Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1864-07-07
Herculaneum.

interset than the other. 1t was much
more important of Itself. and, instead of
being barely covered with ashes and GIN
ders, it was indeed buried; the distance
between the pit of the theater that is
opened, and the surface Of the ground,
being about seventy feet. Lava did the
work here, and as every thing which was
covered while the rolling mass was in a
state of fusion, the fiery fluid found its
way into every crevice, cooling around
them, SO as to preserve the forms Of the
things it enyeloped,
You know that Herculaneum was dis
covered by digging we'll Since that
time, which was M ore than century
since, the hole has been so enlar ged
as to disinter the entire pit Of the thea
ter, and galleries have been cut around
it, enabling one to examine nearly all
that particular edifce. Owing to the
formation Of the ground, this city has
been covered very unequally, not only as
to depth, but as to substance The la
va is hundred feet deep in places,
while. towards Renisa, the covering is
very like~that Of Pornpeii, and not essen
italy deeper. This thin and light coat
of earth however, is unfortunately over
the suburbs rather than only the town
itself. Abortion of these suburbs have
been laid bare, and the result has been
the discovery of several houses, and even
portions of streets that are very like
those Of Pompeii, One is called villa,
that is not much, if any, inferior to the
well-known villa of the latter town.
1T is fair to presume that this region
was much visited by earthquakes, previ-
ously the great eruption. A pent
volcano is certain to produce calamities
ofthis nature; and we know from his
tory, that the earthquake of 60 did great
injury to these two towns In particular.
Slight earthquakes are now quite, COM
mon. TO this cause is probably owing
the zlowness of the dwellings,; those Of
Herculaneum, that are quite laid open,
being no higher than those of Pompeii.
There were also forum and temple
opened, but parts have been filed in
again 10 receiving the debris Of new Dig
gings. Some apprehensions for the town
above may have caused this provision /;
as Portico and Resini both stand, more
or less, over the buried city.
We descendedinto the theater by al
passage cut through the lava, and ex-
plored its neighborhood by torchhght.-
The stage, proscenium, consular seats,
orchestra, and lobbies, aare1epen,; and til
was a curious sensation to wander
through such places under such circum-
stances. The general appearance was
that of mine but when the eye came
to scrutinize the details, and to find that
the place was once actually populous
city, which exists as near as possible in
its. ancient condition, imbedded, filed,
gorged with lava, feeling of awe and
of intense admiration comes over one
| think this place, out of all comparison,
the most imposing sight of the two.
Pompeii offers more to Investigation,
and more for the qualification of common
curiosity; but there is a sublimity in
the catastrophe of Herculapeum, grand
eur In its desolation, that have no paral-
lei One is like. examining a mummy
carelessly prepared, 10, which the mass
has been so far-preserved, it is true, as
to show general but hideous likeness
to humanity, while the other sl.opening
one of those graves that, owing to some
property of the soil, preserve the body
with most of the pecularities of the liv-.
ing man. The lava and the stone ofthe
edifces are sointimately united thatone
does not, at first, distinguish between
them in those places where the sepcra,l
tiOn has not been made; and | cannot
describe the effect on the feelings, when
it suddenly ascertained that the hand is
actually resting on portion of a human
structure.
As the light descends by the large.
opening that was made around the well,
the stage and pit of the theater, with all
its more principal parts, are sufficiently
obvious. But even this excite sensa-
ton different from any other ruin, the
word is misapplied, for every thing is
nearly as perfect as on the day when
the catastrophe occurred, ! when the
frightfuf interment is contemplated. -
Judge for yourself Of the appearance of
large and even elegant structure, place
ed in the bosom of recks,s eighty feet be-
meath the surface, and of the crowd of
assoeiationsthat press upon the mind at
contemplatingssuch an object. Of the
magnitude of the edifce you may form
some notion by that of the proscenirtu,
which islset down in the books at one
hundred and thirty feet in length, the
rest of the building being in proportion
of course. 1t is said this theater would
hold ten thousand people. but the num-
Der strikes me as. extrayagant. When
it was first opened, everything that was
not liable TO be removed, or DESTROYED,
by the motion and heat of the lava. was
fOrnd rs If stood a tbo ,,o,,,oot n Al