Re-discovery

Excavations began in Stabiae in 1749, one year after those at Pompeii and eleven after those at Herculaneum. The excavations were directed by Rocque Joaquín de Alcubierre under the auspices of Charles de Bourbon.

Alcubierre, together with Karl Weber, worked on the excavation of the Villa San Marco between 1749 and 1754, laterly extending the excavation to cover the Villa of the Shepherd.

The site expanded between 1757 and 1762 to include the Villa Arianna and the surounding area and continued again, after a break of 13 years, between 1775 until 1782.

The picture to the left is the plan of the Villa San Marco drawn up by Karl Weber. In 1782 the excavated buildings were re-buried.

After the Bourbon excavations, there were only occasional discoveries. Perhaps just as well, as the illustration on the right shows that excavation techniques at that time left a lot to be desired.

Systematic excavations began after the end of World War II. In 1950 local enthusiasts began the re-excavation of the Villa Arianna, and part of the Villa San Marco.

The excavations continued methodically until interrupted in 1962. The material uncovered during this period included some frescoes and these and other artifacts form the nucleus of the collection in the Stabian Antiquarium.

In 2004 the Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation (RAS) was formed - an Italian American collaboration between the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei, the region of Campania and the University of Maryland. The Foundation is a non profit making organisation whose prime goal is to excavate, restore and build an archaeological park at the ancient site of Stabiae.