The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-11-17
ABOUT POMPEII.
Results of the Latest Researches.
What Prof Man, the Greatest Living Au-
thority on the Buried City. Says About
it in his New Book

w nat Mdu, Tic 1fedICst IA'AA@5 --~-
thority on the Buried City. Says About
it in his New Book.
[From the London Daily News.l
The city of Pompeii already existed in
the sixth century BE-, as is proved by
the remains of its Oldest public building,
the doric temple. But the date of the
first foundation of the city is quite I'M
known. 1t was inhabited by the oscans,
race whose language is imperfectly
known through some inscriptions. The
name of Pompeii is derived from a word
belonging to this ancient language, the
word "pompe" or " five" The city was
wrested from rs original inhabitants by
the Samnites, when they advanced from
the mountains to the coast in about the
year 400 B. G. The Oscans and Samnites
together, under the influence of the
neighb boring Greek colonies, developed
civilization probably far outstripping
that of the contemporary Romans. In
the years 342 and 800 c., the Samnite
wars led to the subsection of Pompei
by Rome. The city was drawn into the
Roman confederacy, during which it pre-
served its independence as to its home
affairs. 1t was only in the year so B. c.,
when the Samnites were conquered by
Rome, that Pompeii became entirely
Romanized, and colony of veterans
under P. Sulla, nephew of the then
dictator. The city was presently named
Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum
after the family name of the Dictator
Sulla and the goddess Of whom he was a
special devotea, and who then became
known as Venus sPompeiana, the tutelary
divinity of the city. AT the same time
suburb was founded, probably by the
citizens who had been driven out in
favor Of the Roman veterans, which
was named Pagus Felix, after the by
| name of the dictator, and later, in honor
of Augustus, Pagus Augustus Felix.
| The inscriptions which have been found
at Pompeii show that many state Offices
existed in pre-Roman times. There was
a Kom bennion, national assem- bly, or
Senate, it is not known which; medix
| or medix tutix, the chief of the city; a
koaisstur or quaestor, who was pro bably
| intrusted with the city treasury: and
two aidili, aediles. employed in the
| making of roads. Under the Romans,
after so B. c., there were the usual de-
| curiones, aediles and other public officers
also many priests, priestesses, ministers
and magistrates. Pompeii was built on
the point of an ancient stream Of lava,
kor 81 IL
| full-fiowing river Sarnus The city was
| the natural southeastern port of the
plain through which the river flowed.
| The sea was then not more than l 500
feet distant from the city, the river serv-
| ing as harbor. On the banks of the
| From the busy port were exported not
only the produce of the country in the
| interior, but also the products of the
| plain itself, namely, wine and vegeta-
| bles. The lava was cut into millstones,
which formed large article of export
in the second century BE-; but later
on this source of profit ceased to be cul-
tivated, and millstones were even i'm
ported into Pompeii from abroad. The
harbor town grew more and more
wealthy, from the fact that the Roman
aristocracy, attracted by its beautiful
situation and fine climate, began to set
| Tie in the environs. The inhabitants OF
Pompeii at that time numbered probably
&c, 0UO.
| 1t will be remem cred that the volcanic
mountain on the slopes of which Pom
| peii stood re- awoke, after ages of mac
tivity, in the year 63 AID, when many
buildings in the city were damaged OF
| destroyed. Traces of the eartho uakt
| that happened then are still to he seer
in the excavated city. Then in 70 A.D.,
came the awful eruption which, while
the people were still repairing the dam
age done in GO, buried the city to a deptt
of more than six feet, in small pumict
stones, and, some time later, with rair
| of ashes to a similar depth. Those
| pumice stone and ashes were not rec
hot, as is generally believed, as the WOOD
which has been found seemingly carbon
| lied has only been thus changed BY
| chemical processes. Traces of rea. burn
| luS Ou Iuo HuIal paintings dfo very
easily distinguished from the red tin,
which, in some unexplained way, over
spreads great portion of the wall paint
ings where these have come in contac
with the ashes. The manner in which
Herculaneum was buried was verl
different, for there the pumice and ashes
do not lie in regular strata, as in Pompei
but are mixed together in sort O.
muddy paste, which, hardened into ston,
during the course of time, make excava
ton difficult. A fter the catastrophe tn,
upper stories of the houses in Pompei
p1otruded above the ashes, Showing
where the city lay. Digging in iarg
scale then took place, and building
material and valuab BILE. objects were car
ried away. All the marble, except yer.
few fragments, was removed in ancien
times. Later on the remaining uppe
stories of the houses were destroyed b!
time, as very little of them has beef
found. In IS A. d. most of the inhabi
| tontc ascanad r. has haap ooIou1oto 70.