The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-04-18

in this year 423 there were an extraordi-
| nary number of DEATHS in the leading
| families of Rome Some said they were
/ due to pesnlence others that poison was
| the cause; and, this last opinion prevailing
| 10 women were condemned for the crime.
This was a prodigy quite sufficient TO
call for the election of Dictator Calvi
| fgendi caussa- Originally thes nails dri-
ven into the wall Of the temple OF Jupiter
| Capitolinus, had several as calander of
the years. but with the elapse of time
they were used only on very special occas-
ions such as this OF the year 423.
| The result of the work on the Basil
lea Aemilia have been comparatively spea-
king very satisfactory. Considerable re-
mains of the original building have been
found and still more extensive traces of
later reconstructions. Naturally. hardly
anything of the superstructure has ben
| left, but nothing was expected. The ear
lier remains consist at the foundations.
| and one base block of corner pier of
collonnade running between SAINT Adriano
| and the Temple of Faustina: opposite the
columns were solid spur walls connected
with one main wall of the central space
or the Basilica. These spur walls divid-
i ed the space into small chambers After
| the destruction Of the original building.
the site continued to be used: the walls
were patched up. pavements of varid
| marbles Csome of them we'll perserved)
were put down in the small chambers,
and and another colonnade erected. but
in qface Of the large marble shafts, much
smaller, and consequently more numer-
Gus. shafts of granite were employed It
is not certain to what epoch this latter
construction belongs. but the style of the
work suggests the time of Theodore
This colonnade was originally (and prob
ably in the recons truetion) matched by
another on the northern sideor the Basil
ilica, which is still however, under grou-
nd. What the two ends Of the building
We're like Is not certain.
Two results Of the clearing Of the Bas-
ilica are noteworthy. One Of these are
that the Argiletum, the street runningbe-
! tween the Cura and the Basilica must
/ have been very morrow. The other IS,
that Notwithstanding the well-ment at
tempts that continue TO be made to re-
concile with existing faces the well kno-
Wen drawings by various Renaissance ar
chitects of Roman-Doric remains found
near SAINT Adriano in the sixteenth CEN
| tnry, the exact relation of these drawings
! to the buildings in this part of the For
| UNI is by no means clear. It SENS more
than likely that the architects did not
know enough archaeology to interpret
what they saw correctly, and that their
drawings are more or less worksof mag
nation.
!
mentswere found in and about the Basil
| lea, but only a few of them were of
much interest. In the sewer which, after
coming from the upper stretches of the Sa-
era Via, passes in front OF the Basilica
Aemilia, were laying among many other
pieces of architecture or sculpture, two
| fine slabs Of the early Empire. They are
about 4x219 feet, carved with acanthus
scrolls, from each center of which springs
a lion, horse, panther. or other animal.
| They were originally probably used to
| decorate same wall as similar slabs are
| used in the Dortico Of the Pantheon, but
whether. they were a part of the deco
ration of the Basilica or not cannot be
| told with certainty. One fine bit that did
with little doubt. did belong to the Basil
| lea, is fragment of a metope decorated
with oatera The style of cutting re-
sembles that Of the boucranion found la
st sprong, so that it is probable that they
both belong to the same epoch of the
tiful bit of decorative sculpture found
| close to the same SPOT is a. fragment,
abont six feet high, of rectangular pill
| lar, all four sides carved with foliate de-
| signs Of which the low relief and the stro-
ng but delicate modelling point 10 the
Augustan age. It is to the Augustin age
also, that, the most interesting or the in
scriptions found belongs. 1t reads: 81
lucioI Caesari AugustiF ilioI Divi Nlepoti
Il Principi Juventutis Co INSULT desig
Inatot cum esset ann osI nat lus XIII
Aug inri senatus." In the Res Gestae"
of Augustus there IS a reference to the
adoption Of Lucius by the Emperor and
to the honors granted him, and to this
event the inscription, Of course refers.
In one of the chambers Of the Basilica
was found a horde of late bronze coins.
but oxtdized SO much as to be OF little
value. Another much more interesting
hoard, consisting OF 397 aurii, all but one
Of the fifth century. was discovered in the
House of the Vestals This find added an
other item to the long list Of evidence
showing the extremely clusal manner in
which the earlier excavations of the For
UNI was conducted. When the work rea-
ched this part Of the Forum the House
Of Vestals was properly examined. This
brought to light among other things, a
brick pavement in the mosaic nenow
visible. and two elaborate pavements Of
opus sectile in the chambers at the south
east cornor of the building in the well
Of one of these chambers Signor Boni no
ticed the traces Of an arehed opening that
had been blocked up. Having cleared this
passage was disclosed leading in the d.
rection or the church Of 6. Mari Liberia
trice In this passage were the coins.
Three hundred and forty-fve Of them
were Of the reign Of Anthemius (iSs-47Z) /
ten were OF his wife Eu2hamia. ard
tventy-four Of Leo Lwho was from AZ
IA Emperor Of the Eastern Empire. As
all the coins were very fresh II is not
unlikely that they were hidden in the
year ~ when. in July, Ricimer with !.
his army Of the northern barbarlans. /
besieged and sacked the city.
The work IN the Forum f. by 10 ways /
completed. but what remains 70 be done I
is chiefly finishing what had been already /
started. The most important undertaking I
now under way IS the clearing or the site
OF the church Of S. Mari Liberstrice. /
The building has been torn down. and 4
hopes are entertained q finding interest
ing remains q the earlier churches that 4
stood On this spot. or getting some light .
On the classic topography o. this corner 4
--Ao-- r.sa.F-a a-A E-r~--r, E1s-es -