The Sun.
London, England, 1827-01-26 00:00:00

( ~4y,..• ,-,,- : - . , . ,
~..,,,:,' r' "„
.i
No
`,.
...._aillillik
......"---
~.

PRICE ID.

HERCULANEUM AND POMPEII

(From the .3-forning Herald.)
" Whole stately cities in the dark abrupt
Swallow'd at once, or vile in rubbish
A nest for serpests ; from the red abyss
New hills, explosive, thrown; the Lite-rims lake
A reedy pool; and all to Comte's point
The sea recovering his usurp'd domain,
And pour'd triumphant o'er the buried dome."

The discovery of Herculaneum in 1713, and of Pompeii
in 1753, excited the greatest interest throughout Europe.
No instances had occurred of large cities, containing so
Imlay works of art, having been buried for so many centu-
ries, and at last brought to light, with all their temples,
statues, paintings, houses, shops, household furniture, and
utensils, in such a state of preservation. Pompeii, in-
deed, has no equal : it lies at the foot of Mount Vesuvius,
about 15 miles south-east of Naples, in that rich plain
where Hannibal remained for years after the battle of
Cannte, and wasted the strength of his army in luxury
and ease. It is a walled town, about three or four miles in
circumference : and, (with the exception of some temples,
the amphitheatre, theatres, tombs, and a few. houses), is all
built of brick. During the eruption of Vesuvius, in theyear
97 of the Christian era—the greatest on record—the
mountain, for several days, continued sending forth large
quantities of ashes and light stones, which fell in showers
on the surrounding plain, and buried Pompeii. The co-
vering is, at an average, about twelve feet deep: In some
places it is much greater—in others not more than a few li
feet; but it appears to have been so complete that not a
vestige of the city was left. Houses were built above it—
vines were planted in the new soil—roads were made—and
Pompeii lay forgotten and neglected, till about 70 years
ago, when an accident brought it to light. It is only asto-
nishing that it had not been discovered sooner, as the co-
vering, in some places, is so slight, that the roots of the
vines have penetrated a considerable way into the build-
ings below. A great part of it is now excavated, and exhi-
bits a most interesting sight, not only to the antiquarian and
curious, but to every man who has read or heard of the Ro-
mans. On approaching it from Naples nothing is seen but
a high mound formed of the rubbish collected from the in-
terior of the city. On entering by a narrow passage cut
through this mound, the great road which led to Rome,
and a long street of tombs continued to the walls of the
town, first attract attention. The street is paved with
large stones, with five angles, most of them between two
and three feet in diameter. The tombs are all of white
marble. Some appear old; some are as fresh and white
AS when the workmen left them, and others are only half-
finished. Most of them have emblems or figures carved on
them, and but few have inscriptions. The principal house
in this street belonged to Diomedes. His tomb is oppo-
site to it, with this inscription, in Roman capitals,
" Diomedes 1. sibi et Buis." (Erected by Diomedes, for
himself and family.) Another near it has a most appro-
priate device for a tomb—a vessel is represented entering
the harbour with the sailors on the yards furling the sails.
The voyage of life was over—the frail bark had reached
" the safe and quiet harbour of death, at all times ready
to receive us from the stormy ocean of human life.'
Urns, containing the ashes of the dead, are placed in
niches, in small square cells, at the back of the monu.,
ments. They are all of earthenware, and very-v. --
The house of Diomedes is in a -v.- parts of the ceiling
servation. The paintius as fresh and entire as they
and the ceiling ,s.':,sss years ago. There is a garden
at--;,1111 bacA. brc.rae huucce, with a wine cellar beneath it. ,
The cellar is in the form of a funnel, about eight feet
wide, running round the inside of the garden wall. It
contained a great number of wine jars, which are filled
with ashes apparently coloured by the wine. These jars
are of earthenware, about three feet long, and of the width
of a chimney can at the middle, narrower at the bottom
and mouth, and with two handles at the neck. They
were ranged against the wall. In this cellar 17 human
skeletons were found; one of them had a key in its hand.
Whether they had fled to this place for safety, or to riot
in drunkenness like shipwrecked sailors, is uncertain. It
is probable, however, that most of the inhabitants had
time to escape from the city, though many of them, no
doubt, were suffocated by the ashes in their flight. Pliny
is supposed to have died in this manner. When the
eruption was at its height, he sailed from the port of Mi-
senum, on the opposite side of the bay, for the purpose
of examining it more narrowly. The inhabitants were
fleeing in boats in all directions. He, however, pro-
ceeded, with two servants, towards Pompeii, but soon
found the sulphur and ashes so insufferable, that he
was forced to return. On his way back he was
overtaken by a violent shower of ashes and pumice
stones, which deprived him of life. His body
was found three days after. Not more, perhaps, than
twenty-five or thirty skeletons, at most, have been found.
It is astonishing that a greater number has not been pre-
served, as there can be no doubt, taking into account the
number of sick, aged, and infirm persons, that could not '
make their escape, together with those confined in prison,
that a great many must have perished. In one of the
prisons a skeleton was found with chains at the hands and
feet. The bones of all these victims, on being exposed to
the air, it is stated, soon crumbled to dust, which is ex-
tremely probable, as none of them are to be seen in the Mu-
seum at 'Naples, where all the relics are preserved.-
Leaving the street of the tombs we entered the city by the
ancient gate. It is hardly possible to imagine any scene
that can excite such interest, or so many • melancholy re-
flections—the silence of death pervades the place. 'With
the exception of a few statues and frescoes, which have
been removed, every thing is left in its original state.
Houses, temples, theatres, wells, mills, ovens, shops—all
remain nearly as they were in the time of the ancient Ro-
mans. The streets are narrow with a foot-path on each
side raised about a foot. The houses are in general small,
and of one story. In the shops there appears to have
been no partition between the door and the window. Many
of the shops at Naples have exactly Lie same appearance.
I do not recollect, in any one instance, to have seen a
chimney, and believe there are not more than two or three
houses that have stairs. The rooms are generally adorned
with paintings, representing flowers, birds, or beasts. The
peacock and the goat seem to have been favourites.' The
colours are of a bright red, blue, or yellow. On some of
the houses and shops the name of the owners are in-
scribed in red paint on a ground of white, which had been
used to efface some previous inscription. A cock and
serpent are the common signs for apothecaries. Bake-
houses contain small hand-mills for grinding the
wheat, jars for the flour, and ovens exactly like those of
the present day. Above one of the ovens is a symbol of '
the same kind with those which are so common on the
temple at Nismes, with this inscription beneath it Hic
habitat felicitas." At the angle where two streets meet
there is commonly a well with a trough attachc.d co, it, and
when the streets are not passable fc,s carts aucicarriages,
there are two large stones pls.ceti to prevent their entrance.
The tracks of the cart wheels are in some of the sheets
two or three inches deep. There are but few houses that
appear to have been inhabited by the wealthy, and even
these are small and incommodious. There is a large court

