Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1880-02-27
A POMPEIIAN BIRD SHOP.

kitchen utensils, and other articles of
household use, were found almost in a
heap together near the door, and among
them considerable number of small
earthenware pots, which I somewhat in
creduously heard described as drinking
cups for birds; but there soon followed
abundant proof that this had been the
shop of a seed merchant and seller of
singing birds, and very little imagination
was required to see the place as 1t was
the day before the fatal eruption of 10.
At first the room seemed to have been
mere receptacle for a misceliane-
GUS collection Of bronze and carthen-
ware object. There was no special char
acter about 1t. The walls bore no traces
Of painting, but, as the clearing was con-
tinued, to the left of the door on entering
heap of millet seed was found, so car
bombed that on taking up handful it
flowed between ones fingers, for every
grain was separate and distinct It was
taken away III basketfuls. Close to this
quantity Of hemp seed, and Of what ap-
peared to be small beans in the came
well-preserved condition. were found,
and among them considerable fragments
Of the sacks in which they had been
kept, the fibre and texture clearly dis
tinguishable. Behind these heaps and
against the wall more seed was dug out,
mixed up with pieces of carbonized
wood, iron hinges and nails, and some
iron hoops, evidently the remains of
small barrels and bins which had been
ranged on this side, while along the OPP
posite wall double row of terra-cotta
ollie for holding grain was gradually re-
vealed. Suddenly there arose a cry,
''un ossa," 'un scheletro," and the
excitement became intense but the bones
were small--at first they seemed mere
fragments, and then the Director cxclaim-
ed, amid quickly following laughter, "a
chicken" Here the filling in had be-
come somewhat soliditied, and as it broke
apart a complete skeleton was revealed.
It was that of little singing bird, en-
tirely imbedded in the mass, and near 1t
were fragments of other tiny bones.
There could be no longer any doubt that
the use of the little teIra-cotta pots had
been correctly described. It bec,mc
clear why so many of them were 70 1nd
there; and that the number of plain
bronze rings of about an inch and half
IN diameter, and pieces of fine chain
work discovered, had been used for hang
ing bird-cages. But what connection had
ali those bronze vessels and ornaments
near the door with seed and bird-sell-
er's shopa This also soon became evil
dent.
AS the excavators continued further
into the room, great masses of carbon
lied beams of wood were found, each
somewhat inclined downward, and among
them quantity Of fragments Of 1ntonac
and stucco wall-facing, colored porphry,
with border of green and white. These
were at once seen to be the remains of
the floor of the room above with some of
the plastering of It's walls, and from the
direction in which the beams were lying,
it was evident that the floor had given
way IN the middle and toward the door
of the shop below, precipi,ating the
greater part of the contents of the upper
room in that direction, the remainder
falling towards the middle, and it was
here the elegant long-stemmed Candida
brum was found among the masses and
fragments Of carbonized wood. Did the
worthy blrd-seller live above his shop9
Did this candelabrum and the bronze va
ses and other utensils form part ofhls do
nestle fortune2 Who can tell7 They were
elegant in form, but for the most part
unornamented, and not out of character
with the requirements of person of tina
condition. There ere some finger-rings
NJ hl1f Of o%o,s I.
there was strigil with plain handle;
there were women's bracelets and fibule
Of delicate workmanship, but only of
bronze, some glass beads and delicate
blue cup broken in pieces. The smaller
terra-cotta vessels were all ofthe plainest
workmanship. Among them were three
small amphor with flat bottoms, for stand
ing on the table, and the bronzes were
of the variety of size and form adapted
to household purposes. Some were like
jugs with one handle, Others were in the
form of flat oval tazze with two handles,
and one of these had two others OF
smaller size lying within it. There
was one of the exact counterpart
of pint pot, several of fiat shape,
like casseroles, with straight handle on
one side, and some without handles, like
deep bronze soup plates.
Among other things I have not men
toned, found in this room, were a num-
Der OF small bronze bells slightly de-
pressed into rectangular shape, like the
tiny gold bell found on the Esquiline
some years back, and which IS So we'll
known as the Marguerite bell from the
number of copies made TOT ear.dr. ps;
two double bronze ink stands, the chain
and other fragments Of a balance, bone
paper cutter-a knife of large size, with
bent blade like those used by garden
ers-a small square Corinthian plaster
cap of marble, and in one corner of the
shop against the wall the remains Of a
mensola. It may interest psychologists
if I mention that the excavation was
made in the insula parallel to that num-
bered five in the north region, according
to Florelli's plan and the shop is entered
from the Decumanus Major commonly
known as the Strada dc Ncla, leading to
the gate OF that name.