FIGHTING FOR RECOGNITION

These finds at the Villa of the Papyri make Weber feel he’s doing a good job. It’s time, he thinks, for the court to reward him for his good work. In 1752 Weber writes a letter to the prime minister. He asks for an increase in his budget. He also suggests he get a promotion to lieutenant colonel. This is the same rank held by Alcubierre. Weber carefully makes his case. He points out that the objects from the villa are worth a fortune. Increasing the excavation budget, then, is a good investment. The promotion seems reasonable, he writes, considering the dangers he faces every day in the mines.

"[T]he excavators began to observe a quantity of fragments resembling carbonized [burned] wood, and when every trace of this timber was found, and these papyri resembled nothing more than wood.. . they were disregarded and left in the earth without anyone's think'ng twice."

—Antonio Piaggio, writing in 1753 about the discovery of scrolls in the Villa of the Papyri

The prime minister, though, is not convinced. He flatly refuses all Weber’s requests. It is likely that Alcubierre is behind the refusal. Alcubierre began to turn on Weber soon after Weber became his assistant. He’s convinced that Weber is a social climber, just using his job to try to rise above his place. Alcubierre is always conscious of his own social position. He is appalled that Weber dared to ask for a rank equal to his. Alcubierre also becomes furious when he learns that Weber has asked for a carriage. Weber claims that riding a horse from site to site is ruining his clothing.

Alcubierre is sure the real reason Weber wants a carriage is so he can pose as a nobleman.

"The great bronze statue of the Roman woman found in the theater, how much would it cost? . . . [T]he marble vase; ... the candelabra, all of bronze; all the paintings, of which there are very many quite good and rare. Just to make these objects anew would cost a small treasure! But since they are antiquities, nearly 2,000 years old or more, for their verification and restitution to the historical sciences they are worth a great fortune."

This marble statue of a woman was found in the theater in Herculaneum. It may be the one that Weber refers to in his request fat/e/flfor a promotion and an increase in his budget.

-Karl Weber, 1752

Alcubierre is also annoyed by Weber’s working methods. Without Alcubierre’s permission, Weber is experimenting with new excavation techniques. For instance, he tries leaving all the tunnels open, instead of refilling them with debris. This way, he does not run the risk of accidentally excavating the same area twice. To keep the open tunnels from collapsing, his men prop them up with wooden beams or stone pillars. Weber finally gives up this plan though. The extra workers he needs are very

Expensive. Also, Weber realizes the beams and pillars do little good. Even when they are in place, the tunnels still might collapse.

Alcubierre has another reason for being angry at Weber. Weber has not produced a plan of the villa. When Alcubierre was the hands-on director of the excavation, he was lazy about drawing plans. But he’s under pressure to present one to the king.

"[A]t the time when I had to name an engineer to oversee the excavations under my direction, I inclined [leaned] toward [Weber], having believed with certainty on that occasion that he would have the knowledge through his engineering work in Naples and that he would be the best for such a duty. My experience since then, however, has shown me that his presence has served me little in those tasks, and more recently he has altered on several occasions the manner in which matters have been carried out in the past."

—Rocque Joachin de Alcubierre, 1751

Weber has a good excuse. He tells Alcubierre he can’t possibly draw a plan until the excavation of the villa is finished. Alcubierre, though, is not impressed. He keeps nagging his assistant.

Finally in 1754, after four years of work, Weber finishes his plan. Weber’s drawing of the site contains several mistakes, but overall it’s an excellent record. He takes care to list all the important finds. Then he fits them into the plan, showing where each object was discovered. He adds facts about the excavation and offers guesses about how the Romans used different rooms in the house.