Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1854-01-07
HERCULANAEUM.

4 correspondent of the London 1heRGun, writ |
ing from Naples, gives the following account of the
recent excavations at llerculaneum:
Months have now elapsed since called your at
tcntion to the fact that government had recon-
mcuccd the excavations Of IlerculanWum. Won
dcru it is indeed that, after the discovery there
Of sgch miracles Of arts as now enrich the Mucso
BOrbOnicO, these excavations should have been 80
long suspended; and equally wonderful is it that
Oh being renewed the work should be done so
parsimonous wrctchcd scale. One half of
llcrculanUum may be considered as lying under |
the modern city of Resina, and therefore lost to
the world, for the present at least the other half
lies under vineyards.
The portion which has hitherto been excayatcd
is but minute portion, mere corner Of this lat
ter this accessible half To the restoration to the
light Of what may influence much tho taste and
bear 50 much on the comforts and convcnicnccs Of
mankind, .he Neapulitan government has at length
resolved to devote 400 or 500 ducats yca--al
grant equal TO about $50 or As. Cd. day--cnab
ling the directors 60 put on not more than ten orl
twenty men. Still the smallest insalmcnt of what
is due to the world is better than nothing. Before
however speak Of what has been done during
this year. shall give q hasty glance at the past.
II is Of course ns well known in England rs in
Naples that all the cttf.ddurrc Of art and of,
antiquity, which have produced such happv roy-
olution in the taste Of entire Europe, and SO much
affected domestic oruanfcnts anil even utensils
wcrciound during the last century in IIcrcuanwum.
Until very recently the excavations have been
conducted by burrowng rather than mining; thus
enabling the antiquary to abstract what was into
resting or valuable in art but leaving the city rs
far removed from ordinary observation as it had
been for eighteen centuries. 1t was at length re-
solved, in 1927, to lift the cover and expose the
city to lght-a suggestion for which we are indcbt-
cd to Cavalier Bonucci, who for many years has
heen director OF the excavations of the kingdom
of the Two Sicilies, and who is well known to the
world liz the ligpnvariag which lao
has made.
The revolution Of 1880 was Of course. death.
blow to all proceedings connected with mere taste
Tor the Inc arts, and the excavations Of lIcrcula
n0uin and POmpcii were suspended. The objects
Of interest which had been discobercd in them and
deposited in the Musco Borbonico were voted ma
uonal property and, If party representations can
be depended on, were in danger of changing
hands Everything, however, has now returned
to the administration Of the royal house, and ono
of the first consequences is, the renewal of the
work both at Pompcii and at lIcrculaneum. Tol
direct the latter, Bonucci has in moro particular
manner been destined and though such q paltry
sum has lccn devoted to so important an object.
we yet hope that the little that can be done will
have the effect of stimulating TO greater effort.
1he new excavations commenced in January
last, have already brought to light a part Of the
old arsenal near the port Of llcrcuan@um, so IA
nous in the times of Augustus and Titus Form
erly the sea washed the walls it has now recedcd
full half mile, so that the bare mention of the
port OF llercuanaeum is enough oawaken smile
Of incredulity ON the face of one who is unac.
quainted with the changes that have taken place
ON the coast of the Mediterranean. On visiting
this spot few days since, 1 found myself in n
series of small rooms apartments, with kitchens
attached, which had just been laid open; appar-
emily they had been quarters for mariners The
entrance was over a roof which is on a level with
/ the present surface of the grounds and, descend
ing tew steps on the left, we found four or five
other steps, at the bottom of which was an en-
trance to probably u cellar, over whose roof we
had entered
Hero there was found so much salt water surg
ing up that the works had been for the moment
suspended; our direction, therefore, Law straight
forward, into the small rooms of which ! have
spoken. The roof is yaulted, and very lofty
whilst the partition walls are very low, showing
that one large hall or space had been hastily or
rudely arranged with view to the convenience of
numbers. In the first small room, which was a
kitchen, still exist the stove and CRATES, precisely
of tho same form as are now to be seen i'm every
part Of Magma Grcca. Beneath the stove lay
fragments Of pottery, which slovcnly cook might
have thrown there an hour bciore, "to put them
out of the way;" whilst the bones of the poor
cook, it might be, were found mixed up with ashes
and the instruments of his trade.
! In the same place, also, were found homes and
minute fragments of iron plates indicating, in
the opinion of Cavalier Bonucci, that in tho awful
Nluiucul VI TINS CITY obstruction some men
surprised and oyerW helmcd on this very spot-
But few remains could be preserved, so utterly
destroyed were they 10y time, and so mingled and
moulded en- mdSSs with the fine ash, which had not
been, perhaps, carefully enough removed All,
indeed that could well distinguish, were portions
Of ribs and skull bones. Yet what n melancholy
interest have these, especially as connected with
history! 1t is said Of Pliny the elder who, at the
time of the eruption of Nesuyins in 10, was admi-
raj Of the Roman fleet in the Mediterranean, that
ho went in "liburnca" from Misenum to save
some "classiari."
His nephew, writing from Tactus saws that all
the ellorts OF his uncle useless IN consequence
Of the raging Of the VOLCANOES and that he was
obliged to turn the PROV Of his vessel TO Stabla,
now Castollamarc, where ho died, the victim of his
love Of natural science. From the kitchen on
which have so long dwelt, we passed through q
small room and entered another Kitchen On the
crate or stove were lying pieces of charcoal; the
mark OF the smoke was fresh upon the stove
Below and by the side Of it was a sink for receiv-
ing dirty water, and tho hole which carried il off
was still entire, Beyond this were one or two other
small rooms; and then our progress was stopped
by mountain Of indurated ash. In this they
we're mining aud burrowing q passage, and Of
discoveries in this direction shall have to speak
| hope in some future article.
Of ornament these rooms appear to be almost
entirely destitute; indeed, the only trace of any
thing Of the kind was an entrance passage wall,
whereon discovered faint traces Of perpendicular
painted lines | must not omit TO say that some
silver and bronze coins, Of the times Of Augustus
and Titus, have been ioond hero, as also q bronze
coin with Punic characters. 1t was doubtless one
/ Of the elements Of the commerce which was car
red ON between this coast Of Italy and the oppo-
site African Carthaginian coast.
As fresh matters Of interest turn up. | shall
forward It, but the works 60 on slowly, of course
A NEW ROMAN CATHOLIC PRAYER.
r