The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-11-13


The excavations undertaken by the
Greek scientist Stamartakis upon the
battlefield of Cheronea have led to a
remarkable archaeological discovery.
According to the writings OF Pausanias
and Plutarch, in the year 1888 b. C., 3D.
600 Macedonians, under the command
of Philip and his son Alexander, then
but eighteen years of age, annihilated
the united forces of the Athenians and
Thebans at Cheronea, which is situated
on the plain extending from the foot OF
Mount rParnassns The encounter was
so deadly and the slaughter so enormous
that the river which traverses the plain,
the bed of which river is now dry, re-
ceiyed therefrom the name of Hamon.
signifyins the blood river. The "holy
bandh Of the Thebans. consisting OF
300 heroic young men, which only took
part at the conclusion of the battle, was
entirely destroyed, the bodies. being in
tered together on the battlefield. The
troop of 800 glorious dead have now,
after the lapse of two-and-twenty CEN
turtles. been discovered and brought to
LIGHT by the exertions OF M. Stamar-
talks. and, remarkable to add, exactly
in the form in which they were buried.
Five minutes walk from the village OF
Cheronea, which is now named Capra-
ona, are scattered the limbs of colossal
monumental lion. destroyed by the stu
pidity and avariciousness of the inhabit-
ants, who believed that beneath its
base hidden treasures wonld be discov-
cred. Thus this gigantic block of mar
ble,. erected TO be an everlasting testi-
mony of the glorious deeds of the
mighty dead, had been undermined and
blown up 1t ia on this spot that for
some months passed excavations have
been carried on, the first discovery
being that of wall, which, upon
being laid bare, was found to be twenty
five meters long, fifteen meters wide
and over two meters high, resting upon
a foundation one and half meters in
depth. In the parallelogram formed by
this wall the excavators found at 8
dep h of four meters the remains of s1S5
Thebans resting upon the clay soil, IN
parallel rows OF forty men, side by side
exactly in the position in which they
had expired. Several rows of these
glorious combatants have already been
uncovered, the heads of the lower rows
resting on the feet of the ones above.
All the corpses bear the traces of the
severe wounds from which they died
The two thighs of one man have been
pierced by the point of lance; the jaw
bone of another has been smashed; the
skull of a third terribly mutilated; while
a fourth, of whom the head is wonder
| fully preserved. has his mouth opened
seemingly in the act of breathing, and
this latter it is intended to remove to the
Museum of Antiquities at Athens. L
is especially remarkable that the whole
of the remains of these heroes of the
town of hundred gates still retair
their teeth complete. No weapons were
found, as these were usually takeI
from the yanquished, but number o
bone buttons, pierced in the middle
were discovered and two handled
earthenware8 pots. The excavation
will be continued in order to discove
the remaining 100 companions of thu
Theban phalanx and the two memoria
stones on the right and left of the liol
of Cheronea, which was erected to pre-
serve to future generations the name
of the noble 800. M. Stamartakis j
preparing a detailed report of this in
teresting historical discovery and
series Of drawings, which will be addet
to the report, will give the position 0
each combatant. Six of them will b,
preserved In the Athens Museum an,
the remainder viii be restored to thei
twenty-five. century old funeral resting
place within the Halls Of Time.-LOn