Research

Karl Weber

Karl Jacob Weber (1712-1764) was born in Switzerland, attended Jesuit College in Lucerne and studied mathematics at Collegio Ghislieri in Pavia, Italy.  In 1735 he joined a Swiss infantry regiment as a junior officer, and was part of a battalion of guards that was contracted to Charles of Bourbon, the King of Naples.  In 1743 he was admitted as a military engineer to the Royal Guard.

At the time, a Spanish military engineer, Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre, directed the subterranean exploration of ancient Herculaneum. The purpose of the work was to tunnel into the buried ruins in order to locate and extract artwork and artifacts for the king.  In 1749 Weber was put in charge of the on-site excavations under the direction of de Alcubierre.  He also later supervised projects at Pompeii and Stabiae.  Weber documented the excavations with written reports, inventories of discoveries and plans of the explored buildings that included the Villa of the Papyri and theater at Herculaneum, Praedia of Julia Felix at Pompeii and elite villas at Stabiae.  It has been speculated that his death may have been caused by a combination of extreme overwork and respiratory illness caused by the unhealthy work environment of the underground excavations.  (Parslow, Rediscovering Antiquity, Karl Weber and the Excavation of Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiae)

The Excavation History of via dell’Abbondanza - 1748 to 1799


Early excavations in Pompeii were carried out primarily to locate artwork and antiquities that were used to decorate the new summer palace that had been built at Portici by Charles of Bourbon, King of Naples and Sicily.  Most of the explorations in Pompeii during the last half of the eighteenth century were in the vicinity of the Herculaneum Gate in the north of the city and around the theaters in the south.  However, one of the first properties unearthed in Pompeii, the Praedia of Julia Felix, was in the east of the city, adjacent to a buried street that is now known as via dell’Abbondanza.

The Directors of the Pompeii excavations during this period were[1]:

  • 1745 to 1780 - Roque Joachim de Alcubierre, military engineer, site manager and Director of Archeological Works
  • 1750 to 1760 - Karl Weber, on-site supervisor under de Alcubierre
  • 1764 to 1780 - Francesco la Vega, on-site supervisor under de Alcubierre
  • 1780 to 1804 - Francesco la Vega, Director of Archeological Works
The following documents have been located that indicate the chronology of the excavation of via dell’Abbondanza during this period:
 
1757 - Plan of the Praedia of Julia Felix (Regio II, Insula 4)

1757 300 ads71 0945 dBy:  Karl Weber (1712-1764)

Source:  Original drawing (Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli ADS 71)

Location:  Archives of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli

Copyright:  Permission to display this image of the original document has been granted by the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività  Culturali – Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei.  This image may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner.

 

The Praedia of Julia Felix was the first structure to be excavated on via dell’Abbondanza.  The nearby amphitheater had been explored in 1748.  Several years later a farmer discovered a marble column to the north of the arena and the excavations were reopened in 1755.  The work continued until 1757 under the supervision of Swiss military engineer Karl Weber and encompassed a complete city block (Regio II, Insula 4).  The objective of the project was to recover artifacts and art for the King of Naples and Sicily.  Weber submitted weekly reports that consisted primarily of inventories of the objects that had been found.  After the property was reburied at the completion of the work, Weber created several plans of the site.  This drawing is an early draft showing the layout of the structures.  The rooms are numbered to show the location of the discoveries cited in the written inventory surrounding the floor plan.[2]

 
1757 - Plan of the Praedia of Julia Felix (Regio II, Insula 4)

1757 300 ads72 0940 d

By:  Karl Weber (1712-1764)

Source:  Original drawing (Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli ADS 72)

Location:  Archives of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli

Copyright:  Permission to display this image of the original document has been granted by the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività  Culturali – Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei.  This image may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner.

 



This plan of the Praedia of Julia Felix was Weber’s improved version of his first draft (ADS 71 described above).  It contains a formal title and scale and is drawn more precisely.  North is to the left of the page.  The unnamed street on the plan is now known as via dell’Abbondanza.

1757 - Plan of the Praedia of Julia Felix (Regio II, Insula 4)

1757 300 ads73 0934-2 d

By:  Karl Weber (1712-1764)

Source:  Original drawing (Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli ADS 73)

Location:  Archives of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli

Copyright:  Permission to display this image of the original document has been granted by the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività  Culturali – Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei.  This image may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner.

 

 

This plan of the Praedia of Julia Felix is the final version created by Weber.  It is even more carefully drawn, and is an unusual axonometric projection, tilting the axis of view to show a third dimension.  North is to the left of the page.  The unnamed street on the plan is now known as via dell’Abbondanza.

1757 - Plan of the Praedia of Julia Felix (Regio II, Insula 4) reproduced in 1860

1757-1862 300 fiorielli 1610 dBy:  Karl Weber (1712 – 1764) reproduced by Giuseppe Fiorelli (1823 - 1896)

Source:  Vol. I, Tab. I of Pompeianarvm antiqvitatvm historia qvam ex cod. mss. et a schedis divrnisqve R. Alcvbierre by Giuseppe Fiorelli, published in 1860.

Publication Date:  1862

Location:  Library of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei

Copyright:  Expired

Giuseppe Fiorelli compiled and transcribed the handwritten official Pompeii excavation reports that had been recorded between 1748 and 1860 into a three-volume printed publication, Pompeianarum Antiquitatum Historia (PAH).  Plate I in Volume I shows a copy of one of Weber’s 1757 plans of the Praedia of Julia Felix.  North is at the left of the page.  The unnamed street on the plan is now known as via dell’Abbondanza.  Weber’s written reports and inventories are also included in the book in Addenda II, pages 95-103.

This image was recorded from the PAH volumes in the library of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei.  Unfortunately, the original plate was missing from the book, and had been replaced with a photocopy.

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[1] Soprintendenza Archaeologica di Pompei, History of the Excavations, Pompei, 2008, http://www.pompeiisites.org/

[2] Excellent discussions of this period of Pompeian history can be found in:

Parslow, Christopher.  “Documents illustrating the excavations of the Praedia of Julia Felix in Pompeii.”  Rivista di Studi Pompeiani. Vol. II, 1988, pp. 37-48.

Parslow, Christopher. Rediscovering Antiquity, Karl Weber and the Excavation of Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiae. Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1995.

 

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