Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre
Roque Joaquín (de) Alcubierre, also Rocque Joaquín (de) Alcubierre or short Rocco de Alcubierre ( born August 16, (birth or baptism) in 1702 in Zaragoza, † March 14, 1780 in Naples) was a Spanish archeology pioneer.
Life
Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre made first career with the Spanish military and was in the service of the Earl of burette. At the end of his career in Spain, he was assistant engineer Cobos. As this 1734 from Spain to Italy went, followed him Alcubierre. In closely associated with Spain Kingdom of Naples, he took it as an engineer to the rank of captain. When he in 1738 for the construction of a palace of Charles III. came in Portici on ancient artifacts, he began to deal with this. At the suggestion of his friend, the surgeon Giovanni de Angelis, he could Charles III. enthusiastic about the idea of targeted excavations of ancient art. In the fall of 1738 he started with two or three workers with the excavation of the ruins of Herculaneum.
In Herculaneum itself Alcubierre operated more than treasure hunters because as excavators. With his workers he was looking specifically for representative findings such as sculptures, coins or frescoes. Alcubierre took a personal interest only for the sculptures. In the excavation of the theater 's limited view went so far that he had to throw in the trash the bronze inscriptions of the theater. He led the excavations up to their temporary suspension 1745. A found in the theater, bronze quadriga was remelted to busts of the Bourbon rulers.
1748 began the clergyman Martorelli under the supervision Alcubierre with the excavation in Pompeii. Although some interesting discoveries were made, Alcubierre quickly lost interest in Pompeii, which he mistook for Stabiae, finished the excavations after a short time and then turned back to Herculaneum. From 1755 an excavation site in Pompeii again were performed. The scientific work as the guide of the excavation diary or make drawings left Alcubierre his two assistants Karl Weber ( until 1764) and Francesco La Vega ( 1764 ). Thanks to the two fell Alcubierre work not entirely to disaster.
Alcubierre limited view of things and his ruthless methods, the destroyed much covered already in his time much criticism. One of his major critics for example, was the founder of modern archeology, Johann Joachim Winckelmann. In his missive of the Herculaneischen discoveries Winckelmann was after his visit to the excavation site in 1758 nothing good to say de Alcubierre and only praised his assistant Weber, without the in his opinion the location of the excavations at Vesuvius would be much more catastrophic. From envy of Weber's skill and reputation disabled Alcubierre this at work where he could. Nevertheless, he was at least formally, until his death in 1780 director of excavations, Vesuvius cities.