New-York tribune., 1899-07-23

can tufl wall Immediately east Of the pedestals'
which was the wall Of the Comitium' running
north and south -
To this gravel succeeds a layer of the most in
terestinp character one foot in thickness. and OF
n dark brown color. 1t is a layer entirely COM
posed of sacrificial material from IL nave come
the bones of eighty-five sheep. the Jaws 'cai
cincd) Of a young bull. and bones Of goats anu
boars. terra . cottas, including a beautiful
plaque" found last week, representing a horSe
man attending to his horse in low relief. ana Il
portion of a beautiful painted vase. in Greco
Campanian style; ten little bronze iigures lour
inches high archaic and quasi Egyptian in model
ard similar but rougher one. representlhE
an Augur with his "Lituus, or divlnlng wahu
more than a hundred stone weights. some rou"u
ed some square, all pierced; some bone dice IN
perfect preservation though stained green py
having been in contact with bits Of bronze; nun
dreds of fragments Of miniature clay ana terra
Gotta votive bowls and cups. and finally. frag
ments here and there of the black marble "hicn "a
SUPPLIED the pavement some two and one-haf
feet above ii.
Thus il would appear that every object founu
there has been consecrated on some great eXpl-
atory occasion. and even the chips OF the pre-
cious marble nave been purposely mingled WIN
the sacred ashes and votive offerings ana the
whole then solemnly and deliberately pouItu
around this group Of ancient monuments. tnlH
II ocus Religiosus" this legendary tomb OF the
founder of Rome-the "Locum funeStun Oh
Festus, on the top Of this again occurs one
foot layer Of tufa succeeded by debris ana accu-
OF later times Practically therefore there are
six LAYERS in ALL averaging one foot in thickness
apiece.
NATIONAL EXPIATORY OFFERINGS
The question now comes with full force upon
ne, What events in early Roman history are
known which might have occasioned such pro-
ceedings as a great national expiatory offering
In the Comitium? The answer is: AT least
there were two such events First. there was
the expulsion of the Kings; secondly. the sack
Of the city by the Gauls: on both of which occa-
Sims the sacred shrines in the Forum suffered
and had TO undergo wholesale repair ana recon
s.cration at the hands of the Pontihces. TO one
or other Of these historical crises we may conn
dentl, refer the methOdical condition OF the area
ncloSng these ancient monuments. anu w
scribed above: that is. to the sixth or to the
fourth century g. c. Meanwhile We must pa
tiontIv watch the progress of the wOrkmen as
they tunnel westward. following up the IlhcS ol
construction which (as ! mentioned previously
can he observed running toward the south angie
of the Arch of Severus Perhaps, before many
davs I NAV be able to report additional uh-
known treasures. ,.--o,
TN, .Thous' in the Regia is now quite cleaned
ont and from the last pailful Of mud came d
number moro "StyIi." making over hfty III all
but what was even more StriklnSy interesting
there lastly turned up also a back pohe Ia
t,l, " or writing tablet six inches by four in
size somewhat worn down at one corner ny the
thumb Of the holder and still showing scratches
where the wax once spread upon it had been pen
rtrated by the sharp point of me sly luS | ne
srecitnpnS Of the stylus very Orautllul' Sotne
are short and stubby. others long ana graceful
some have been favorites with their owners
others scarcely used at all. Ihelr apPedIdH
almost seems to suggest to one the characters of
tbair rasnaotive users the stewards. or attend
ants of the Sacred College Of Pontihces, the
Vatican Of B. c.