Karl Jakob Weber

Karl Jakob Weber (12 August 1712 – 1764) was a Swiss architect and engineer who worked under the orders of the Spanish military engineer Roque de Alcubierre in the excavations of Herculaneum Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabiae, under the patronage of Charles VII of Naples.

Weber's unwilling collaborator was Roque de Alcubierre, previously in charge of the excavations, whose treasure-hunting technique provided the fine bronzes and other works of art that kept royal patronage stimulated.

Weber's plan of the still-buried Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, which was being explored room by room by smashing openings through frescoed walls, is still the basis of our understanding of its layout, which was echoed in the construction of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California.

He was trained at the gymnasium of Lucerne, then travelled to Pavia, Lombardy, pursuing a higher degree in mathematics at the Collegio Ghislieri.

Not having a private income in spite of his noble background, he enlisted in a regiment of Swiss mercenaries stationed in the Kingdom of Naples.