0--
~:;,,-..,•::.:•:, --- , ..,e- . \
.- \ •ei if
"'.:7':',...
1.., tr:fr*l? - '!"*"--"? ,S• - ' '''
\,...0: " \ t . , ""..,!•• ....,,,
74 -., ,
, ...-., . _ -,,. .
1/4cl,
,;,.* -?::-,f:r• 4 t T 4 ,
..,,:11 /
in the ;atelier, cossm t. 414-jit. the mita.,
and the entrance to the rdcsiii '-fisiiii Ai; :linnet, serve bosh.
for doors and windows. All the bciiisei are inataatiroofs.
In some of them, which have not been cleared" our, jam
pots, and other family utensils, are seen just appeasing
above the ashes, in the same position in which they had
been left by the proprietors seventeen centuries ago. The
former, which is of an oblong shape, and of great size, is
now completely excavated, and has on all sides public
buildings of considerable magnificence. It is needless to
describe them, as, with the exception of the temples, and
those which have inscriptions, the purposes for which
they were erected are not known. The last public build-
ing discovered in the forum is very extensive. I asked
one of the workmen the name of it. The only reply was
a shrug of the shoulders, a grimace and a scream, the
usual signals which a Neapolitan gives of inability to
answer a question. On a question being repeated, he
said lie could not tell, as those wiser than himself had net
been able to agree on a name for it. The amphitheatre
is at a considerable distance from the forum. The interior
is very noble, the seats are almost entire, and constructed
of large stones of yellowish white. Those allotted to the
Prefect and Tribunes hare inscriptions on them to that
effect. It could contain 3.5,000 spectators. The view
from the upper seats, and the reflection to which it natu-
rally gives rise, are certainly unequalled ; on the one side
is the beautiful hay, on the other the rich plain, with Ve-
suvius on the left, and the bold range of High mountains on
the right—the spectator looks down on the arena, on the
empty seats where so many thousands had assembled in
joy and gladness, and on the town, now as still and quiet
as the ashes of those that' had inhabited it. Not more than
a fourth of the town is yet excavated. It is extremely
probable, however, that most of the principal buildings
have been discovered, as these were commonly built in the
neighbourhood of the forum. Lupines, wheat, vines, and
fruit-trees, are now growing in great luxuriance only a few
feet above the houses.

