The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-08
CALIGULA.s TWO YACHTS.
Lake Nemi to De Emptied to Reach
Their Contents.
From the New York Sun.

| two ships of the Emperor Caligula, which
! have remained buried for two centuries
/ at the bottom OF Lake Nemi. in Latium.
| The existence of these vessels was sus-
| pected as early as the fifteenth century,
and futile attempts were made at different
/ times to investigate and if possible to
| bring to the surface these semi-mythical
/ constructions. Local traditions in regard
| to the vessels at the bottom of the lake
were kept alive by the occasional appear
| ance on the surface of the water of OBJ
| jects thrown up from the mass of timber
below, and by pieces caught in the fisher
mems nets. The first scientific attempt
| to raise the sunken vessels bodily was
made in 1446 by the famous architect of
| the renaissance, Leon Battista Alberu,
| who undertook the work at the nstigation
| of Cardinal Prospero Colonna. This at
! tempt to raise one of the ships had an
unfortunate ending, for the vessel broke,
| and only the prov was brought to the
surface and carried to Rome. The second
| attempt was made in 1885 by the architect
| De march, and a certain William of LorN
raine, who invented an apparatus for de-
| scending into the lake. In 1887 third
| trial was made by Annesio Fusconi, who
| succeeded in bringing to the surface a
/ large number of fragments of terra Gotta,
| marble, different kinds of fine wood,
metal etc Some of these objects were
The theories current at the time of the
| Renaissance with regard to these YES
| sells were varied and fantastic. One writ
| er asserts that a palace had been seen,
| built upon the deck of one of the ships
| According to another writer the objects
which were found belonged to a villa built
/ by Caligula on the borders of the lake.
| The fancy of the Renaissance writers ran
| riot and depicted a magnificent construc-
ton, decorated with gold and other metals,
| while the pavement was incrusted with
| mosaics. The architect Alberti, who led
| the first scientific attempt to raise the
vessels, attributed them to Trajan, while
| his biographer, Mancini, assigned them to
| the time of TiberiuS. Afterward Nib
| BIZ. in his "Analsi," asserts that what lay
| mbedded in the mud were the foundations
| of the villa built by Caesar on the borders
| of the lake and described by Suetonius
| Even in the present day, at least during
| the early stages of the excavations in 1895
| some critics went so far as to declare
| these remains to be not real vessels but
| constructions built to satisfy the caprice
| of the emperor, marine palaces or pleas
ure villas rising above the water level
| and resting on foundations in the SEM
blance of ships.
But all doubts and questions as to the
| character of the great mass of timber
| which has lain for centuries in the thick
mud of the lake have been finally solved
| by the recent Investigations carried on
| under the superintendent of the engineer
| Vittorio Malfatu, man of thorough
| learning in all matters concerning naval
| engineering. Signor Malfatu shows be-
yond question that these are veritable
| ships of Roman origin.
| The first contract for excavations in the
lake and on its borders was made by Sig
| nor Eliseo Borgh with the Orsini family
| to whom the lake and its neighborhood
| belong. The attention of the Italian min
istry was almost at once called to the
| operations and the work placed under the
strictest official supervision.
| The divers first reported that they
found an ancient vessel moored to a dou-
| BILE dock on both sides. This vessel meas
| ured more than 60 meters in length and
| 20 meters in width, and was capable of
| sailing and drifting. A second large YES
sell measuring Il meters in length and
"A meters In width, was afterward discov-
cred lying more to the south and further
out in the lake. Both vessels are in
| such good preservation that they could by
| careful and scientific management be
raised and transported onto dry land.
Many fragments have been recovered be-
| longing principally TO the first ship, which
artistcally, was by far the more import
| ant of the two although in construction
| and beauty of workmanship both are Won
| derfuI specimens of the shipbuider's art
| The most valuable fragments have been
deposited IN the villa of Prince Orsini al
| Genzano.
The first objects which came to light
were superb bronzes, lion heads holding
| in their teeth ring, wolf heads larger
| than life and a beautiful Medusa head.
| These bronzes evidently served origin
| ally for castings on the ends of rectangu-
lar beams, and in the case of the lion
| heads as tops of hitching posts on the
| pier They are of the finest workman
CHI IN OR
| of the first century, and are in remark
| ably perfec- state of preservation. After
ward portions of the structure and rem
| nants of the deck were brought to the
| surface; a beautiful transenna clathrata,
or openwork screen, cast in bronze, a
| bronze arch frame, and a quantity of
| cubes or glass paste and slabs of porphyry
| and serpentine cut extremely thin, which
| were evidently used in a mosaic pavement
of marvellous opus sectile work. This
| mosaic flooring must have been ever more
| beautiful than that which decorated the
palace Of Caligula on the Palatine, where
| only marbles were used. Next were dis
| covered parts of the hull and the prov,
| and many fragments of the wooden struc-
| ture. Among the objects deposited In the
| villa of Prince Orsini are the following:
| Six heads of uprights and beam heads pro-
jeeting horizontally from the ship, all Of
| magnificent bronze work, some circular
| others rectangular in shape ribs OF
bronze, in four sections, each a meter
| long; large quantities of nails and plates
of bronze, forming very probably the COW
| ering Of the hull; and a bronze grating,
which may have been meant to give light
to the deck. Among the fragments from
| the decoration of the floor and sides or
| the ship are many pieces of mosaic and
| enamel In circles and discs, besides 700
square pieces of terra Gotta in which
were imbedded ornaments Of porphyry
| and serpentine. There were also found
many bronze objects, including round cas-
tors. doubles parts of the touches ttri-
| clnia), ana two large bolards and "A num-
Der of wine jars and lamps In terra Gotta.
The second ship was constructed at the
same time and Ian the same manner as the
| first although with somewhat less mag
! nihcence IL was covered with sheets
OF lead. and was also ornamented with
| mosaic pavement and bronze tiles. But,
| unlike the first vessel. II seems not to
! have been decorated with many orua-
mental hronzes OF Importance, although
one bronze beam-head In high relief OF
exquisite workmanship was discovered az
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