Die Gleichzeitigkeit des Ungleichzeitigen. Gli scavi borbonici del 1700 come stratigrafia del Parco Archeologico di Ercolano
In: Studi e Ricerche del Parco Archeologico di Pompei: 43, 2020
DOI: 10.48255/1205
The Bourbon tunnels are a valuable evidence of the excavation methods in the eighteenth century. Although a precise line of evolution of the techniques cannot be identified, in the modes of management, and documentation they reflect the personality and the talent of the individual officers in charge for the management. By analyzing the excavation diaries of those officials in charge (Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre, Francesco Rorro, Pierre Bardet de Villeneuve, Karl Weber, Francesco and Pietro La Vega), and other archival documents published in the last forty years, we can today formulate a less negative judgment about their work. Moreover, we need to adopt a historical perspective, and we need to consider their efforts as the first step in the elaboration of archaeology as we conceive it today.
The excavations of Amedeo Maiuri, set on a large scale, intercepted the Bourbon tunnels, reclaimed them and, progressively, marginalized them. The tunnels were left visible at the excavation fronts only. The Archaeological Park of Herculaneum is engaged in an action of revaluation of these evidences as an integral part of the chronological stratification of the Site, also of the cultural contents that it can and must offer to the visitors.