The Mt. Sterling advocate., 1893-08-29
A Remarkable Archaeological
Discovery.

AT Schlestadt, in Alsace, is very
ancient church founded about the yeal
| 1887 by the empress Hildegsrde, great
grandmother of the Emperor Frcdrick
Barbarossa. 1t was intended to be 9
reproduction of the Holy Sepulcher, al
Jerusalem, but was never completed
after the original plan, and during the
centuries since its commencement, has
been greatly neglected and suffered to
decay, and it is only Within few
years that the restoration of this inter-
esting monument has been decided
upon.
In repairing the floor of the church
an opening was found giving access
by two stairways to two subterranean
chambers. On farther exploration
these were found to contain four tombs,
three of which were empty, while the
fourth tomb, which was probably built
in the seventeenth century. was filled
with rubbish among which was a
block of mortar bearing so strong .
resemblance to a human figure that
the architect in charge caused plas.
ter cast to be taken of the impression
in the mortar, which resulted in the
head and bust of a woman who had
evidently been buried in the crypt OF
the church hundreds of years ago.
The features and expression were
wonderfully we'll preserved, and even
the texture of her clothing was visible,
Naturally, such discovery excited
the greatest interest among the Alsa-
tian arch@ologists, and after carefully
stuying the matter they have come to
the conclusion that the woman whose
features had been so strangely pre-
served to us was the daughter of the
Countess Hindegarde, the founder OF
the church. Towards the end of the
eleventh century Alsatia was ravaged
by the black plague, and history re-
cords that Hildegarde, her son Conrad
aud her daughter Adelaine all succum-
bed to the terrible malady. Evil
IDENTITY, then, the noble lady was given
the honor of church burial, notwith-
standing the panic which the pesti-
lence must have caused but to prevent
contagion, her grave was Immediately
fillen up with mortar, a method Of
burial which has had advocates, even
in the present century. The soft |
mortar took perfect imprint as il
hardened around her form, which is
retained after the body itself has
entirely decayed. In the various VIC |
issitudes of the church the grave was
disturbed, perhaps by an invading
army, and finally what remained OF
the contents were gathered together
and placed in the tomb of the seven
teenth. century, where it has been
safely preserved to the present day.
The somewhat similar imprints of
human bodies found at Pompeii will
naturally be suggested in this connec.
tion, but the conditions were very diff
ferent. The bodies of those who per-
ished in the great eruption that de-
stroyed the city were covered over with
mass of volcanic ashes, which hard
ened around them and preserved their
form nearly eighteen hundred years.
But the material was coarse, and little
but the general form of the bodies can
now be distinguished. In this me-
dieval grave, however, the grain of the
mortar was 80 fine that the features
and even the expression are we'll pre-
served; and the sad but noble counte-
nance of this medieval countess shows
her to have been worthy Of her high |
situation. Even after the lapse of
eight hundred years we can hardly |
avoid feeling of sorrow at her sad
fate, which was the indirect means of
preserving her features to future gen.
erations of mankind.-Pnpular Science
News.
Poets utter great and wise things
which they do not themselves under.