The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-04
N BURIED CARTHAGE
Priceless Art Treasures of the
Ancient World
EQUAL TO VENUS De MILO
Found in a Vault, Sealed Up
by Pagan Priests.

have been unearthed in the ruins of an
Gent Carthage
One statue is that OF the African Ceres,
the goddess Of corn and tillage, who was
thaginians, because Northern Africa,
where they dwelt, was in their time the
grain field of the civilized world.
This work is only one Of many which
has recently been discovered at Car
thage. They are the most splendid
treasurers Of classical art which have
been discovered within this generation.
They are relics of a civilization that
has been dead for two thousand years.
They come 10 light to remind US Of
lost art that is greater than any we pos
sess today, to remind US of a splendid
civilized world that persisted before mod
ern art and thought crept out Of the
darkness.
Compare this head Of the statue of
Ceres with that of the Venus de Milo and
you will perceive that they are worthy
! to rank together. Both have a fidelity
to nature combined with a grandeur, a
no artist can ever hope to excel.
Carthage was one of the great cities Of
the ancient world from the time of its
foundation by Dido and the Phoenicians,
| in the ninth century before Christ, down
| to its destruction by the Saracens in the
ninth century Of the present era At
| one time 1t was the greatest and richest
city in the world. It's destrucitno by Sci
pic, the Roman, only marked a tempo
rary decline of its fortunes.
Its site is at present occupied by the
city of Bizerta in Tunis, now under
French protection. Ancient Carthage has
| been erased to an extraordinary degree
more so, perhaps, than any great city of
antiquity. This is due to the barbarity
of the Mohammedan conquerors. Until
recently the only visible remnants Of the
ancient city were an arch and a building
used as a Roman Catholic monastery.
| NJ. Gauckler, an eminent archeologist,
/ has been conducting an excavation of
the site of ancient Carthage under the
authority of the French government
For some months he was exploring the
great temple of Jupiter Ammon, and it
is here that he has made the wonderful
discoveries already referred to.
In the very fartherest corner of the
temple, in the very lowest stratum of
superimposed ruins, M. Gauckler came
upon four statues of white marble that
were in almost perfect condition.
Three of them were evidently works Of
the highest type of Greek art while the
fourth, yelled goddess, was not so finely
executed. OF the three statues, the most
beautiful represents the Greek goddess
Demeter, known to the Romans as Ceres
Africana, who replaced the Phoenician
Tanit at Carthage. A second statue also
represents Ceres and a third is that Of a
priestess, young woman entirely draped
in transparent wells.
The marble is of golden tint and of
very fine grain. The art is so perfect
that the figures create the Illusion of life
even today. Their state of preservation
is perfect.
The statues had been concealed at the
back Of vault, which was afterward
carefully filled in and covered with mosaic
which entirely concealed ITS existence. NJ.
Gauckler makes the curious conjecture
that they were hidden by the priests of
Jupiter Ammon and Ceres to hide them
from the Christians who were then be-
coming dominant in Carthage. Paganism
never regained its power, however, and
the statues remained hidden for centu-
ries so serve only as memento to a
lost civilization to the modern world
NJ. Gauckler made his excavations near
the cisterns of Bordj-Djedid, in ground on
the side of a hill leased to him by the
Ben Altar family. This ground extends
between the great cutting in which Yer
nay, in 1885. found the first Carthaginian
tombs and the Punic acropolis of
Douimes, and which has since been ex-
plor ed with great success by Father De-
lattre. This region is one Of the most
| important of Carthage. Successive van
ished civilizations have here left traces
which appear in the form of euperposed
strata of sediment frPm twenty-three to
| twenty-five feet in thickness.
Upon clearing the ground he at first
met with various debris that had been
| brought to the surface by the plough,
| such as terra Gotta facing tiles. coins,
etc. Beginning at a depth of FIVE feet.
| Byzantine tombs were found. Beneath
| this were a few structures of this epoch.
| and, among others, a Roman house ap-
parently dating back TO the period of
| Constantine. although it contained debris
! of more remote era.
This house IS very interesting. In the
/ center of it is a fountain which spurts
/ into a basin. Further along there are
| two rooms paved with mosaic. The larg-
| err Of the mosaics which is 13x19 feet
represents a maritime landscape In the
centre there Is a turreted pavivovIvvvvvv
/ centre there is a turreted pavilion shad-
ed with trees, while all around are num-
erous Carthaginians fishing or boating
/ The fishermen are seen handling the
scoop and the lines, casting the net and
| happening poulps with the trident. At
the lower part of the picture there are
grouped arious mythologic scenes. Am
| phitrite, bedecked with jewels. contem-
| lates herself in a mirror. and comes out
OF a huge shell which IS held BY two
! monsters Of the deep. On each side there
| are medauions representing. In half
length bust. a male and a female triton
/ blowing conches. The second mosaic Is
smaller. and represents a hunt for Wild
/ beaosts. From the style and drawing we
can hardly assign these movements 20 a
| period remoter than the fourth century.
They are mosaics OF the Christian epoch.
There IS one. however. OF which the
subject Is Of purely pagan inspiration
The reason OF this is simple: After the
two mosaics had been taken up and car
RED 10 the Museum Of Bardo Il was
found that they concealed structures that
were more ancient and entirely covered
with rubbish Upon removing the latter
a narrow passage and the steps OF a
stairway were discovered Upon de-
| scensinE these q very remarkahle hsll