Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1882-11-17
THEYIcTIns OF roMPElI.
Revelations of Archaeological Re
searches I'm the Buried City.

1 VI VA1
Revelations of Archaeological Re
searches I'm the Buried City.
The work of exploration which has
been steadily going on in Pompeii for
over q cenury, from the day when ex-
cavations first began on the site of
what was then vaguely called ia
Civitia," in 174S, has led to other than
archaeological results. It has enabled a
| fairly accurate notion to be formed of
the nature and extent of the catas-
trophe. We know, for instance. that
the lava stream did not reach Pampeii,
and that the city was not destroyed by
fire. We know also that the eruption
was accompanied by one or more
shocks of earthquake, which threw
down houses here and there, and
buried men and women under their
ruins. From the fact that skeletons
have been found in the entrance to
the public bath, which was quilted
hastily by the few grand ladies who
were not present at the gladiatorial
performance in the amphitheatre, the
time of the catastrophe can be fixed
with approximate accuracy at or
about noon. Above all, the discovery
of skeletons, every one OF which has
been carefully recorded for at least a
century, enable some conclusions to
be drawn as to the total number of
victims of the catastrophe. 1t would
be mistake to suppose that the ma
jority, or even very large portion, of
the inhabitants of Pompeii persisted.
The effect of the ashen shower were not
instantaneous, and every one who could
get apay from the city on the first
alarm probably saved his life. The bulk
| of the people were in the amphithe-
alter, which WAS situated GEAR one of the
city gates on the side remote from We
suvius, and there was nothing to him
der every one in the great audience
from getting away in time. Those who
persisted were those who deliberately
put off their flight to save wife and
child, or, still more often, valuables.
OF such victims $50 have been al
ready found. From the year when the
excavations began, in 174S, to 1926, the
total number of human remains discov-
cred was 100; from 1897 to 1916 it
was So; from 1916 to 1860 it was 60;
! from 1861 to 1872 it was 81, and from
| 1873 to 1881 about 100. But it is to be
remembered that only two-fifths OF
the buried surface has been brought to
light. On the whole, there appears
good reason for putting the total num-
Der of human beings who persisted in
the eruption at least as high as
LOO. To these should be added the
skeletons of three dogs, seven horses,
eleven hens, two tortoises, fifteen pigs,
ten oxen, and the bones of fifteen
other animals. The remains of one of
these dogs were found in the porch of
the "House of Orpheus," and the cast
which Signor Fiorelli has taken brings
before us with q painful vividness one
of the minor tragedies of that aMful
day. The poor beast was chained at
his post, and in the general panic and
confusion no one remembered to let
him loose. The chain lay by the re-
mains when they were found, and it
was evident that the creature had
strained his tether to the utmost in
the effort to keep himself above the
masses of ash and pumic stone that
rapidly accumulated around and over
him. The cast is to be seen in the lit
tie museum at Pompeii. The dog lies
half on his side, half on his back, his
slender head aud open muzzle gasping
for little air, buried between the hind
legs which have been convulsively
brought forward in the last agony of
death. But the process which has been
SO successful in reproducing the very
form and likeness of this creature as
he lived and died has produced results
no less extraordinary in the case of
the human victims of the catastrophe.
The idea of pouring plaster of Paris
in liquid state into the moulds left
by the bodies in the soft ash did not
occur to any one till it suddenly flash
ed across Floreli about 20 years ago.
OF the remains of the 100 human
beings discovered in Pompeii the first
hundred years of the excavations there
is consequently only written record.
1t is only from the Journal of Erca-
tons for the year 1881 that we know of
the touching and famous sight which
greeted the eyes of the first discoveries
of the "House of Faun." On the floor
of the banqueting hall lay the body of
woman, probably the mistress of
the house; with her jewels scattered
where she had thrown them in despair
of rescue or escape. The roof had
been crushed in by the weight of fallen
ash or pumic stone, and the hands of
the dying woman were upstretched in
vain effort to keep of the impend-
ing weight. Parts of the body and
clothing could still be made out, and a
drawing could be made of one charm
ing foot. But such records are lifeless
and tame indeed beside the extraordin-
airy portrait statutes which are now to
be seen in the little museum at
Pompeii. There are nine of these, or
were very short time since, and to
see them is like seeing the men and
women themselves of eighteen CEN
turtles ago. Florelli's method is as
simple as possible. A small opening
is made, the plaster is delicately pour
ed in, and when it has had time to
harden, the surface crust of ash is
peeled of, and the man or woman
comes back to life again. The details
of clothing and feature have all all left
their mark on the soft ash, and all
faithfully preserved in the plaster cast.
The results achieved by Florelli are
striking and complete. Take the cast
of the elderly slave, for instance, prob |
ably an of some 60 years, who APP
pears to have been taking his siesta
when the eruption began, and to have
been painlessly asphyxiated in his
sleep. He lies on his right side, the
knees a little bent, the left leg drawn
up and the cheek resting on the right
hand. The coarse, strongly
features and peaceful expression of
the sleeper have all been perfectly pre-
served. A hardly less easy death |
must have been the lot of the four
persons found lying on their backs in |
the street. Three of these were men,
one of them negro of the most pro-
nounced type. The fourth was a |
woman of unusual stature, whose tins |
for becoming a mother was evidently |
not far off. The three persons found |
lying on their faces do not appear to |
have found so quick death. Two of |
them are women. One of these, an
elderly woman with thin figure, lies |
by herself, her face buried in her arms,
as if to protect herself from the fatal
rain. Tie other lies side by side wits |
a man, in whose company she appears
to have taken flight. She has covered
ho, g. 81 Il i