The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1877-09-27
Recent Archaeological Dissolve
ries.

Every body knows that many speci-
mems of Phenician glass have been dug
out of Indian graves under circum-
stances which make it impossible that
they could have been buried since the
time of Christopher Columbus. At this
moment l have in my wallet a head
carved in ivory dug out of bluff in Al
legheny County, N. Y, two or three
years ago. 1t lay eight feet below the
surface, and trees sayeral hundred years
old had stretched their branches over
it. What does it represent? A China
man, with slant eyes, a queue wrapt
several times around his scalp, tucked
in and dropped over the left eye. 1t
belonged to some small statuette, per-
haps to chessman, and was once fine
ly executed. Long iingling and iostling
with wampum has worn it down. 1t
was given to me for examination, but be-
longs to Alfred University, Allegheny
County, New York.-CGrOline II. Dali,
in Boston Advertiser. 1ftaa y
, Maj. ]. w. Powell, of the Smithso-
MAN Intitute, and Prof T. 0.Summers,
Jr., have been engaged recently in
opening the stone graves in the vicinity
Nashville. These graves have been gener-
ally known rs mounds, but they are very
different from the real mound, which is
of much more ancient date and was not
used as burial place. They are well
constructed of slabs in the form of a
box, in which the body was laid, with
whatever utensils and implements which
their rank or relation Indicated. Maj.
Powell and DIR. Summers have thor
oughly explored large mound of
graves, west of the city, from which
they have obtained good many erania,
and in some places almost complete
skeletons, with some interesting speci-
mems of pottery and shells. In one
grave they found two bodies-male and
female-supposed to be the chief and
his squaw, as the male had his pipe by
the side of his skull. Infants as young
as two months old were found, with
shells buried near the head.
The remains of Roman villa have
just been discovered at Preston, the
northen suburb of Brighton, England,
at depth of between two and three feet
from the surface. They consist princi-
pally of a quantity of mosaic pavement,
several large portions of which have
been preserved intact; many fragments
of pottery, of good workmanship and a
number of bronze and copper coins not
yet classified. A small vase of reddish
color was found unbroken. The foun-
dation of the walls already laid bare
show that it was of considerable extent;
the walls themselves, which are COM
posed of fiints and mortar, are painted
in various colors, which have been pre-
served in all their brightness. Some
months ago 4 bronze coin, circa A. ID.
100, was picked up, and it is hoped that
as the present works proceed, further
relics will be unearthed. The site is
within a mile or two of q well known
Roman fortified place (HOllingbury
Camp, one of the circle of camps
formed to guard the harbor of Portus
Adurni, now known as Aldrington.
Indications of a prehistoric people,
which are plentiful in southwestern Col
orado, have lately been discovered in
western Nevada. Antique pottery and
decipherable writings on the rocks are
the most common tokens. At one place,
engraved upon rock, is the nude fig
ure of man, holding in his right hand
shrub, the outlines of which show con-
siderable artistic skill.
The excavation of the earth-covered
and ruined seaport of Ostia on the Med
iterranean is proceeding rapidly. Some
beautiful columns and mosaic floors in
fragments have already been found /;
and the arch9ologist Fiorelli expresses
his belief that proper handling of the
old docks and quays will bring to light
some curious maritime implements once
used against the fleets of Carthage.