Explore Herculaneum's Villa of the Papyri

The Villa of the Papyri is a legendary site in the archaeological park of Herculaneum. Darius will take you behind the scenes of the location to a spot recently excavated. The site was first explored by Karl Weber in the 18th century. The spectacular finds from the villa (possibly owned by Julius Caesar's father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus) include bronzes (now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples), frescoes, and 1800 carbonized Greek papyri scrolls. The library. the only ancient Roman library to have been found to date, gave the name to the site, which was copied for the Getty Villa in Malibu, California. On the occasion of the exhibit on the Ville of the Papyri in 2019, Darius collaborated with the Herculaneum Archaeological park and Mailbu Getty to create this unique view of the section of the villa recently excavated and still closed to the public. It is also a chance to explore some of the tunnels that Karl Weber created to make his way through the site, still unearthed. This video gives you a real sense of the material that was deposited from Vesuvius, covering the site. Join in the exploration!
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[@wilfredruffian5002]

I was hoping to see some of the villa,hear something about the papyrus but the presenter kept getting in the way.

[@wakandaforever4291]

I came to say this too

[@zm5668]

Same, maybe film the site and not yourself

[@wizzardofpaws2420]

Wow. Stunning! Imagine when it was fresh and new

[@sharonhoerr6523]

Why aren't there more views of these videos? They are interesting and special.

[@motoguzzigriso]

We took a helicopter from Naples to Capri and our pilot flew us right over Herculaneum. What a view! It gives you a birds perspective of just how much lava has to be dug out to reach what was that town. It also gives you an idea of how little of Herculaneum has been uncovered!

[@DariusArya]

What that must have been spectacular

[@PauloPereira-jj4jv]

There was no lava flow in Herculaneum and Pompeii. It's all volcanic ashes. Lava would make excavation virtually impossible. Only 25% of the city was excavated. It's very close and below the modern Ercolano.

[@andrewdonovan219]

I like that Herculaneum has covered the ruins with a modern roof to protect them. Pompeii really needs to do that because a lot of the stuff there is looking pretty rough from weathering post excavation. I also think they should fully reconstruct some more places. They have done it for a few of the villas.

[@johnbehneman1546]

So beautiful

[@sirchromiumdowns2015]

I'd rather see Herculaneum than Pompeii. It's so amazing to think of how it's frozen in time. I wonder what wonders are left to be discovered?

[@annikboyer3395]

Those frescoes are gorgeous! Must be a patient person to do them! I feel like a little girl stumbling on a treasure!

[@DariusArya]

It’s an amazing space - the plan is to open up this site for small visits- but lot of restoration still to do- a real treat to see it!

[@jaxellis3008]

This is amazing.... Thank you for your work. I remember watching you on all kinds of ancient history docs when I was a kid and it's great to see you again!

[@CH-vv2hr]

awe inspiring beauty and architecture

[@djdiscoworm]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU

[@johnbehneman1546]

WOW. I love everything

[@forzastella1]

Fantastic video on this beautiful ancient villa, thank you for sharing 🙂❤️

[@thetruthexperiment]

Aren’t there yet more scrolls still buried there? That off limits area was just incredible. Was the ceiling intact? Was that painted room empty when they got to it? Just amazing.

[@nerfnerfification]

1) possibly - they found something like 1100 carbonised scrolls but they are mostly greek and it is suspected there may have been a latin collection in one of the unexcavated rooms 2) Not above the terrace but the villa is at least 3 storeys high with only tunnels going though it so the roofs below will have survived 3) Anything in the decorated room will have been removed to the museum at Naples but there would be some artefacts in it - the big difference between Herculaneum, and Pompeii was the ash cover was far deeper at Herculkaneum so no one could reach it (some Romans dug down in Pompeii to recover things after the erruption) until the tunnels made in the 1700's.

[@marcelomc781]

It makes me mad that they are not excavating this area anymore.

[@justinmlawrence]

Super cool.

[@xr6lad]

When you see the sheer size of those walls of what looks like solid rock to understand not only how big the eruption was but how hard it would have been to survive.

[@marthaarya167]

wonderful!

[@YoreHistory]

Amazing footage! Thanks so much for this. You took time with the various shots, I appreciate that as I can really soak it up! The stucco work is awe inspiring. So intricate.

[@damianranger6910]

I absolutely love this. Thank you from Oregon! ❤

[@chocothemagnificent1019]

Darius, not only do you have a great ancient name, your video is very informative and makes me want to see Pompeii. :)

[@rubenfranco8373]

Awesome!!!

[@pleasantdaddy]

Absolutely outstanding

[@DariusArya]

Thank you.

[@johnbehneman1546]

WOW I am so impressed

[@dancinglatino3967]

Grazie for sharing this precious site with us!

[@DariusArya]

Any time!

[@giddyup9852]

I like hearing what he is saying but I want to see the stuff much more than him. I want to see everything. Cool stuff!

[@11ascoltare]

Spectacular find. I'm so happy they finally opened Herculaneum and eventually to the public. But why is there finds in the Getty? Are they there permanently?

[@DariusArya]

That was for an exhibit - pieces on LOAN for the show - many of which were restored by the Getty, then sent back!

