Chevalier Alcubierre
In 1734 Charles III seized power as 'King of Naples' and he showed a keen interest in the excavations now going on around the ancient city of Herculaneum. He had put his own funds into the excavations and had appointed Chevalier Alcubierre, who was a Spanish engineer, to be in charge.

Herculaneum proved difficult to excavate because of the hard rock which covered the ancient buildings and so in March 1748, Alcubierre gained permission from Charles III to start digging at the site 'la citta', the site of ancient Pompeii. Alcubierre and his workers made some interesting finds including a fresco and a skeleton of a Pompeian.

However, Alcubierre's priority was to find treasures and valuable artefacts in Pompeii - he dug carelessly in all directions intent on finding treasure and not preserving any buildings which he found. In November 1748, Alcubierre came across the Amphitheatre at Pompeii but because he found no treasure there he abandoned that excavation and moved to a place which he thought would yield more treasure.