Rediscovering Antiquity
Karl Weber and the Excavation of Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabiae

A 1995 study of the archaeological methods of Karl Jakob Weber.

Christopher Charles Parslow (Author)

9780521646642, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 October 1998

418 pages
25.4 x 17.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.72 kg

'… rich, informative and highly readable study, Women as Hamlet is an account of the fascinating Shakespearean subculture of women who were not content to play Ophelia or Gertrude, and instead went for the Prince … a stirring record of the women who decided that they should get a go at one of Western theatre's most iconic roles.' Times Literary Supplement

This 1995 book examines the early history of the excavations at three important sites of classical antiquity, which came to light in 1738 through the life and work of Karl Jakob Weber, who supervised these investigations from 1750 to 1765. While many of his contemporaries sought only the recovery of precious antiquities to the exclusion of the architectural remains, Weber sought to retrieve evidence of the ancient urban fabric and to relate his discoveries to their archaeological context, thereby establishing the first systematic approach for the excavations. He also proposed a revolutionary manner for publishing his findings, in which all of the works of art from an individual site would appear together with detailed plans, drawings, and commentary drawn from classical and modern sources. His methods were to influence all subsequent publications of contemporary rediscoveries throughout Europe. Based on original excavation documents and plans, contemporary correspondence and the extant archaeological remains.

Part I. The Historical Background: 1. Weber, Alcubierre and the first years of the excavations
2. The earliest plans of the Vesuvian monuments
Part II. Excavations and Methodology: 3. The discovery of the Villa dei Papiri
4. Pompeii and the Praedia Iuliae Felicis
5. The 'Temples' at Herculaneum
Part III. Documentation: 6. Weber's application to the Accademia Ercolanese
7. Dearth and discord
8. The theatre at Herculaneum
Epilogue: Weber's place in the history of archaeology in the Vesuvian landscape
Appendices.

Subject Areas: History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE [ACG]