealthier town. It was a popular seaside retreat for the Roman elite, reflected in the extraordinary density of grand and luxurious houses with, for example, far more lavish use of coloured marble cladding. Famous buildings of the ancient city include the Villa of the Papyri and the so-called "boat houses", in which the skeletal remains of at least 300 people were found. Ancient tradition connected Herculaneum with the name of the Greek hero Heracles, an indication that the city was of Greek origin. In fact, it seems that some forefathers of the Samnite tribes of the Italian mainland founded the first civilization on the site of Herculaneum at the end of the 6th century BC. Soon after, the town came under Greek control and was used as a trading post because of its proximity to the Gulf of Naples; the Greeks named Heraklion. In the 4th century BC, Herculaneum again came under the domination of the Samnites; the city remained under Samnite control until it became a Roman municipium in 89 BC, having participated in the Social War, it was defeated by Titus Didius, a legate of Sulla.

After the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, the town of Herculaneum was buried under 20 metres of ash. It lay hidden and intact until discoveries from wells and tunnels became more known, notably following the Prince d'Elbeuf's explorations in the early 18th century. Excavations continued sporadically up to the present and today many streets and buildings are visible, although over 75% of the town remains buried. Today, the Italian towns of Portici lie on the approximate site of Herculaneum; until 1969 the town of Ercolano was called Resina. It changed its name to Ercolano, the Italian modernisation of the ancient name in honour of the old city; the inhabitants worshipped above all Hercules, believed to be the founder of both the town and Mount Vesuvius. Other important deities worshipped include Venus and Apollo, who are depicted in multiple statues in the city. Pliny the Younger was a witness to the eruption and provides the only known eyewitness account in a letter to the Roman historian Tacitus, itself written some 25 years after the event.

The large majority of extant medieval manuscript copies – there are no surviving Roman ones – indicated a date corresponding to August 24, from the discovery of the Vesuvian cities to the 21st century this had been accepted by most scholars and by nearly all books written about Pompeii and Herculaneum for the general public. This date came from a 1508 printed version of In the course of fourteen centuries of handwritten manuscript tradition that led up to the 1508 printing of his letters, the date given in Pliny's original letter may have been corrupted. Manuscript experts believe that the date given by Pliny was one of the following: August 24, October 30, November 1, or November 23; this odd, set of dates is due to the Romans' convention for describing calendar dates. However, in October 2018, Italian archaeologists uncovered an inscription dated October 17, lending support to a date and ruling out August 24. Further support for an October/November eruption has long been known in several respects: buried people in the ash were wearing heavier clothing than the light summer clothes typical of August.

Wine fermenting jars had been sealed. Based on archaeological excavations and on two letters of Pliny to the Roman historian Tacitus, the course of the eruption can be reconstructed. At around 1:00 pm, Mount Vesuvius began spewing volcanic material thousands of metres into the sky; when it reached the tropopause, the top of the column flattened, prompting Pliny to describe it to Tacitus as a stone pine tree. The prevailing winds at the time blew toward the southeast, causing the volcanic material to fall on the city of Pompeii and the surrounding area. Since Herculaneum lay to the west of Vesuvius, it was only mildly affected by the first phase of the eruption. While roofs in Pompeii collapsed under the weight of falling debris, only a few centimetres of ash fell on Herculaneum, causing little damage but nonethele

Cocoa Otoko was a Japanese rock group, active between April 2010 and March 2012. The band consisted of five actors, namely Kenta Kamakari, Kei Hosogai, Kosuke Yonehara, Shogo Suzuki, Takuya Ide. Cocoa Otoko was put together on the romance variety show Ikemen Deru no Hōsoku in 2009. Prior to the group's formation, all of the members were active in entertainment as actors or singers of other groups, they released their debut single, "Amai Wana Nigai Uso...", on April 15, 2010. The band's name was decided due to the members like of chocolates and all of them are men. On December 5, 2011, Cocoa Otoko announced that they were disbanding in March 2012, citing interest in other career paths; the group held their final performance on March 31, 2012. Heaven's Rock MOTEL ~Hoshigaru Danjo no mote gaku~ DVD box LOG×MEN - COCOA OTOKO. - Digest ver. Official website

"The Curse of the Black Spot" is the third episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Stephen Thompson, directed by Jeremy Webb, the episode was first broadcast on 7 May 2011 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on BBC America in the United States. In the episode, the alien time traveller the Doctor and his companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams land on board a pirate ship in the 17th century; the ship's is terrorised by a Siren-like creature. After receiving an injury, however minor, a black spot appears on their palms and the creature disintegrates them; the producers wished to develop a pirate-themed episode for the sixth series and allow the protagonists to "kick back and have some fun" on the adventure. The episode was filmed at a dock in Cornwall and Upper Boat Studios in Wales. "The Curse of the Black Spot" was seen by 7.85 million viewers and received mixed reviews from critics. It gained an audience Appreciation Index of 86 – considered excellent.

