Villa of the Papyri

The Villa of the Papyri was an ancient <a href="/facts/Roman_Empire/l4E1aUuV">Roman</a> villa in <a href="/facts/Herculaneum/PFkCSNq6">Herculaneum</a>, in what is now <a href="/facts/Ercolano/w0p5YhH1">Ercolano</a>, southern <a href="/facts/Italy/tUf0PDYF">Italy</a>. It is named after its unique library of <a href="/facts/Papyri/RMbJNcXu">papyri</a> scrolls, discovered in 1750. The Villa was considered to be one of the most luxurious houses in all of <a href="/facts/Herculaneum/PFkCSNq6">Herculaneum</a> and in the Roman world. Its luxury is shown by its exquisite architecture and by the large number of outstanding works of art discovered, including <a href="/facts/Fresco/oj49kcQa">frescoes</a>, <a href="/facts/Bronze_(art)/7lajHsG1">bronzes</a> and <a href="/facts/Marble_sculpture/gQy4nqzH">marble sculpture</a> which constitute the largest collection of <a href="/facts/Greek_sculpture/c6uVPXdb">Greek</a> and <a href="/facts/Roman_sculpture/fHpH8mBX">Roman sculptures</a> ever discovered in a single context.
It was situated on the ancient coastline below the volcano <a href="/facts/Vesuvius/QdvyWY0a">Vesuvius</a> with nothing to obstruct the view of the sea. It was perhaps owned by <a href="/facts/Julius_Caesar/ptR603Gv">Julius Caesar</a>'s father-in-law, <a href="/facts/Lucius_Calpurnius_Piso_Caesoninus_(consul_58_BC)/v7vrnsAJ">Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus</a>. In 1908, Barker suggested that <a href="/facts/Philodemus/QsW7G7WV">Philodemus</a> may have been the owner.
In AD 79, <a href="/facts/Eruption_of_Mount_Vesuvius_in_79_AD/IHH54Gke">the eruption of Vesuvius</a> covered all of Herculaneum with up to 30 metres (98 ft) of volcanic material from <a href="/facts/Pyroclastic_flows/72eP2PtH">pyroclastic flows</a>. Herculaneum was first excavated between 1750 and 1765 by <a href="/facts/Karl_Weber_(archaeologist)/j8LypoMJ">Karl Weber</a> by means of tunnels. The villa's name derives from the discovery of its <a href="/facts/Library/hvdQNTtS">library</a>, the only surviving library from the <a href="/facts/Graeco-Roman_world/17Wzn8n0">Graeco-Roman world</a> that exists in its entirety. It contained over 1,800 papyrus scrolls, now <a href="/facts/Carbonised/o8LenJPn">carbonised</a> by the heat of the eruption, the "<a href="/facts/Herculaneum_papyri/QYHoAyRR">Herculaneum papyri</a>".
Most of the villa is still underground. Parts have been cleared of volcanic deposits. Many of the finds are displayed in the <a href="/facts/Naples_National_Archaeological_Museum/S7XDbrwc">Naples National Archaeological Museum</a>. The <a href="/facts/Getty_Villa/b4uYQkyt">Getty Villa</a> museum in Malibu, California, is a reproduction of the Villa of the Papyri.

Villa of the Papyri open-in-new

Villa of the Papyri