National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-08-30
SOME BURIED CITIES.
ONCE CROWDED STREETS TR0DDES ONLY
by TOURISTS AND SCIENTISTS.
Present Condition Of Former Centcrs OF the
Worlds Clvilizatlon-Burie Temples and
Palaces In America, Egypt, and Many Asiatic
Countries--Marvelous Variations.


Oh the numbers OF tnc human race III phsb
ayes wc can form but little idea, even from
estimates and it is almost equally difficult
to conjecture tho number, size, and i'm
portance OF tho buried cities which exist
in every part of the earth Even in this
country, where everything seems to SO
new and frosh, cities arc built upon the
ruins of their predecessyss, these having
been buried so long as to leave not tho least
indication by which their inhabitants can
be identified, aud we arc, therefore, left in
utter ignorance who they were, whence
they came and what become Of them. In
this part of the continent their cemeteries
remain, so extensive AS to indicate n vast
population, and in tho valley of the Ohio
and its tributaries their Notifications of
comprehensive plan and vast extent are
still to be seen, but that is all. In Mex
leo buried cities are found in such mum
bers as to give a most exalted idea of the
wealth, numbers, and character of popu-
laton that could crowd into the coun try;
while in Central America and Iucatan, it
has been said that buried cities arc moro
numerous than living inhabitants This is
probably nh exaggerative. hut the eN-
plorcr may well be excused for liveli-
ness of imagination when he finds 1t al
most impossible to penetrate tho jungle q
mile in any direction without coming
upon tho ruins of little fortified town, u
palace or temple. In Peru and along
the west coast of South America, buried
cities are far in the majority over tho
cities OF the present day. The difference
between these buried cities of the Ameri-
can continent and those of tho old world
is found in the fact that tho latter have q
history while tho former have none. If
we could trace the history Of tho cities
: of our own continent back to the date
of their founding, and recall the
names of the now unknown heros whose
exploits made themselves aud their cities
alike famous, we would naturally feel u
pride in the ruins of America such as is
now felt by an intelligent Greek in the
ruins of his own country. But this is not
only ut present impossible, but there is
little likelihood of its ever being done in
the future. The American races were not
remarkable for their records, and we
have therefore small prospects of the re-
covery Of much, if any more, of the an
mails of ages which preceded our own.
The ancient cities of Egypt arc, for the
most part, buried literally as woll as
Nile brings down from one to eight inches
of sediment, and this is deposited over
the entire valley. When tho cities were
inhabited, the floods were kept from them
by means of bikes, but after war and
pestilence had depopulated tho entire
country, the river every year swept over
palace and temple and tomb, and now the
cities of the Pharoahs must of
ten be looked for under twenty
feet of soil. The present city OF
Alexandria, for instance, in built on
the ruins of the city of the same name,
founded by Alexander. This was, in its
day. second onsy to Rome, had over 1000
palaces and innumerable schools, colleges,
and art collections. 1t was the CONNER
cial center Of the world standing midway
between the east and the west In an :
cient, as in modern times, it commanded
the Suoz canal. This is no new enter.
prise of our own times. 1t is recorded
that canal WAS cut between the Red sea
and the Nile by Rameses III, b. G. 1913,
though some historical records place the
date q century earlier in the time of 10.
scph. Herodotus tells of the enlargement
ofthis canal 500 years later; the Emperor
Tragan, still later, again restored it,
and it was kept open till destroyed
by the Arab Caliphs. A few miles south
of Alexandria is Cairo, and little south
of Cairo are to be found the ruins OF
Heliopolis, city known in Scripture as
On. Here was once the great temple Of
the Sun. where the Phoenix was con.
sumed; here Moses was educated. and
many centuries later Plato and other dis,
tinguishcd Greeks. OF this vast city, but
one stone, an obelisk 20 feet high and
feet square at the base, romans standing
The rest is beneath the alluvium brought
down by the Nile. Near the old obelsk
is the fountain of the Sum-" tho
only living spring in Egypt. which fur
nished the temple with water 1000 year:
ago. Not far from Heliopolis are the
pyramids, Of which seventy are still stand
ing in the Nile valley. The base of thu
largest of these covers considerably NOR,
ground than four st. Louis squares, anG
the pyramid is more than three times a
high MS the court house dome. Tho lates
theory in regard to the great pyramid Il
that it was built by order of JOSEPH
during the seven years famine to tint
employment for tho people; that he wa
buried in it, and that tho huge empt,
sarcophagus found in its innermost cham
Der once contained his body, which wa
removed by the Hebrews when thoy lef
the country.
A little south of the pyramids Is Mem
phis. the Noph of Scriptures, founded b,
the first king who ever ruled over Egypt
and for q thousand years tho capital
Here Joseph ruled and Pharoah dwclt
and here all the Inagniiicenco of tho oil
monarchy was displayed. The embank
ments which once protected tho cit
against tho river have long since bee
swept away. and the alluyal deposit
of twenty centuries havo covered fror
sight almost every relic Of past grandeur
When tho English army takes its cours
up tho Nile next month the soldiers will
see q few blocks of granite. ono or tw
mounds of sun-dried brick, and tn
fragments of colossal statue of Ramesc
IL, lying with the face in q pool of water
as If ashamed of tho present condition o
the country. This statue was almos
entitled to DO considered ono OF tn
wonders Of the world. 1t was over #,
feet high, cut from single block, an'
computed to weigh over sevonty-fv
Memphis stood lies tho largest and oldes
cemetery in tho world. 1t is owe
twenty miles long from six to eighteen
miles in breadth, and is estimated to con
tain the remains of not less than $4,000.
900 people. A recent writer says that
10 impossible to 20 100 feet without seein
skulls or other bones, whilo the limbs o
mummies here and there protrudo iron
the ground. In tho limestone rock tina
underlies tho desert everywhere there ar
innumerable pits, evidently for the buria
of tho middle and lower classes, and il
these the bodies are stacked up like cord
wood, ak or olght courses doep,al CAREFUL
embalmed and looking a. fresh MS
placed thore yesterday. Tho most re
voting thing about the present condition
of the cemetery ia tho fact that tho ma
tiyes of the country may bo seen an
using the bodies of their ancestors 70
fuel, and then employing tho ashes I
iertilize their fields. In this cemeter
are also tho burial places and sarcophas
Of tho sacred bulls of the Egyptian
Hundreds of these sarcophagi have bee
uncarthod, each sufficient in size I