On 30 April 2011 following the broadcast of "Day of the Moon", the BBC released a "prequel" to "The Curse of the Black Spot". The prequel consists of a short montage of atmospheric shots of the pirate ship, bridged by a narration in the form of Captain Avery's journal for "April the first, 1699. Avery describes how his ship has been becalmed for eight days, the crew are being taken one by one by "an enemy". In the 17th century, a pirate ship is stranded in the ocean, terrorised by a Siren-like creature who marks people with black spots on their palms after they are injured and appears to disintegrate them with her touch after putting them in a trance. Rory receives a cut during a tussle with the pirates, finds a black spot on his hand, but is prevented from succumbing to the song of the Siren by Amy and the Eleventh Doctor. Surmising the Siren is using water as a portal, the Doctor instructs the crew to seek refuge in the ship's dry magazine. There, they find Toby Avery, the son of the ship's captain Henry Avery, who stowed away on the ship in order to join the crew after his mother died, unaware of his father's illicit deeds.

He too has a black spot on his palm due to a fever. The Doctor and Avery fail to escape in the Doctor's ship the TARDIS, the Siren takes the TARDIS. After another shipmate is taken by the Siren in a dry room, the Doctor realises the Siren is using reflection to appear, not the water. In response they rid the ship of reflective surfaces, including the ship's stolen treasure; when a storm begins, the crew start to set sail. Toby drops a polished crown while bringing his father a coat; the Siren takes Toby. Soon, Rory falls into the ocean, the Siren takes Rory. Believing the victims are not dead, the Doctor convinces Avery and Amy to prick themselves to get the Siren to take them; the Siren's touch teleports them to an alien spaceship, invisible in the same spot the pirate ship is located. The Doctor finds the spaceship's crew long dead from exposure to a human disease; the trio discover a sickbay where Avery's entire crew and Rory are in medical care along with the TARDIS. The Siren turns out to be the ship's virtual doctor, caring for the injured humans.

Amy convinces the Siren to release Rory into her care. Using Rory's nursing knowledge and the Doctor remove him from life support and are able to resuscitate him. Meanwhile, Avery flies the spaceship with his crew; the historical pirate Henry Avery was mentioned in the 1966 serial The Smugglers, which deals with the search for "Avery's gold". "The Curse of the Black Spot" re-asserts unresolved plot points from the previous two episodes, "The Impossible Astronaut" and "Day of the Moon". In January 2011, it was announced that Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville would make a guest appearance as a "pirate captain" in an episode of the sixth series of Doctor Who. Lead actors Matt Smith and Karen Gillan felt that working with Bonneville was "great fun." Bonneville played Sir Sidney Herbert and Tzar Nicholas I of Russia in the Seventh Doctor audio drama The Angel of Scutari. In February 2011, it was announced actress and model Lily Cole was cast as a sea creature; the producers were looking for an actress, "beautiful," "striking," and yet somewhat "spooky."

Cole came early into the casting suggestions, accepted the role when she was approached. The episode was written by Stephen Thompson; the producers wished to develop a Doctor Who episode set on "the high seas." The episode was made to allow the Doctor and his companions to "kick back and have some fun." As the episode was pirate-themed, the producers wanted to fit in as many elements as possible from pirate fiction, including treasure, mutinies, a stowaway boy, walking the plank, swords, a pirate with a "good heart" who "isn't evil." "The Curse of the Black Spot" was planned to be ninth in the series, but was moved forward prior to filming as executive producer Steven Moffat felt the first half of the series was too dark. Filming took place in Cornwall and the Upper Boat Studios in Wales; the exterior of the pirate ship was filmed at a dock in Cornwall, while the lower decks were built from a set at the studio. The principal challenge to film at the dock was to ensure; the crew set up smoke ma