New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-06-04
THE EXCAVATIONS AT ROME.
RESULTS OF THE RECENT ARCHEOLoGl-
CAL WORK IN THE FORUM


por,e correspondence Of The London News.
When the Pelloux Ministry was formed at the
end OF June and Signor Bacelli became Minister OF
Public Instruction. 1t was assumed neu p ~ nusb for
ward the work OF excavation ana arrahstne". "a
the classical remains In the Forum S Masui T,acaui
for all that belongs to the history OF hone WOu
be sufficient TO overcome the ooJecuons 'ei '"'" -
be raised on the score of expense 49, ,,,, an.
4 remember walking around the Palatine IN ON, one
HOT morning in July and hearing the speculation,
be done II Signor Bacelll had his way. had enough
money at his disposal. and remained Ions e"'"e'
in office 10 carry through his plans. o,,o,tors
Signor Baceli did not dlsapp9nt r. Sscoy
but great proportion OF the credit Tor the as,Tr
cries lately made is due TO Signor Boni a venetian
engineer and architect who is animated py pa" IN
nart,cuiar The means at his disposal were small,
being only 1000 lire dess than f2co ana wnen ~ -
IN conjunction with the fact that the gilt letters
placed the Pantheon during Slsn9r hat on
Tho nresent occasion Italy has obtained soou Is
suits at cheap price and with an aofence Oh Joo-
Firs, 81 all below the floor Of the Temple OF
yesta four brick walls were discovered PrJ1paApy,
but In the time OF Hadran). when FORM kmu
chamher searchers for marble In the slkteensn
century may have spoiled one OF the dnnos,,orv
chamber is supposed to have served as % ,aE en-
for The ashes OF the sacred fire, when were 'ahoh
from the temple once year. -, ... ,os. =,
No discoveries. properly so called were inner ~
this site which stands at the .2s
ne house Of The S Nes'S basos Of Columns and pas
ters were replaced I'm their original positions, u
In no neighbOrhO0d or tnls
lmnortant discoveries began In front OF me tenl
ple was wall built Of tufa Between that wnIi a1.
the bs co1e OF Of the the base Of the column
which after Caesars murder. was set up parenu
natrig This column was built Of the marble known
s giao antIco The core OF the base Is made ot
concrete formed with chips OF gallo antco ah h, U
gray Carrara marble. The fact OF THIS oase oeins
*" ySonoretn seems 10 show according 10 some
archaeological authorities. that the iraBhentS NV
found must be a reconstruction ana NOT tne orie
til one "a concrete was not used at the time or
Julius Cesar 49,, xooors,ruc,ed Temple
80 I,,ius cesar have been found in retaining
wall which forms a kind OF embankment 10 tnat
into the wall unfortunately. as were also sew,
eral pieces of the Basllica Emilia ono o, 'mesu
nnnii decorated With bulls skull boucranon
The wall or embankment in which these BLOCKS
s,rtapiv interesting remains but excavations have
had TO be suspended or account OF prT,es' sh
wretched little houses which stand on the brow OF
the embankment itself The only way ose os ,ne
nriate these tumble-down buildings and remove
them Here chance toI %eS bnyss ons make
| present of them to the archaeological authorities
oN,cer IapIs in Comiro locum funes,um
signifcat ut all Romu mort destinatum
/ r.ro,o restus the commentator OF the writings OF
/ Fiaccus The Comltium was a kind OF open;alr
| ate Near the Comtium Sgnor Boni found black
stone rather pavement OF black marble tnres
extent. The slabs Of black stone are very thick.
| The pavement itself was protected by a curb OF
| travertno. or ordinary Roman stone and In the
fourth or NTH century a marble fence was erected
around the curb. which evidently Implies that some
| tradition OF sanctity hung about the spot. As the
use OF black marble for such purposes IL most un'
| usual there can scarcely be any doub, that this
/ black stone Ia what called In the old days
| "The Tomb Of Romulus." The origin OF the stone
is st uncertain In order to settle the question as
to it's geological classification. Sgnor Boni has had
| one fragment polished-a process which has rem
dered II perfectly evident that the stone Is marble
| Whether II came from Greece or from the Pyrenees
| is uncertain. but in many chateaux In Savoy re
| member having seen chimney pieces made OF mar
| bic from n quarry In the Savoy Alps OF precisely
| similar black marble. with veins arranged In ex-
| actly the same way, except that they were yellow
| in color instead Of being white like the veins Of
! the Niger Laps." Explorations are being care
| fully made under the Niger Lapis In the Forum
| and Signor Bon Is convinced that constructions al
| some kind exist beneath II. What they are is not
| yet certain but shall know before long. Quite
| close 10 the Niger Lapls have been found numerous
| medieval wells which being pumped out
| These wells are lined with fragments OF marble
| much OF II ninth-century work. probably taken
| from the original Church OF Sergio and Bacco
These wells show how short the supply Of water