Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Villa of the Papyri is a private house in the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum (current commune of Ercolano, southern Italy). Situated north-west of the township, the residence sits halfway up the slope of the volcano Vesuvius without other buildings to obstruct the view. The abode was owned by Julius Caesar''s father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus. In AD 79, the eruption of Vesuvius covered all of Herculaneum with some 30 m of volcanic ash. Its remains were first excavated in the years between 1750 and 1765 by Karl Weber by means of underground tunnels. Its name derives from the discovery of a library in the house containing 1,785 carbonized papyrus scrolls.