The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1878-08-15

DcAd MdTlIld gate, one OF the elghG gales
in the walls of the city, five of which,
the Herculaneum, the Stabian, the Pom
peian, the Jovian and the Decuman,
have been unearthed, and are in good
state of preservation. 1t should be
borne in mind that not more than one
fourth of what has been traced to be
within the boundary of the city has yet
been excavated, although the work is
still progressing slowly. We passed
through many portions that have been
opened since our last visit, and also ex-
amined many curiosities that have been
added to the museum near the gate, in
form. 1t has been found that the ashes
and scori@ hardened before the bodies
of the victims decayed, and that the cav
tiles or molds containing the bones re-
tanned the human form. By carefully
pouring liquid plaster into them, and
allowing it time to harden, number of
fine specimens have been obtained.
Among those recently added is the form
of young girl, most perfect and sym
metrical. She is lying on her face, and
the mold gives even the twist of hair,
while the features are perfect after hav-
ing lain for 1900 years.
Among the other figures are those
supposed to be a mother and daughter,
with their limbs entwined. The most
perfect of all these holdings is that of
dog. There is also in this museum
large collection of domestic utensils
found in the ruins-tables, statuary,
shells, bottles, cups, lamps, pots, vases,
money-boxes, tiles, water-spouts, etc.,
together with the skeletons of horses,
cats, etc.
After viewing the curiosities in the
museum, which are in the old Pompeii
gate house, we passed along on the
pavement leading into the city, which is
| formed of large irregular blocks of
/ stone, the same as that which all the
excavated streets are paved with. A
guide accompanied us, furnished by the
| Government, whom the visitor is re-
quested to give nothing to, the two
livres charged for admission covering
the services of the guides, most of whom
speak tolerably good English.
The ruins are all in an excellent state
of preservation. We were soon walk
ing through long, narrow streets, paved
with heavy books of stone, with curb
stones and sidewalks. The carriage
ways are not more than twelve feet
wide, just wide enough for two chariots
to pass each other, and the pavement
about two feet wide The carriage
ways are about fifteen inches below the
sidewalks, and stepping stones, like
those on some of the streets of Balti-
more, enabled the Pompeians to cross
when the streets were flooded with
water, though the pavements are so
| high above the street that these cross
ing stones were serviceable in all
weathers. Deep ruts are worn in the
heavy blocks of stone with which the
streets are paved by the chariot wheels
and some of the streets were left in
rather bad condition.
The dwelling houses, especially those
of the better class, are all built nearly
on the same plan, and the rooms are ex-
ceedingly small. They consist of two
internal courts, surrounded by porticos
| leading to small apartments. The front
court was used for the reception of
strangers, and the rear one for domestic
and private use. The size and orna-
mentation vary according to the fortune
of the proprietors. First comes a yes
tibule with the door of entry on the
street, and a second door, which opened
| inside. The court in the center was
partly rooted, but an aperture for light
| and ventilation left in the center, while
| in the center of the court was a fountain.
| There was always portico around the
| court. from which there was entrance
| to the bedrooms, none of which seems
to have been more than twelve feet long,
| by eight to ten wide. There were no
| windows to the outside Of the houses,
except those by the side of the front
door, the light coming from the central
opening in the roof. The largest room
in the house, which was in the rear,
with the kitchen on either side, was the
dining-room, and this was generally the
finest decorated. The paintings ON the
walls of some of the chambers were very
exquisite, though most of them were of
a lascivious character. There was al
ways a small flower garden and minia-
ture fountain. There was no outside
yard to any of the houses, each house
covering the entire lot. They were most
~ two stories high, the rooms of the sec
ond story opening on the balcony. There
are no traces of chimnies in any of the
houses. A species of oven, with tubes to
convey off the gas and smoke, has been
discovered in the ruins. The houses,
even those of the rich proprietors, were
encompassed by shops, which they let.
The smallest shops, as well as the houses,
are adorned with mosaics and with
pictures. Unfortunately, such pictures
as had preserved all thier freshness
while buried, faded away when exposed
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