Lots of maybes there. Maybe Geraldo can do a live shot of the library unearthing, like Capone's vault.
Posted on 02/14/2005 7:42:21 AM PST by Mike Fieschko
A PHILANTHROPIST has stepped forward to fund excavations at the ancient city of Herculaneum in Italy, where scholars believe a Roman library lies buried beneath 90ft of lava from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79.David W Packard, whose family helped to found the Hewlett-Packard computer company, is concerned that the site may be poorly conserved or that excavation of the library may not continue unless he underwrites the work.
Herculaneum, south of present-day Naples, was buried by the same eruption that destroyed nearby Pompeii.
“It is hard to imagine anything more exciting than excavating at Herculaneum,” said Packard, who is channelling the money through a family institute. “We have spent around $2m (£1.1m) so far, much of it on conservation work. We have tried to work closely with the Italians, who have all the skills needed. But we can offer a degree of independence and financial security.”
There has been concern in academic circles that the already excavated parts of the Roman city are falling into disrepair and that there are no plans for excavating the Villa of the Papyri. The building, which contains the library, once belonged to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law.
The villa is regarded as one of the most important unexcavated sites in Italy. Previous exploratory digs unearthed 1,800 charred manuscripts, many of them unknown or known only through references in other works.
The scrolls were in crates and it appears that slaves were removing them from the libraries when they were inundated with ash from the eruption. Although they appeared to be in a poor state, scientists at Oxford University have been able to read them after subjecting them to imaging techniques.
It is believed that there are thousands more scrolls in the building, much of which lies beneath the modern town of Ercolano, and that they may include lost works by Aristotle, Livy and Sappho.
“Of course everyone wants to excavate the villa,” said Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill of the British School at Rome, which is managing work on the site. “The building itself is of major historic importance, but the priority is conservation.”
Packard, a former classics scholar who lives in California, runs the Packard Humanities Institute, which supports archeological work in Bosnia, Albania and other countries. Though the institute has an endowment of £375m, Packard is not making an open-ended pledge to support work at the site. But he added: “If the proper circumstances develop, we can afford to do it. It is not a problem of having to go out and raise the money. There are no catches.”
He said there should be no conflict between those who want to excavate the villa immediately and those who argue in favour of conserving the whole site, generally acknowledged to be in a poor state of repair. “It would be irresponsible treasure hunting to dig the choice parts of the site and then leave afterwards,” he said.
Professor Robert Fowler of the Herculaneum Society, formed last year to support work at the site, said: “The work now being done by Mr Packard at Herculaneum is admirable and important.”
Thanks. Great pic, BTW!
Scientists have discovered new ways to read 1,800 charred manuscript scrolls already found in the ruins of the so-called Villa of Papyri at Herculaneum ...
The Herculaneum Society meeting gasped like spectators at a firework display when Nigel Wilson, of Lincoln College, Oxford, showed a slide of a blackened roll of papyrus on which no writing could be seen, and then showed what it looked like after multi-spectral digital imaging had been used on it. Clear lines of ancient Greek script appeared, like invisible ink held before the fire.
Sounds like something I'd do if I had their money...except, I'd go in an get some dirt on my hands.
That was exactly my reaction.
Imagine harder.
Many of the charred manuscripts were discovered in the early 20th century and dumped in the sea when assumed to be lumps of coal. Currently these same type of black lumps are being scanned, read and transcribed.
Lots of maybes there. Maybe Geraldo can do a live shot of the library unearthing, like Capone's vault.
Thanks for the ping. I sure hope thousands of manuscripts are found!! :-)
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If I'm not mistaken, we think we may only have student notes from his lectures!
The Romans praised Aristotle's dialogues to the sky. To catch even one, let alone several, is such a thought that I can't believe this project was in disrepair!
Absolutely one of the most exciting digs in recent history--and thank God it comes now, when we have the technology to decipher the charred scrolls. Any earlier and they might have been damaged or scrapped.
Now if they could just find the Alexandria library...
I borrowed a copy of Roman Whores and Aberrant Sex Practices of the Gods in 78AD and never returned it. I'm worried about my fine now!
"Now if they could just find the Alexandria library..."
I JUST FOUND THE ALEXANDRIA LIBRARY!!!
Don't archeaologists know how to google? Here it is:
http://www.alexandria.lib.va.us/
LOL.
If there is a Nobel Prize for Archeology I better start learning Swedish.
I know this is a really delayed post, but anyways:
That's one theory. It seems to me that it's pretty unlikely that they were written after the destruction of the Temple, given that there is no mention of the event. 72 AD?
If I'm not on the GGG list, can you add me please?
We have parts of The Gospels from within 30-60 years of Christ's Ascension.
I think Josh McDowell's site has such data.
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