The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-17 00:00:00

THE LATEST EXCAVATIONS AT

POMPEIL

A letter from Naples, dated July, 6, says :—The
judicious manner in which the exhumation of the
city of Pompeii is now being carried on, and the
interesting discoveries which have been recently
made there, render a visit to that locality more than
usually attractive, in spite of the heat, dust, and
danger of reactionary marauders who infest the
slopes of Mount Vesuvius. I must own that, often
as I have wandered about the solitary streets of
Pompeii at different periods, it had never as yet
been my lot to find the implements of modern war-
fare mingled with the relics of the past; but in my
last visit a few days ago, whilst examining the
new Therms, in the street of Holconius I picked
up a leaden bullet, which could not possibly be
taken for the glans of some Roman slingsman, and
as I saw a newly inflicted round fracture on the
decorated wall immediately above the spot where
the bullet was lying, I concluded that the missile
had been recently discharged from a bona fide
modern musket. My guide confirmed this supposi-
tion by informing me that in Consequence of the
erratic propensities of King Francis's partisans,
and their nocturnal predatory habits, the National
Guards and villagers of the environs were kept
continually on the alert, and that stray bullets were
frequently dropping into the houses and temples of
Pompeii.
Without calling your attention to what has
already been frequently described, I will limit my
brief notice of the operations now going on to the
most recent and hitherto unpublished discoveries.
These have been made nearly opposite to the new
Thermse, and have revealed a house consisting of 16
rooms, besides kitchen, offices, and two shops on each
side of the entrance. The peristyle, irregular in
form, consists of 14 yellow and white columns,
which offer the peculiarity of having leaden pipes
inserted into them, which, at about three feet from
the pavement, threw jets of water towards the tank
iu the centre of the atrium, which was also adorned
with a fountain and statue of Cupid, on a base repre-
senting the rape of Europa. In this atrium was
found an iron brazier, with coals still in it. No other
moveable objects were found in the house, but the de-
corations on the walls were in good style and excel-
lent preservation, especially in the gyneeciunz or
women's apartments. Amongst the striking subjects
I noted down " Apollo and Daphne ;" " Ulysses
discovering Achilles disguished in female apparel ;"
" The Judgment of Paris," a composition which I
fonnd extremely curious for the costume of that
classic personage. The painter had represented
him in a Phrygian cap, a green tunic tied with a
yellow sash, and a crimson mantle over it, yellow
stockings, and white shoes, with red soles and heels,
and red ribbons. The two elder godesses were also
fantastically draped, but Venus revealed her naked
charms to the arbiter of celestial beauty. Another
remarkable painting represented a Satyr, uncover-
ing a beautiful sleeping figure of Ariadne, towards
whom Bacchus was approaching with a triumphant
air, followed by a joyous troop of nymphs and
bacchantes.

In the next house to the one I have just men-
tioned the decorations on the walls are inferior,
but the objects found are of great value and in-
terest. In the atrium appears a marble table
supported by two legs finely carved in the form of
winged lions. There is alsoton a pedestal a well-
executed bust, probably that of the proprietor,
with the name—C. Cornelius Rufus. The moveable
treasures discovered consist of two bronze busts,
evidently likenesses, presenting the peculiarity of
glass and amber eyes—these are now in the national
(formerly Borbonico) museum—a large fragment of
a bronze cabinet, with six knobs, elegantly worked
into busts of bacchantes and fauns. The bottom
of the inside of this cabinet was of gold, and it con-
tained two buttons or medallions of gold, repre-
senting the head of Penelope on an enamelled
ground. There was also a large gold ring, with
a cornelian intaglio of Hercules, of Greek chisel,
and the name of the engraver, an addition
which always enhances the value of such works.
Several other rings were found and about 60 silver
coins. As a continuation of the fresco decorations
in their uncovered exposure to the atmosphere
would infallibly lead to their destruction in a very
short time, it has been resolved to remove the best
of them to the museum ; and this will be effected
not by sawing out a piece of the wall, as hereto-
fore, but by transferring the picture to cloth ac-
cording to the method now n practice at Rome,
whence two skilful artists in that delicate process
have lately arrived to undertake the operation.
Under the direction of the inspector•general, Don
Giuseppe Fiorello, and the chief architect Don
Gaetano Genovesi, the excavations are proceeding
in a methodical but rapid manner, and the unco-
vering of the whole city which, in the same ratio as
the portion hitherto revealed, would have required
about four centuries, is expected to be effected in
15 years. A tram-way has been laid down fa the
removal of the earth and ashes out of the city, and
a large number of lab3urers are now engaged in
opening a street behind the new Thermo 3, which
leads from the Via di Strabia to the Forum, and
may be expected to give interesting results. I saw
the houses excavated under the inspection of King
Victor Emmanuel during his visit to Pompeii, but
they turned out to be rather mean residences,
situated at the back of the Forum, devoid of deco-
rative or architectural beauty, but highly interest-
ing on account of the number of bronze and other
utensils and coins discovered in them.