Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre (16 August 1702 – 14 March 1780) was a military engineer in the Spanish Army who discovered architectural remains at Pompeii and Herculaneum.
When he reached the requisite age, he decided to volunteer in the army as an engineer, after receiving help from the influential Count of Bureta.
His work led him to various Spanish cities including Girona (where he helped build military fortifications), Barcelona and Madrid.
In the course of his works prospecting the estate of the future Charles III of Spain he stumbled across some remains of the Roman city of Herculaneum.
However, from 1750 onwards, arguments arose between him and his subordinates, until he abandoned his responsibilities as head of the excavations and left his duties to people such as Winckelmann, Karl Jakob Weber and Francisco la Vega.