[@guilhermea.l.60]

Great video, thank you!!

[@johnbehneman1546]

Please keep me updated

[@chaoscooper9272]

Thank you for your video much appreciated

[@bcastano1105]

Wow Darius, What a awesome video. Will there be a permeant roof at a later date over the Villa? it is beautiful there. what work they did ,mind boggling . take care and be safe. P.S. We miss you on periscope

[@DariusArya]

Hey Bruce! Yes it is scheduled to be open to the public this year or next. I am finding my way on KZbin where I can index my videos and they are of better quality / best yet to come

[@marioflavin2141]

What Wonders are still to be disscovered .

[@sgassocsg]

We were just there last week. Incredible. I could spend days there. I saw this in the corner and wondered what it was. So cool you could give us a glimpse. Darius, is the plan to buy more space from neighbors and then continue digging? There are more treasures to be found!

[@mmamster]

Do you have a link to the Getty show we can look at?

[@redbarchetta8782]

And now we're starting to read the documents (scrolls) from there.

[@DariusArya]

Amazing!

[@33Donner77]

Thanks for the presentation. I've heard that various scientific methods and scanning are being used to read the carbonized scrolls, as they cannot be unrolled without destroying them.

[@hypercomms2001]

I have been there... fascinating place... but very sad...

[@marymore7366]

Great and insightful video! Did you consider making a vid on a whole excavation project? For example how projects usually start, where do you know where to look for a historic site, which teams are involved, what circumstances need to be considered etc?

[@ericastier1646]

May i ask what product do you use to stabilize your hair it's great and natural, i have similar wavy hair and head shape and struggle with it.

[@MagicNash89]

Did I miss the part when he shows the rooms where the figures and the books were found?

[@palkupskah1356]

i bet.the church that had been buried (up until now it's buried) when Mount Pinatubo erupted will become tourist attraction on year 5020

[@SoulEternalPeaceWarrior77]

Very cool Darius! At the current rate of progress, what would be an estimate to near complete excavations in Herculaneum & the surrounding areas? Would you say another 20 years of work at least?

[@DariusArya]

Great question. I will be much longer- as most of the modern city sits on top of the ruins. Realistically, there will be more excavations, but limited due to the modern city - and life- above.

[@SoulEternalPeaceWarrior77]

@@DariusArya Thanks for the reply! I can't wait to see the new excavations over the coming years. Especially if by chance we ever find more pristine works like "Augustus of Prima Porta"

[@michaelt1111]

I just did a tour there with a private archaeologist, how were you so lucky to get access since it’s closed to the public?

[@DariusArya]

Collaboration with the archaeological site

[@random22026]

5:25 to 5:34 The Villa dei Papyri was the home--the presenter explains--of 'Calpurnius Piso, the son-in-law of Julius Caesar' 6:37 to 6:55 pattern 7:48 to 7:52 palette 8:31 to 8:38 1631 11:32 cc Bourbons

[@wakandaforever4291]

Felt like this was more about the presenter than Herculaneum

[@spankflaps1365]

Look how perfectly flat the large floor is on the upper deck, after all these years, and being volcanoed. That’s Roman engineering woohoo!

[@RPe-jk6dv]

to think there could be latin scrolls in another room. the lost works of plinius maior perhaps...

[@DariusArya]

Recent digs were conducted to find that Latin library! No luck!

[@RPe-jk6dv]

@@DariusArya hope dies only then when whole herculaneum is excavated.

[@SophiePloeg]

can’t go to Italy or California so please recommend some books?

[@josedacosta9847]

I thought that villa was in the pompei.

[@DariusArya]

nope

[@Neophema]

You must be thinking of La Villa dei Misteri.

Surely many other villas throughout antiquity were just as richly decorated (even more so) and had comparable collections of art and literature? There was simply no chance of ever finding them in as complete a state as this villa; they would have been plundered or the art otherwise redistributed or sold off as time passed. One wonders about villas owned by people far wealthier than Lucius Calpurnius Piso.

[@barrymoore4470]

The Villa Oplontis, another Vesuvian site, was a luxurious estate that is believed to have been owned at some point by Poppaea Sabina, second wife to the Emperor Nero. It's a substantial site with several well-preserved wall paintings, although I'm not aware of anything from there resembling the rich hoard of sculptures and books recovered at the Villa of the Papyri.

[@kactus_3008]

They stole everything, bro, not even a toothpick left...😢

[@scoon2117]

If i lived in herculaneum i would immediately sell my house so they could excavate.

[@geoffreywren2053]

would be better if Darius was not in the middle of all the video. Obscures the view.

[@johna.4334]

Agreed 100%

[@indiosveritas]

Can you say Villa di Papyri one more time ?😂

[@Neophema]

I wish he would, only without that terrible American accent.

[@richardsmith2879]

I really appreciate this, but the camerawork was poor and the genuine enthusiasm didn’t translate into enough information or images. That said, please keep up the great work.

[@pococurante9754]

It is so disappointing in a time when a smart camera can capture so much detail and we get something inferior to 1990s digital videocameras.

[@o.wildfarmer8023]

I didn't see jackshit !

[@xmaseveeve5259]

CGI.