, 1873-06-08
THE EXCAVATIONS IN P0NpEIl-.
Progress mud Classification os thu


ter, which is none the less emphatic becanso
does not font upon the surface. Iaegarded
profile, the head and the oleanly-out fentures r.
call to you at onco tho busts OF the first Nape
leon in the expression you find stcadiness a
vol as blandness; and the bright eyes, thu
look little distant at times, have in the;
depths glances that pierce and search, and wi
not be denied. And tho face we'll indicates tb
mnn-naturally pleasant, calm, patient, inte1li
gent, and reso1ute in word, man to rnsoly
problems, to clear up perple1ed questions, IN,
to do much with little.
Whoever remembers tho state in which Pom
i peii and the museum we're under the Bourbon
q dozen years ago, md 'sees them now, couut
4 their orderly and logical arrangement and main
.tenance almost miraculous, and begins to ca1cu
Into what great sums must hare beon e1nendet
and. what numbers of assistants employed
Yet very small allowances have beon made b,
the GoVernment-the entry fees being absorbed
by the payment Of the attendantB-and on1y
ordinary custodians and handful Of tech.
| nical people being at the disposition of. the
| director. To his extensive p1ans his cn.efu]
distribution and lucid explanation Of their duties
to his subordinates, and to his own ceaselcsa
have furnished hands, but ho has bocn called
upon to supply nearly a1l the brnins.
~ In the Museum the greatest part OF tie work
! is done. The vast halls and corridors have been
clcansed and polished; new pavements in stone
or cement have been laid. and the ceilings have
been decorated with ornaments in stucco, copied
| from the best Pompean models tho wallis La Te
| been tinted, and incrnsted with the inscriptions
! mural tablets and sculpturcd fragments which
had been hidden away in storehouses and cellars;
| spacious cabinets have boen put up, aud the
articles OF minor size which they contain hare
| been classified, 30 that among the Pompeiiau
bronzes, for instance, one no longer sees sauce
pans, personal ornaments, and household gods
coarse WIRE screen the historic and ideal bussg
have been sorted and brought into groups
marble figures OF like character have been gath
cred into the same chamber, and the splendid
hronzes, mounted upon new pedostals have
sides. Nor is this ali. At the same time, FiorelI
has had in progress complete catalogue Of the
museum, Of which some portions have been
already printed. In the room where arc the
ancient arms, musical instruments, theatrical
counters, ETC., already are hung proof copies Of
the relative pages, giving an idea Of the minute
ness and e1actness OF the work. One numis-
matte volume is complete and published. When
Fiorelli began his labora the collection Of coins
and boxes, the former direction of
the museum having shtunk from the
task Of arrangement, although the Government
would have assigned large sum therefor. With
the help OF his regular staff, Fioreli has cata-
logued and described every coin, medal, and
counter, and carried through tho press this vol
ume which records and illustrates the medieval
and modern coinages, and includes an appendix
deEoted to seals, bulls, and tessere.
The former management Of Pompeu was no
less blamow orthy than that Of the museum
Tracts once excavated we're left neglected, or
even filed up with the debris taken from other
sections, and what was portable had been car
1ied away; little pains was takon to pre-
nYVA nf {hc ffr ar1 +1
ate comprehensive idea Of the charac-
ter OF the city. a few streets and ediices
we're kept in to1erab1e order to attract public in
terest, and give semb1ance Of management,
WAS maintained What was left Of the walls
and paTements was rapidly detcriorating. aud
through surTeptitious excavations many articles /
of interest found their way abroad, while the |
conscientious nrtist or student, on the other |
hand, found many obstacles thrown in the way |
OF his Investigations.
Fiora1i has changed all this; and, while he |
prosecutes the excavations with exact fornality |
and under an almost military overnight, ho gives
welcome and liberty to the painter, the architect
Or tho historian who comes to portray, to study,
Or to describe Undoz the direction Of the Min
lster of Public Instruction, he las prepared
q report FOR the Exposition at Vienna, which
gives q resume Of his work from its incep-
lion to the end Of Jnne, 1879, which is itself
> little marvel of learning and Of faithful
ness to the smallest detail But a small
edition OF the volume has been printed, |
and this is chiefly intended for the Libraries
IT the chief scientific societies Of the world. I
have been 80 fortunate as to obtain one Of the
lew extra copies at the disposition Of the Mlnis-
;er, and to it am indebted for the substance Of
he following paragraphs. The book itself is
handsome guarto, illustrated With q number Of
plates N ciromo-hthography, snd series Of TO-
'cale OF 1400, Of every cdfce and Of every street
at the end Of June last
Between 1743 and 1860 there had been uncov-
'red in the te5ritoEy.o Of Pompeii 119, ,526 square
netors. As have intimated above, the excava-
ions had not been continuously prosecuted, but
'nly in such sections Of the city as promised, |
fpon superficial investigation. to repay in ma
erial objects a further search. The first thing
= Florelli's mind naturally was to clear away
saotchpan ias If the @ oa to a
inue the future work regularly from
'oint to point holding the value and interest On
he uncovered region as = whole to be greater
han those OF isolated quarters, however at
t January, 1861, this system was adoptod aud
10Th began, the Government having assigned
Or tho excavations, and for the care Of their
eatlve museum In Naples, an annual sum of {
u, ooo francs: To this amount are to be added
he entrance fees OF Vieitors-which at Pompeii {
verages about Sc, 600 francs per year-and oc- !
asional small gifts from the royal purse, or &
rom the incidental expenses account OF some :
In1stry. The visitors fees, however, scarcely
lore than equal the salaries OF the technical
Eaf and custodians, the latter OF whom are now t
lore than forty in number, receiving daily
t!pend Of two francs. their pay. having been
used IN 1861 from = franc and . half, to COM Z
ensate them for the loss Of grstuities from yiai-
'Is, which arc not allowed to be given. :
To indicate the material results obtained By !, y
iorelll, may say that the excayated tract Of b
ompeu has been increased by 110.857 square p
eters more than 400, 600 cubic meters Of earth il
i'd rubbish have been dug up and carried q +
ean distance Of nearly 87i8 meters upon the Il
7ads or shoulders Of the laborers, and pushed =
pom little railway cars no less than 534.62 me- .
IT,. As fast rs the excavation proceeds all re- I,
srable damage is made good, SO that at least Il
e walls Of each building may remain to indi- q
to lts own character and that OF the neighbor- 2
'od. To this end, masons have had to do near =
80 GOO cubic meters Of building, and &C. 900 Of f
pertielal restoration~ The railway by which the p
'erlaying material is removed beyond the city y
nits has been built; Pompeiian library and p
ch@ological school have been founded, and e
mplete miniature museum has been estab- N
3xaI %,Am s-:..