The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-29 00:00:00

FURTIIEIZ DISCOVERIES AT CYRENE.

Our Alalta correspondent sends us the following
dated Valletta, October 23 ;

"Her Majesty's steam frigate Melpomene. 51
guns, Captain Ewart, returned from Marsa Sousah
on Thursday last, whither she had been sent by
Obc,,
sty
Leor of the
iveetreendanint
R the.Admiraltyruinsi‘ r . somf
the
ship
hh
e,Ran.Ee 1
ancient
andl:e
city r sculptures
oci
efuuictpyet
nru
car
nne
est
evening
epAnt
alg'booearfch ,
thaeern,2d: S
arrived
h. Thhe ele
at
sculptures,
cufirral:
riusaraletsa,s opo n h
ua
est
kahee
do2ni3ndol the3f
cases, were transported to the place of embarcation
on three artillery waggons sent from Malta for the
purpose, draggea by a party of seaman and marines,
under the command of Lieutenant Carter, the
smaller objects being carried by camels. The trans-
port occupied from the 28th of September to the
13th of October, the distance from Cyrene to the
coast being about 12 miles; Cyrene itself
occupying a height about 2,000 feet above
the sea. The operations connected with the
transport were much facilitated on this occa-
sion by the excellent arrangements made
by Captain Ewart, who had had considerable expe-
rience in the transport of heavy marbles while em-
ployed some years ago in embarking the discoveries
of Sir Charles Fellowes at Xanthus ; and who, it
will be remembered, was the only officer of the
party landed who escaped the deadly fever of the

country.
" Depots of provisions, both at Cyrene and on the
shore, were established by his orders, to enable the

work to be carried on in the event of communication

with the ship being interrupted by the weather.
These proved of great service, as for half the time
of the ship's stay boats could not land on account
of the surf. By an ingenious device of Capt. Swart
the waggons were fitted with a steering apparatus
and man-harness, which materially contributed to
to the safety and comparative ease with which the
heavily-loaded waggons were taken through a very
difficult and mountainous country, over a road
roughly laid down for the purpose before the ship
arrived. By means of these and other thoughtful
arrangements, the whole of the heavy marbles were

brought down in three trips, and safely embarked.
" The principal objecis of this collection are :—A
life-sized statue of Minerva, and a colossal female

statue found beside it. No traces were discovered

o show the nature of the building in which these

statues had stood.

" In another part of the city were discovered a
large torso in armour, supposed by Capt. Beechey,
who saw it in 1821, when he was there, to be a
statue of one of the Ptolemies ; a colossal female

statue, the head wanting, the drapery being of good
style ; three busts of females, two quite perfect, and
a bust of a man, also perfect, which appear to be
portraits. The building in which the above were
found seems to have been a palace.
"Among the ruins of a temple previously consi-
dered to be the Temple of )Esculapius, but since
proved to be the Temple of Apollo, and in the
immediate neighbourhood, were found the follow-
ing :—A colossal female statue, perfect, except
the fore-arms, which are wanting, the head
particulary fine; a small seated female figure,
remarkable as being somewhat Egyptian in cha-
racter, nearly perfect ; a portrait statue:of an old
man ; a portrait statue of a king (left behind when
the Assurance visited Marsa Sousah in May last to
embark the marbles now in the British Museum) ;
the legs of a hunter in good style, with the stump
of a tree and a deer skin hanging over it ; a small
nude statue of Bacchus ; a small statue of a huntress
with a hound seated by her, probably of Diana, or
the nymph Cyrene, from which the city derived its
name, quite perfect ; several marble heads of dif-
ferent sizes, and a number of small statues and
statuettes. Besides the above, in the same building
were discovered a male head, life sire, of bronze, in
a good state of preservation, and several Greek in-
scriptions, most of which refer in some way or other
to Apollo, thereby affording additional proof that
the temple was dedicated to that deity.
" In a building believed to be the temple of Venus
a number of very interesting sculptures were found,
among which may be mentioned the following :
A small statue of Apollo, quite perfect ; two male
statues, and a draped female one, all of life size ; a
a statue of Pan ; several small statues and statuettes,
in various states of preservation, some of them found
in groups, consisting chiefly of Venus with Cupid
seated on a dolphin, the statuettes of Venus mostly
nude, and most of them remarkable for their grace-
ful contour; an ultra relievo of the nymph Cyrene
strangling a lion, another nymph being in the act
of crowning her with laurels, and under the figures
on the same slab an inscription relating to Cyrene.
It may be remembered that a small statue of Cyrene
and the lion was sent to the Museum by Lieutenant
Smith and Lieutenant Porcher by the Assurance.
The two groups are very similar both in treatment
and style, and the type is one very seldom met with;
several heads, life size, very remarkable for the style
of the head-dress, almost resembling that of the
time of Queen Elizabeth; a small female bust, quite
perfect, and a large number of statuettes, small
heads, fragments, &c.
" On the last day before leaving Cyrene some
of the crew of the Melpomene, when digging for
their own amusement, found a small female statue of
late style, but in a very perfect state of preservation,
near one of the theatres. This was also secured for
the Museum.

