Daily gazette and comet. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1856-186?, 1860-08-16
THE ENGLISH POMPEII.

A London correspondent furnishes tho
following account of tho remains Of u
buried city which has lately been found
la England
Perhaps you arc not aware that we have
sort Of a Pompoii Of buried city hero in
England, now undergoing tho process of
being uneRrthod. In Shropshire, about
six miles south-eaat from Hhrewabury, Is
little village called Wroxeter, situated on
the Severn, and surrounded by veptipeH of
antiquity. In tho Roman times thore WA
station there called Uriconium. or Viri
coniun and TO this day rampant and
ditch, with remains Of walls, thrcp milpp
In circumference, m ark tho boundaries of
the city. other Roman stations, and Homo
BritiHh encampments, are scattered all
over tho adjacent country and tho anti.
quarry has only 10 turn up tho Hoil 90 bo
rewarded with an ample crop Of roles.
The noble chioftain, Carnctacus. IL sup
posed by Camden 10 have boon defeated
by tho Romans, not far Oh and tho pres
enoe Of tho old imperial legions In TO bc
traced In every direction. But wroxotor
IL the place 90 which special attention IL
now being directed. Tho ancient town
or station of Uriconium was DESTROYED by
The Saxons In their contests with tho Ro-
manned Britons and the romans are nj
this moment being disintorrod, afler a
lapse Of some thirteen hundred years. Tho
results are highly interesting and valua-
bio. Whole houses, as in tho cases Of Pom
poll and llerculanoum, have been laid
bare, and tho workshop Of an artihcor in
metals IL now being opened. A small heap
OF Roman coins lay on tho sill whom tho
chamber was first broken into, and tho
Fragments Of a small earthen vessel wern
found on the floor, dropped thore, appa-
redtly, by some one who was carrying it
away.
This eartheu pot il supposed 20 have
contained tho coins. A large square pior,
built of hewn stone, occupied tho centre
af tho room, and In ono corner In n raised
structure of clay, having In tho upper part
furnace, the lnnor surface of which has
been vitrifod by the intensity of tho heat.
largo quantity of charcoal IL scattered
about tho chamber, together with several
pieces Of figured Samian ware. Eastward
from tho furnace low wall runs across
the room; another wall branches from Il
northward.
Other objects Of interest are To bc soon
In tho enclosure, and the museum, which
~ being formed out of the recent discove-
rioH, has received somo very valuable adj
ditlona In tho shape Of ancient sicklos,
pruning hooks, knives. pottery, glass, DC.
A large extent Of buildings IL now reveal
od onco moro 10 the light Of day; but am
sorry TO SEQ IL reported that tho Excava-
ton Committee are In want OF funds. This |
10 not tho only English Pompcii we have. |
London itsclfis built over vast number |
Of most interesting remains of tho past, !
which are frequently turning up" nv we |
dig for sewers or for tho foundations of |
houses.
At Silchestor, on tho borders of Hamp- |
shire und berkshire, numerous specimens |
of Roman handiwork are Co DO found |
above ground; and tho fields about st. |
Adams cover the ruins OF the once splon-
did city of Vsrulan. confess | am not |
able TO explain why, in tho case OF the
workman's shop at wroxetor, tho glass
should have been discovered In such per-
feet repair, with the signs ofhuman habi-
tation and toll lying thiokly about, ns II |
the ordinary avocations of the day hal
been arrested by some sudden convulsion
of nature, M In the case Of the two cities In
Southern Italy; but suppose that some
OF the antiquarian societies will take the
matter in hand and investigate IL tho
roughly. Doubtless the task will DO per-
formed by the British Archaeological As
sociation, which will this year hold its an
nual meeting ut Shrewsbury, in the early
part of August. Meanwhile, ono cannot
help wondering at the strange caprice OF
fortune which has preserved intact, tor so
many centuries, the transitory occupations
of hands that had mouldered TO the dust
before the English nation, properly 80
called, had come into existence.