Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1897-01-22
III THE COLISEUM.


Revealed.
The excavations which have been
carried on Of late around the Col
iseum at Rome for the purpose OF
giving more complete view Of the
best preserved side OF the amphi-
theatcr, have brought TO light q
number of interesting points, says
the Independent These excava-
lions were started on the square
opposite the street leading TO St
John Latcran, and we're continued
along zone, about 30 meters wide,
around the entire monument, up to
the beginning of the new Via del
Serpenti. The ancient pavement Of
travertine, which surrounded the
amphitheater, was found at depth
of four and q half meters below the
present level This subsidiary zone
of the monument measured 17.6
meters in width. Along the edge
OF this pavement the ordinary street
pavement began, made of large
polygonal blocks of basaltic lava
The paving blocks were in part
wanting, as the ancient pavement
was mostly destroyedsin 1882, when
water conduits were put in and the
width Of the pavement could, there
fore, not be exactly determined, but
it was followed to the width Of ten
meters. The space which surround
ed the amphitheater was limited
legally to terminal cippi, or boun-
dairy stones, placed between the
area of travertine and the pavement
of the public street Five or six of
these cippi were preserved in their
original position, on the eastern
side of the monument, owing to the
fact that they were incased in the
foundations OF the ancient Church
Of S. Giacomo di Coliseo, demolished
in 1915. The cippi are of traver-
tine, and terminate in a semicircle.
Throughout this entire surround
ing area of the Coliseum Chris tian
tombs of different periods were dis
covered. They are placed at va
rious levels, some being on level of
the ancient road of the amphi-
theater, others on higher level, and
number as high as two meters
from the roadbed. 1t seems prob
able that the majority of these
tombs were connected with the
church which stood on this site, and
of which no traces remain. These
tombs are built Of tiles and covered
by caps; some of the tiles were
stamped and came from ancient
buildings which had been destroyed.
One of the latest tombs, belong
ing to group on the highest level,
dates evidently from the seventh
century, judging from an inscrip-
ton engraved on q marble slab on
the front of the tomb This in
scription closes with a formula OF
imprecation, menacing the violator
of the tomb with the punishment OF
Judas, and this very imprecation is
found in number of Inscriptions of
the seventh century, with several
changes in the wording of it. In
earlier Inscriptions of the fifth and
sixth centuries the prayer that the
tomb be not violated is never fol-
lowed by any imprecation. At the
point where the large group of these
tombs was found there was discov-
cred, in the foundations of the hole,
a large rectangular mass of traver-
tine, preserving portion of its
plaster coating, on which was g
fragment of fresco belonging to
about the eighth century. The
fresco represents two saints witt
nimbus and robed in long
tunics which are decorated with
Greek crosses. Each figure holds
his right hand raised to his breast;
the one on the right holds a crown,
The other an open book.