Under Joseph Bonaparte and Murat, 1806-15, the work received larger
appropriations, and was prosecuted with greater energy, particularly
in the quarter lying between the Herculaneum Gate and the Forum. In
the same period the Forum was approached from the south side also. In
1799, at the time of the Parthenopean Republic, the French general
Championnet had excavated, south of the Basilica, the two houses which
are still called by his name. From these, in 1813, the excavators made
their way into the Basilica, whence, in November of the same year,
they pushed forward into the Forum. However, the excavation of the
Forum itself with the surrounding buildings, prosecuted less
vigorously and with limited means in the period of the Restoration,
was not completed till 1825; by this time the temple of Fortuna and
the Baths north of the Forum had also been uncovered. The following
years, to 1832, brought to light the beautiful houses on the north
side of Nola Street--the houses of Pansa, of the Tragic Poet, and of
the Faun--and those on Mercury Street; later came excavations south of
Nola Street and in various parts of the city.
The disturbances of the period of Revolution caused a cessation of
work for two years, from July 3, 1848, to September 27, 1850. During
the next nine years effort was expended chiefly in clearing Stabian
Street and the Stabian Baths.
The fall of the Bourbon dynasty and the passing over of Naples to the
Kingdom of Italy caused another interruption, which lasted a year,
from December 5, 1859, to December 20, 1860. On the last date the
excavations were resumed under the direction of Giuseppe Fiorelli, a
man of marked individuality, who left a permanent impress upon every
part of the work. To him is due the present admirable system,
excellent alike from the technical and from the administrative point
of view. We owe it to him, that better provision is made now than
formerly for the preservation and care of excavated buildings and
objects discovered; the earlier efforts in this direction naturally
left room for improvement, and the painstaking of the present
administration is especially worthy of commendation.
[Illustration: Fig. 8.--An excavation. Atrium of the house of the
Silver Wedding, cleared in the autumn of 1892.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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