Excavation of Stabiae

History

The settlement at Stabiae arose from as early as the 7th century BC due to the favourable climate and its strategic and commercial significance as evocatively documented by materials found in the vast necropolis discovered in 1957 on via Madonna delle Grazie, situated between Gragnano and Santa Maria la Carità. The necropolis of over 300 tombs containing imported pottery of Corinthian, Etruscan, Chalcidian and Attic origin clearly shows that the town had major commercial contacts. The necropolis, covering an area of 15,000 m2 (160,000 sq ft), was used from the 7th to the end of the 3rd century BC and shows the complex population changes with the arrival of new peoples, such as the Etruscans, which opened up new contacts.

Stabiae had a small port which by the 6th century BC had already been overshadowed by the much larger port at Pompeii. It later became an Oscan settlement and it appears that the Samnites later took over the Oscan town in the 5th century.

With the arrival of the Samnites the city suffered a sudden social and economic slowdown in favor of the development of nearby Pompeii, as shown by the almost total absence of burials: however, when the influence of the Samnites became more marked in the middle of the 4th century BC Stabiae began a slow recovery, so much so that it was necessary to build two new necropoles, one discovered in 1932 near the Mediaeval Castle, the other in Scanzano. A sanctuary, probably dedicated to Athena, was built in the locality of Privati. …

Archaeology

The archaeological remains at Stabiae were originally discovered in 1749 by Cavaliere Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre, an engineer working for King Charles VII of Naples. These ruins were partially excavated by Alcubierre with help from Karl Weber between 1749 and 1775. Weber was the first to make detailed architectural drawings and delivered them to the court of Naples. He proposed the systematic unearthing of the buildings and their display on site, in their context. In 1759 Weber partially identified and described part of the old city that extended over an area of about 45000 m2. The ruins that had been excavated, however, were reburied.

A second excavation campaign until 1782 was assisted by the architect Franceso La Vega after Weber's death. He diligently collected all the preceding material to reconstruct the history of the excavations. He introduced new concepts for the first time about context, emphasizing direct observation of ancient buildings in their landscape or in their historical and archaeological context. In seven years at Stabiae La Vega resumed excavations in some villas built on the plateau of Varanium already partially excavated, the Villa del Pastore, Villa Arianna and Second Complex and extended research to a large number of villae rusticae in the ager stabianus and made precise reports. However he could not persuade the court to keep excavated buildings exposed and avoid their back-filling. So excavation of Stabiae continued with the usual technique of digging and back-filling. The location of Stabiae was again widely forgotten. …

Villas

One of the largest villas ever discovered in Campania, it measured more than 11,000 m2, although only half has been excavated. It was being renovated at the time of the eruption as shown by building materials present and displaced artifacts. Nevertheless, it was lavishly decorated with frescoes, with stucco work, floor mosaics and wall mosaics all of very high artistic quality, many of which were removed and are now held in museums.

This villa derived its name from a nearby chapel that existed in the 18th century. It was the first to be explored in the excavations in Bourbon times between 1749 and 1754. The villa was re-buried after the removal of its furnishings and of the better-preserved frescoes. Excavations were resumed in 1950 by Libero d’Orsi and O. Elia of the Archaeological Superintendency.

The villa was built at least in part on a 6th c. BC platform that may have leveled the ground on the hill. Construction started at the latest in Augustus' reign and was significantly enlarged with the garden and swimming pool under Claudius. The owner's name is not exactly known but it could belong to a certain Narcissus, a freedman, on the basis of stamps found on tiles, or to the Virtii family who had tombs not far away. …