Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1892-07-21
Exploring Ancient Ruins.


Exploring Ancient Ruins.
The expedition sent out to the repub-
lie of Honduras by Harvard College to
explore the ruins Of the ancient city of
Copan, Boston correspondent writes,
has returned 1t was in charge Of NJ.
. II. Saville, scientific assistant to Prof.
Putnam, and J. G.. Owens. The expe-
dition started out last December, and
has been very fairly successful. 1t is
owing to the malarial season that the
expedition returns at this time, as oper-
ations could not be carried on at this
period of the year. For that matter.
Prof. Owens comes back with an attack
of the calentura. disease something
akin to chills and fever, but Professor
Saville is in the best of health The eX-
plorers returned with 81 cases OF small
er objects recovered from the ruins, 20
packages of sculpture, and six cases Of
moulds. 1t is rich collection, and
fully justifes the expedition. They
have been set up in the Peabody Nut
scum.
Where the Copan river meets the
ruins the stream has torn away large
part of the bank on which the city
stands, and so exposed to view some of
the ruins. 4 study of this exposed
surface shows the great antiqui-
ty of the remains, which Pro-
fessor Sayile thinks are older than
the ruins of any other region on the
American continent. He says the floors
and walls and their position indicate
that the structures have been rebuilt,
and he is inclined TO look upon them as
older than those Of Quirigua or
Palenque.
"What is regarded as the main struc-
ture ofthe ruins, said Professor Owens,
>'is quadrilateral in form and COM
posed ofterraces, upon which there are
houses reaching at the highest point to
40 feet. On this structure are two
very fine plazas, which Maudsley calls
the eastern and western courts.
THE expedition eXcavated several
buildings surrounding the eastern court.
and took photographs and made plans
of them. 1t also explored a building on
the western plaza and several outlying
mounds. In one of the latter it found
u number of skeletons, and some OF the
skulls Showeda Il custom of ornamenIing
the teeth by drilling holes in them and
inserting red and blue stones. In some
of the skulls the teeth had been filed so
as to make single sharp point with
shoulders In another mound sllcle-
tons were discovered in the skulls of
II. IL, !,
any ornamentation at all. 1t is thought
that the unornamented teeth belong to
latter era in point of time, and that
the skeletons in which they are orna
mented are ola very ancient date.
'North ofthe main structure is the
Plaza Granda, which, when found was
entirely covered with luXuriant
growth of underground. but has been
cleared by the expedition. This is
found to be work OF considerable de-
sign and much ornamental architecture.
In this are most of the monoliths or
idols for which Copau has become
famed. Here were found a great many
broken images. some whole ones, and
fragments without number. From the
collection made in this spot the leaders
of the expedition expect TO make ma
terial contribution to the cause OF
knowledge.
''Some tombs were opened in this Vi
cinity and excavations carried on which
resulted in the discovery Of some OBJ
iects Of great interest and many pieces
of broken pottery of very fine charac-
ter. A great number of skeletons were
also found here, but they were mostly
in q ruined condition.
The Indians in the region of the city
have wrought a great deal of havoc in
Copan since Professor Maudsley, proba
bly, the greatest living archaeologist, Wis
tied the ruins. Many of the monolths
have been seriously defaced, and the let
teringor hieroglyphs obliterated.In some
cases the arms and legs OF images have
been broken of, and even while the eX-
pedition was at Copan some of this van
dalism occurred right under the eyes Of
the professors. An instance was given
by Professor Saville where an Indian
employed by him in cxcayating, wilful
" struck his axe into the hieroglyphs
on rare stone dug up from the ruins
and greatly defaced the carvings.
In the parts of the city somewhat iso-
lated from the main ruins this has been
observed very much more than in the
centre, and the cattle tramping over the
fragments and carvings strewn all about
have assisted in the work of destruction.
The wall built around the forty acres to
be excavated has put an end to the dep
relations of the cattle, and when the
expedition came back the ruins were
left in the charge of trusty keeper.
The board of directors Of the Hondu-
ras expedition held a meeting this week
and practically decided to send another
expedition to Copan some time in No,
vember. The same gentlemen will
probably be in charge, and money is
being raised for the trip already. The
officialreport of the expedition, giving
fullidetails of the work accomplished
and the discoveries made, will not be
ready before the early autumn. if it is
as soon as that,
For Over Fifty Years