Following the discovery in 1894 of the Boscoreale treasure in the ruins of a Roman villa near Pompeii, the majority of which now resides in the Louvre, a veritable goldrush took place by landowners in the vicinity until the introduction of laws in 1909 by the Italian government brought about order and restrictions on the sale of recovered precious artefacts.  The author reconstructs the history of private excavations on twenty-three villa sites and conjectures on the fate of the finds.  Hardback.  286 pages.  33 illustrations and two b&w plates.  Text in German.  New condition.  Cat No 2838