The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-10 00:00:00

The Roman Discovery.

A correspondent of the Atheneeum gives tee fol-
lowing account of the recent discovery at Renee t
Righetti, a wealthy commoner of this city, has
lately purchased an old palace for an old son',g,
being in one of the dirtiest parts of Rome, calla:
the Biscione ; it is close to the Piazza Campo dei
Fiori, and not far from the Farnese Palace. Exten-
sive repairs were indispensable, for the building
was in a most rickety state, and, on setting people
to work to dig for a foundation, they came upon al
pavement composed of large slabs of that marble
called Porta [ants, which is dull, veined marble, of
a reddish hue, which comes from the Island of
lasus, in the Archipelago, and is properly called
" Marmor Jesseuse ;" it is however, better known
by its modern name, which it derives from its form-
ing the jambs of the jubilee door at St. Peter's_
This pavement was found 30 feet below the present
level of this part of Rome; and here likewise they
came upon a massive wall, near which they found a
piece of building somewhat resembling a Noah's
Ark without the boat : the sides were of brick and
the roof was formed of large blocks of travertine
resting upon these walls, and uniting with bevelled
edges at the top (" rigging" as they call it in Scot-
land). There were two gable ends, each formed of
one huge block of travertine; on several of the
blocks are seen, large and well cut, the letters F C
S, which, as yet, the arehmologists here cannot ex-
plain. Great difficulty was encountered in conse-
quence of the hole continually filling with water,
and preventing the work going on ; but a steam
engine was procured to work the pumps, which are
now plied night and day. On opening the ark it
was found to contain a magnificent gilt bronze
statue of a youthful Hercules, 14 feet high, but
lyiug on his back, or, as the Romans graphically
describe it, " panza per aria."
In art this statue equals the finest that ever
Greece produced, and the careful manner in which
it has been hidd:a and the means taken to protect
it argue that its value was known and apprecieed.
I suspect it must have been hidden in the fourth
century to prevent its being carried off to Byzan-
tium by the son of Constantine, who made off with
every thing he could lay his hands on in the shape
of works of art, to enrieh and adorn the city which
thenceforward was to bear their imperial name. It
is interesting to know that the coins found in and
about the statue were those of Domitian, Decius,
and Maximinius, commonly styled the Herculean.
There were likewise coins of the Lower Empire.
Over the gilding, which is very thick and bright
(and the patina of which is still perfect) is a rough
calcareous incrustation, which must be carefully re-
moved before the beauty of the statue can be the-
roughly enjoyed. It was found imb:3ded in marble
chips, such as form the sweepings of a sculptor's
studio, and also wedged in by mr:ses of architectu-
ral fragments. Inside the figure was found a very
pretty little ftmele head, sculptured in Parian
marble. The back hair is gathered up in a net,
much in the style as worn by ladies in the present
day, an 3 which fashion prevailed from the style of
ll„liogabalus down to Constantine, as we see by re-
ferring to other statues and busts. The period of
art to which this little bust belongs is that of Con-
stantine, and therefore inferior.
Oa the first indications of this discovery much
speculation arose as to whether it were equestrian
or not, and whether it might not prove to be a por-
trait statue of Pompey the Great, since the place
where they are excavating is on the site of Pora-
pey's Theatre, which was the first ever made of
stone in Rome; and that its size was considerable is
known from the fact that it accommodated 20,000
spectators. These speculations as to what it is are
now pretty well at rest; as the statue speaks for
itself; at the same time, as there is a deal of that
incrustation above mentioned adhering to the fea-
tures, there are some who insist that it is a portrait
of Domitian represented as Hercules. It has been
raised to within 10 feet of the surface, and men are
busy exploring, in the hope of finding one of the
feet, which is missing. The club has come up in
three pieces, and the lion's skin, which has hung
over the shoulder (similar to that of the Theban
Hercules in the Vatican), and which has evidently
been recast separately, is especially interesting to
us moderns, as showing the mode in which the
ancients executed their work of casting.
Hercules being the tutelary deity of Pompey the
Great, it was natural that his image should be
chosen to adorn the building he erected. As a work
of art this statue is far superior to that found in
the Forum Boarium, which is also gilt bronze, and
is now in the Capitol. It has evidently been exe-
cuted by artists in the time of the Empire, and
stood in the Temple of Hercules in theYorum. The
beautiful marble statue, of Hercules bearing Tele-
phus, which adorns the "Pio Clementino" in the
Vatican, was found in the Campo dei Fiori and
placed where it now stands by Julius 11. It should
be remembered that the noblest fragments of an-
tiquity existing was presented by that same Pon•
tiff to the Vatican ; it is a portion of a Hercules,
and, if I am not mistaken, I have seen a drawing
by Flagman, in which he restores it from an ancient
gem representing Hercules and Hobe. This frag-
ment was also found in the Campo dei Fiori (Pom-
pey's Theatre), and is known as the Torso of the
Belvedere.

