Rediscovering Antiquity: Karl Weber and the Excavation of Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabiae / Edition 1

by Christopher Charles Parslow

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521646642
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/13/1998
Edition description:	1 PBK ED
Pages:	418
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.87(d)

Table of Contents

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.

Editorial Reviews

' … this book provides valuable material for those studying the archaeology of the Vesuvian sites and those concerned with the role of these sites in the creation of the eighteenth-century classical tradition in Europe.' Ray Laurence The Classical Review

'… 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

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