Uncovering the Past
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After the eruption of Vesuvius, the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were all but forgotten and might have remained that way except for some fortunate accidents and a little bit of greed. Starting in the late 1500s occasionally someone would happen upon artifacts while digging a well or doing construction, but there were no organized excavations and overall not much was found. In the early 18th century, however, a local prince began building a villa nearby and needed to furnish it. He became interested in local stories of wells revealing ancient statues and works of art, so in 1709 he purchased the land on which one of these wells had recently been dug. He had his men tunnel out from the bottom of the well and they ended up right into the middle of the remains of an ancient Roman theater at Herculaneum. He collected as many statues could be found but the excavation was stopped in 1711 for fear of the tunnels collapsing and damaging the buildings above.
The site was left alone again for more than 25 years and then in 1738, the excavation of Herculaneum resumed when Charles of Bourbon who was King of Naples and Sicily, and would later become king of Spain, started construction on a nearby palace. He was also looking for a way to furnish and decorate his new home. Eventually, over the next 2 centuries both Herculaneum and Pompeii would be more fully excavate revealing the treasures of both cities, but in the beginning the kings’s men were digging through dimly lit tunnels and could barely see what they had found until they could bring it to the surface. Such was the case one day when one tunnel broke through into a long porticoed garden that was filled with statuary. In the dim underground light, it was impossible to see the details of the sculpture they had uncovered, but the architect still sent word to the king who soon came to see the remarkable find. Out of the ground came a very detailed sculpture of two figures in the throws of passion. Pan, the god of the wild, who is depicted as a horned man with the legs of a goat, was staring into the languid eyes of the female goat he was penetrating. This sculpture and other similar artwork would eventually become problematic, but for now these things were in the kings' private collection.
The site was left alone again for more than 25 years and then in 1738, the excavation of Herculaneum resumed when Charles of Bourbon who was King of Naples and Sicily, and would later become king of Spain, started construction on a nearby palace. He was also looking for a way to furnish and decorate his new home. Eventually, over the next 2 centuries both Herculaneum and Pompeii would be more fully excavate revealing the treasures of both cities, but in the beginning the kings’s men were digging through dimly lit tunnels and could barely see what they had found until they could bring it to the surface. Such was the case one day when one tunnel broke through into a long porticoed garden that was filled with statuary. In the dim underground light, it was impossible to see the details of the sculpture they had uncovered, but the architect still sent word to the king who soon came to see the remarkable find. Out of the ground came a very detailed sculpture of two figures in the throws of passion. Pan, the god of the wild, who is depicted as a horned man with the legs of a goat, was staring into the languid eyes of the female goat he was penetrating. This sculpture and other similar artwork would eventually become problematic, but for now these things were in the kings' private collection.
By 1748 Charles had moved most of his excavation to Pompeii. It was an easier site to dig because Herculaneum required going through at least an addition 50 feet of debris. The artifacts were kept in Naples, and he locked away some of the most vulgar itemsKing Ferdinand, Charles' son who succeeded him as King of Naples and Sicily inherited the collection and allowed limited viewing by special permission. Then in 1819 He moved the collection to the Naples National Archaeological Museum where it was put on public display. The collection has remained at this museum up to the present day.After Ferdinand's death in 1825 his son Francis took over and then something happened. There is no accurate account of exactly who said what to whom, but there were likely complaints from prominent people or perhaps a priest, and the entire collection was locked away. Around 1850 the area containing the artifacts was bricked off and became completely inaccessible. Ten years later the rooms were opened again to catalog the artifacts and after that they remained closed to the public for over a century.
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