Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-08-16
TEMPLE OF DIANA OF EPHEsUs.

t
From the London Timcs.l
1t is now about six months since Her
Majesty's ship Caledonia shipped at
Smyrna cargo OF marbles, the first
fruits of Mr.. Woods excavations ON the
site of the Temple of Diana. Although
these marbles arrived at Malta in Feb
ruary last, only portion, and that OF
the least interesting Of the cargo of the
Caledonia, has as yet reached England,
the remainder being now on board two
iron .clads homeward bound. In the
meantime, the silence so long maintained
respecting Mr.. Woods memorable dis
covery has at length been broken, and a
quasi publicity has been given to his
operations through the timely action Of
the Dilettanti Society, who, short time
since. appointed la committee, chosen
from among their members, to report
upon the results of the excavations at
Ephesus up to the present date. This
report was printed by the society, not for
publication, but for the information of
their own members, but inasmuch as it
contains the first clear and authentic
account of Mr.. Woods operations at
Ephesus since the beginning Of his en-
terprise in 1868, a summary Of the prin-
cipal facts which it contains may not be
uninteresting to the general public.
The discovery Of the Temple of Diana
at Ephesus may fairly rank among the
greatest achievements of archaeological
research in this century. 1t was due to
no haphazard venture or felicitous guess,
but was worked out like problem by
the untiring perseverance Of one man,
who was content to dig on for years hoping
against hope, and overcoming the many
difficulties which beset his enterprise by
sheer strength of will. The narrative of
Mr.. Woods operations reads like the
history of siege, in which the place in
vested is gradually approached by
series of parallels till the moment ar
rives when breach becomes practicable.
1t was in exploring the Great Theater
in Ephesus that Mr.. Wood obtained the
first clue by the discovery of an inscrip-
ton containing most curious informa-
ton as to the endowments and worship
of the Temple of Diana, and lying down
the route by which on the birthday of
the goddess, her silver shrines and other
treasures were to be carried in process
sion from the Temple to the Great Thea
ter through one city gate, and back to
the Temple through another city
gate which was called the Mag
nesian. Starting with this clue in his
hand, Mr.. Wood soon discovered
one of the two gates named in the in
scription. From it issued an ancient
road, hanked, like the Appian Way, by
sepulchral monuments of the Roman
period, and along the line of which might
still be traced the foundations of por-
tico, which there is good ground for
recognizing as that built by one Dami-
anus in the second century of the Chris
tan era TO protect the professions from
sun and shower. The ancient pavement
of the road lay at an average depth of
twelve feet, and along its course were
the tombs OF the ProprGtors and other
magnates who governed at Ephesus after
it had passed under the sway of the Ro.
mans. The line of this ancient way
kept pointing in northeast direction,
and, on exploring the ground outside,
another city gate near the Stadium
second road was discovered converging |
toward the one already partially traced. |
Mr.. Wood thought that, by following |
these converging tracks, he might strike |
on the line of wall by which the peri
bolos, or sacred precinct around the |
Temple, was inclosed; and in this hope |
he was not disappointed, for, in April,
1869, he struck upon an angle of the
peribolos wall, in the masonry Of which
was inserted in duplicate an inscription
in Greek and Latin, stating that the
Emperor Augustus, out of the revenue
of the goddess, had rebuilt the peribolos
wall around her Temple The distance
from the river, and width of the road at
this point, were also marked in other i'll
scriptions built into the masonry. h
II was clear from this discovery that
the Temple would be found somewhere
within the peribolos, the area Of which,
however, could not be ascertained, for
after tracing the two lines of wall for
short distance, all sign of them was
lost, aud the Temple had to'be searched
fer by sinking pits within the presumed
area of the peribolos. Here the alluvial
soil ran very deep, averaging twenty-five
feet above the ancient surface. Many
months were spent in this weary labor;
at length, in April, 1870, Mr.. Wood
came upon pavement of square blocks
of fine white marble, on which were ly-
ing some fragments of colossal sculpture.
These remains we're found eighteen feet
below the surface; Immediately above
the pavement was a stratum of Splinters
Of white marble, partially calcined by
fire.
As the area Of excavation was en-
larged on this spot remains of Ionic
on colossal scale and un-
J. fakably Greek character cropped up
eR,syWhere; and in February, 1871, part
OF the lowest drum Of a column, six feet
one inch in diameter, was found in its
original position on its base. 1t now
became quite clear that the long sought
sight Of the Temple was found, and ope-
rations we're commenced on a much
larger scale. In the autumn Of 1871,
Mr.. Wood came upon the lowest drum
Of column nearly entire, on which was
sculptured a group of male and female
figures, standing and sitting. The stand
ing figures we're six feet high; the whole
mass Of white marble weighed upward
Of eleven tons. 1t was evident that this
belonged to one Of those thirty-six sculp-
tural columns which Pliny mentions as
among the admiranda Of the Temple.
Fragments Of two more sculptured
drums, a pilaster With 6ne group in
high relief MAGNIFICENT capitals. bases