THE EXPLOSION AT THE OLDFIELD COLLIERY.
An inquest was held at Fenton, on Friday, on the
body of the boy " Joe," who met his death by an explosion
of fire damp at the Oldfield Colliery on Wednesday. The
real name of the deceased is Job Bartlett, and his tyre was
stated to be between 16 and 17. After evidence as to the
fact of the explosion had been given, Mr Wynne, Govern-
ment Inspector of Mines, was examined, and stated that he
examined the pit on Thursday. He found the workings
perfectly clear of gas, but they contained scarcely any air.
The ventilation was in the most miserable state he had ever
seen a pit, with one exception. The air road was foul, and
no means had been taken to cleanse it, except that the de-
ceased and another boy had just begun to clear one end.
To his mind, it was perfectly clear that the deceased's life
bad been entirely sacrificed. If there had beim any ventila-
tion with the clear works there were, there cou d not have
been sufficient gas,to vitiate the quantity of air that ought
to be passed along that air road. If there was gas suffi-
cient to fire there was not sufficient to very severely burn
any one, and if air had been passed in any quantity it
would have swept away the small quantity of damp which
made its appearance, and the pit would have been perfectly
safe. If the air had been good it would have carried away
all the gas in the pit, but the ventilation was not sufficient
to ventilate that room. There was not one-fifth the quan-
tity of air there ought to be, ana ULM 6...6.1
which should be allowed. The jury found a verdict of
accidental death, but recommended that the workings should
be closely examined, and that it should be imperatively bind-
ing on those who had the management of the pit that it
should be kept properly and EfEctively ventilated. The
manager of the colliery, who was present, undertook that
this recommendation should be attended to.—Birmingham
Daily Post.
NASTY PEOPLE I—The Lyons journals give podia
culars of a horse-flesh banquet that has just taken
place in that city. A large number of amateurs assembled
in the dining-room of one of the principal restaurants, and
to them were served up no less than 11 dishes, all of horse
beef. These were two soups, bouilli, horse ala mono,
truffied sausages,:fried brains, lion a l'ltalienne, cauliflower
au jus de cheval, cold horse pie, and other chevaline deli-
cacies. The fare was generally approved. Among the
guests were merchants, manufacturers, professional men,
journalists,veterinary surgeons, and physicians—these last,
it is added, were not numerous.
LOSS OF LIFE ON THE THAMES,—On Friday three
men, named Oram, Clark, and Kent, all carpenters,
n the employ of Mr M‘Bride, of Deptford, had been out
all day repairing some craft, which was lying in the
the river, and wore returning home, when Orem, who was
steering the boat, ran it between two barges, one of which
was stationary, the other was proceeding down at
rather a rapid rate; the concussion was so strong as to
smash the boat, and all three men were immediately im-
mersed. Oram and Clarke were rescued and taken on board
the barge, but Kent seas drowned.
The bulletin of the Paris Observatory gives the
following as the atmospheric state of Europe yes-
terday—" A storm is at this moment descending
from the high latitudes over the North of Russia,
and the wind blows strong from the N.W. at St.
Petersburg. The observation of Thursday at Ha-
'Juana, which reached us this morning, shows
that the storm passed on that day north of the
Gulf of Bothnia. Under the influence of that
movement, the barometer has again risen on the
German Ocean end on Eogleud. The bad weather
which prevailed on Thursday on the South of France
his e x vended to the Mediterranean ; rain has fallen
at Alicant, Ajeccio, Marseilles, and Cette. The air
is calm over France, and the wind is inclining to
the south over Ir‘land "