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New Project May Yield More Information about Caesar's Family

The Villa of the Papyri, named for an a vast library of nearly 2,000 ancient scrolls in classical Greek when it was first discovered in 1752, sits at the fringe of the town of Herculaneum just a few miles from its more famous sibling Pompeii. But the Villa is famous for another reason. It is thought to have been the seaside home of Luciius Calpurnius Piso, father of Julius Caesar's wife Calpurnia.

Only about 16 rooms of the villa have so far been excavated and scientists believe the balance of the buildings -- another 30,000 square feet of living space -- sits beneath layers of sooth, ash and solidified mud from the Vesuvius eruption of AD79. Until recently, the excavated rooms had become overgrown with weeds and strewn with debris and empty beer cans. Much of the unexcavated area has been built upon making excavation impossible with relocating families.

However, as reported last year by Fragments of Time, things appear to be changing at the Villa of the Papyri.

A new $15-million program is underway to restore respectability to the site and to resume some limited excavation. Archaeologists are particularly interested in renewed exploration of an area thought to have been the Villa's library where it is thought many more papyrus works, quite possibly including plays by Sophocles and Euripides, might be found.

Click here for a more detailed story on events at the villa.