~~

Herculaneum was destroyed, not like Pompeii, by ashes,
but by lava and pumice stones. Little, however, is to be
seen there, as the modern town of Portici is built imme-
diately above it; and after any excavation had been com-
pleted, it was found necessary to fill up the cavities. It flea
about 50 feet below ground. By torch light we examined the
theatre, which is almost the only part of the town left
open. Great numbers of plars were lying on the grosm
—others were half overturned, and some broken through
the middle—all imbedded in lava. The most valuable and
best preserved remains of antiquity were found here, and
are now to be seen in the Museum at Naples. They consist
of
utensils,
statue statues, pangs,
&e.a intng
oiresa,t
numbers
fs
MSS.art,
areikS
piled
I S., kitchen
upi
in one
of the rooms of the Museum ; they resemble pieces of
charcoal, about a foot long, and four or five inches in
diameter. I saw part of one of them unrolled—a work of
Phillodemus. The Greek (the greater part are in Greek)
was well written and pretty legible, but they are so fragile
and so like cobwebs, that it is probable no complete work
can ever be obtained from them. Different rooms in the
Museum are quite filled with objects of art and household
utensils found at Herculaneum and Pompeii. A great
number of musical instruments, balances, weights, and
measures, pans, glass phials, mirrors of polished steel,
lamps innumerable, door hinges, locks, ropes, bread, wheat,
beans, and many other articles, too numerous to mention,
are exhibited to view. Most of the household utensils
are very elegant, made of brass, and plated in the inside.
One room is set apart for paintings, statues, and articles
of curious workmanship, not ft for the light. They show
that the men, and particularly the women, had very differ-
ent notions of modesty and delicacy to those of the present
day. In all the collection I saw only two mall knives,
and not one fork. Are we to infer from this, that
these n2asters of the world, with their greasy togas,
and unacquainted with the use of linen, were equally
barbarous- in their mode of eating, and fed themselves
without the aid of knives and forks? It is not at all un-
likely. Cmsar and Cicero would not have been thought
men of refined manners modern times. Perhaps
• ... . ..truant contradiction, that the
Englieall the oectolie
traces behind them. There is a curious wine cup in the
shape of a boy, kept at Portici, which the keeper shows
only to men. It is not probable, however, that the an-
cients were se scrupulous. It has surprised some, that so
many works should have been found at Herculs,-neum, which
was destroyed by fire, and hut few at Pompeii. It may,
however, be easily accounted for. TI-* covering of the
latter place, probably, was not RAP:lent to keep out the
external air. That of the former was chiefly composed a
lava, and so thick and hard that nothing could penetrate
it. In no part of Italy does nature appear to have bees
so active in destroying the works of man, and changing
the surface of the ground, as in this delightful spot.—
There can be no doubt that withip. these two thousand
years, hills and lakes have been destroyed, and others
formed. We know of one hill which has been created in
modern times (Monte Nuovo); and the Lucrine Lake,
which formed such an excellent harbour in the time of
Cwsar, is now reduced to a shallow pool. The large lako
of Aguano is not mentioned by any ancient writer; and
Astroni, a mountain close to it, has evidently been half de-
stroyed by a volcano. The top of the mountain has sunk,
and the interior is now filled with water and wood. There
is a continual commotion below the surface of the earth,
which, on occasion of a thunder-storm or hurricane, ex-
cites in the minds of the inhabitants the most serious
apprehensions. Mount Vesuvius itself has evidently beeu
torn asunder by some tremendous convulsion of nature,
and may one day be converted, like Astroni, into a retreat
for fowls and wild boars. The Lake of Avernus, so often
mentioned by the ancients, has evidently been formed in
the bosom of a volcanic mountain. hence the sulphureous
and putrid vapours which ascended from it, prevented wild
fowl from frequenting it, and obtained it the name of Aver-
nus. This is now no longer the case. Water fowl fre-
quent it, as well as the other lakes in the neighbourhood,
Monte Nuovo, or the New Mountain, about four hun.
dred feet high, suddenly appeared in the middle of the
Lucrine Lake during the eruptions which occurred' in
Theb
ly Grottoemit s detlheCasnaem,es o
deadly
of vapour
Ths ft itswb otlir
:tee
itfloohrat.
the
mdloseg3rslBy:lisrsoubead from Avernus. All these places see to
to the Bay
rvrnielsets offr oNmapthlees'caitnyd—close

Nullus in orbe sinus 13aiia prtelueet annenis."
This famous watering place,
so celebrated and frequented
by the ancient Rontt,.ns, I.s nosy a dreary wilderness. With
the exception a Pozzuoli on the one side of the bay, and
a small village on the other, there is scarcely a house to be
seen. Baia: itself consists of only a few houses ; but the
remains of temples, theatres, and palaces, prove how po•
pulous it must have been during the reigns of the
Emperors. The shore is covered with their ruins. Cloie
to the promontory of Misenum, so fatal to the trumpeter
of /Eneas, is a small lake which communicates with the
sea, and is pointed out as the Styx of the ancients. The
boy who accompanied us as guide, said with great gravity,
that a man of the name of Charon had formerly ferried
many thousands over it to the Ely Sian fields.. On seeinK
a boat drawn up on the shore, I enquired if that wa.,.
Charon's boat. He replied--" Non, Signor, lungo tempo
fa the e morio"—(No, Sir, he died long ago.) . Where
Cum'; stooetEling now is to be sten but Vines and trees
growing on tie ruins of; the houses. A beautiful walnut
tree adorns the arena of the amphitheatre, and shrubs and
plants cover the space so often occupied by wondering
spectators.. The besom of destruction has passed over the
place. A few solitary houses, inhabited by ignorant, supersti-
tion:, and half-naked peasants, are scattered along the shore,
but like the glimmerings of light which render claikoes'
visible, they only call to mind the varied and animated
this delightful retreat must have exhibited
peopled by the masters of the world.

_
" An alnacst total desolation sits,
A dreary stillness, saddening o'er the coast.
Where, when soft suns and tepid winters rose,
Rejoicing crowds ir.hakd the balm of pea;•e
Where itied hill to bill rellocted blaz.L"