The Wilmingtonian., 1886-07-17
Excavations at Pompeii.

Excavations at Pompeii.
A correspondent writes as follows:
1t seems odd to speak of dead city as a
growing one. But that is exactly the case
with Pompeii. There are many cities in Italy
that do not grow half as fast as the one bur-
led by the ashes of Vesuvius 1900 years ago.
A person visiting it at intervals of year
notices marked enlargement of its bouuda-
res. The Italians, you know, are the cham
pion diggers. They make the shovel fly
when they attack the grave of Pompeii. We
saw gang of them at work there. A Gov
ernment overseer watched them like hawk
He wanted to be sure that they pocketed no
jewelry, coins, or objects of art or utility
yielded by the excavations. The only pro-
duce of their toll in that line as we stood by
was bit of iron which the guide called a
hinge, and the fragment of small marble
column. The spades busily piled were grad
ually bringing to light a beautiful house.
The floors were mosaic, with simple but
graceful designs in scroll patGern-nearly
as fresh Of color as if laid yesterday. The
walls bore frescoes of fainter tints-grinning
masks, fawns, cupids, birds, fish, aud fruit.
1t had evidentally been the home of we'll
to-do citizen of Pompeii. The nervous
movements of the workmen betrayed their
anxiety. They were hoping at every moment
to make a valuable "find." Perhaps they
might hit upon great iron chest, studded
with round knobs like boiler, and full of
gold, money, or ornaments, or they might
strike another wonder in marble or bronze
or they might be startled by coming sudden
ly upon skull or other human remains. In
the latter event, the work is suspended till a
careful inspection is made.
The responsible and intelligent person in
charge proceeds to ascertain if the dead
Pompeian has left mould of himself or
herself in the plastic ashes. If SO, he pre-
pares mixture of plaster of Paris, breaks a
hole in the crust, and slowly pours in the
| liquid till the mould is full. When it has
hardened, the casting is tenderly removed.
Lol there is rough image, showing some
poor creature in the agonies of death, prone
on the floor face downward.
Thus, most usually, were the inhabitants
of the doomed city caught by the destroying
angel. The skull, or leg, Or arm, or what
ever other part of the skeleton has not relap.
sed into its original dust, may attach itself
to the plaster cast in the proper place, OF
may require to be joined on by a pardpnaRle
restoration" In either case, the seffect-is
thrilling in its horrible reality. Nothing in
n,;nt;no, or n,,1,1tora non chooly tba hnb nj
more than these self-produced and truthful
i statues exhibited in the museum, which is
the first and most interesting thing shown to
yisitetss> Bpt, though neither gold nor sill!
yer, nor the minute scrap OF a skeleton, MOI
any ytbnsfelse bn d Of importance was unearthed
for my benefit, I quilted the new excavations
With reluetande to examine those parts o.
Pompeii, with which the. world is already
familiar through the medium OF books ant
pictures, | found myself quite at home il
the bakery, the wine shop, at the oil mer
chants, at the houses of Pansa, of Sallust
of the rTragic, Poet, land the rests Th'
high stepping stones across the streets look
ed familiar, as if had trodden them before
The deep ruts cut by the carts as the!
groaned up the hill, coming from the an
cient Stabia, were like friendly landmarks
4 SO fully have FIiteratnre and art made u
acquainted with this disinterred city.
The guide tells me that only about one
third of Pompeii has yet been uncovered. z
take his word for it, He is alsosof the opin
ion that the best parts OF the city have al
ready been dug out. He evidently wishe
that the work would stop. He is very huma
in this, for lie finds it tiresome to show pee
, pie about the present Pompeii. Treble ii
size, and his labor would be threefold. An
he is forbidden to accept money But
imagine tbat=this very prohibition doe
.hdt prbSent psrsShsifrph Offering him Say
couple ofIhands on . the sly, ''ot him fro1
accepting them.
, It-may be.true, as our guide insists, thu
the ternpIess foRdnis, ,bafhs, tlieater, and fin
> houses now above ground surpass anythiu
q of the kind that may hereafter be discovere
at Pompeii. But the italian Government
4 not disposed to take that for granted. Lii
q eral snms are yearly appropriated to push Q
the work 7 1t bears fruits. "A, new temp
! or amplhtheater may net be. struck sever
9 year, but something is constantly bein
:, turned up to instruct the world in the maj
ners and customs of the old Romans, so we
y reflected in the representative city of Pom
pei. Ofbronze or stone statues househol
= implements, saa toolApf trades, ithe Yield
's immense and steady. These may be couute
by the thousand in the splendid museum
,r Naples. One can see so many articles
luxury aud use exactly similar to those
!, buys now adays, that he is fain to pause al
try to remember what besides the steam e
= gine, the photograph, aud the electric tel
graph we moderhs have inyeHteds The
being no mere room at Naples to store u
70 treasures, the excess anthem il huddled t
gether in the courtyards and houses of POI
I peii hsrsslfa Ttss estimated that at the pr
sent rate this mine of antiquities will not
worked out in fifty years.