"Two very large temples, occupying prominent
_ . ...

positions in the eastern part of the city, were like-
wise excavated by Lieuts. Smith and Porcher, but
with very little result. They appeared to have been
wilfully destroyed, the columns even being broken
up into small fragments, which could not have been
the result of natural decay.
" The whole of these highly interesting and
valuable remains of antiquity were discovered
within the city of Cyrene itself, which covers an
area of rather more than a square mile, at a depth
varying from 2to 12 feet. They were principally
excavated from the ruins of four or five buildings.
"The excavations extended over a period of about
11 months. During all this time, with few excep-
tions, the relations between Lieutenants Smith and
Porcher and the Bedouins, who now inhabit the
country, were most friendly ; but latterly, after
the arrival of the Melpomene, the cupidity of the
natives seems to have been excited by seeing the
marbles taken out of the country at so great an ex-
pense. One tribe who had encamped for the time
between Cyrene and the sea endeavoured to levy
sums of money under the threat of attacking the
party employed transporting the marbles. Fortu-
nately, however, the friendly interference of the
principal sheikhs prevented an actual collision,
which, from the great number and fanatical
acha-
racter of the Arabs, and the close cover of the coun-
try, would have been serious. The case of antiqui-
ties were all transhipped on Monday last from the
to
sot
oth,e
which
thoircehs hli
leaves
TS
eusp Supply,
Englandlster- to
,
A Com:
morrow.
mAraeniPlir eßn aell n

c d:4'hhaanta dv
estehveeir al friends
THE AMERICAN SPY SYSTEM IN LIVERPOOL.—
We heard, the other day, upon excellent authority, that one
of the members of an influential Liverpool firm is watched
as systematically and tenaciously as if he were known to
be hatching some infernal machine which would annihilate
President Lincolnand his whole Cabinet at one blast. Ever
a mysterious stranger in the person of a "private detective"
is on his track. The gentleman cannot leave his office but
this odious double is seen shufilng about the doorway.
Whether he walks, rides, or visits, he is sure at some turn
to encounter the same tormenting and scrutinising gaze.
Even at home he is not safe, for when he imagines himself
snugly enshrouded with his family and Penates, his demon
may be noticed peering in at the window or hovering about
the threshold, until the victim re-appears once more tciunae-
dergo the daily round of dogging and hunting, until,
evening approaches, ho is again " earthed" at Norhoo.ine.ceoian
is this all. It is reported that the domestics of the 1
alludedand
ihnabthites
rms, goods con -
case d t o haveoperations,
whilebeeni
t waylaidis
statedand
thatquestioned
in
n his
fis ao sa
steo:heainss
case also of other " snspected" perstorniest
beenr e
contents
duly noted and reported• signedo
n their fr
transit ntshi te
on, as well as their vin-
which these proceedings trr Itietic.ptio-liln:i
gionridPer to show the extent to
vin-
dictive character,
:Lg.:jilt question and carried,m edneittsiheocent'r s have been
particular steamer, and on their arrival
at New 1" . and Boston, have bees searched, and in some
sfoen:d.ays they have been the theme of ;71
Inantile circles—they have excited general
aosf tphaesengerk
d Where these things tire known
ZVI
al IS and in satiou,—Atarichester Zmiiner.
r° diningrl) instances
rron lt
b. eneillna last hpseannrbeaytai