The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1903-06-11
DIGGING UP ANCIENT SECRETS.

DIGGING UP ANCIENT SECRETS.
Many cities of the ancient world
that for centuries have been barred
beneath the debris and dust of the
ages that followed their destruction,
are now yielding their secrets to the
hammer and shovel of the arch@olo-
gist, and many interesting discoveries
are being constantly recorded.
A tailor's bill nearly 5000 years old
is one of the quaintest finds that the
Nippur expeditions Of the University
of Pennsylvania have ever made.
| THIS bill is on limestone tablet, and
the clothes that it describes were tenn
pie robes-a kings gift to his priests.
In ALL ninety-two. robes are mentioned
ON the tablet. Among the items are :
Twelve white robes of the temple,
eleven of the house of his lady, ten
collars of the house of his lady, ten
| pure gold collars, thirteen white robes,
four scented robes. Many of the
words Of the inscription are indie
clpherable. Archeologists think that
these are technical words, peculiar to
certain parts of dress, words like, for
instance such terms of the modern
dressmaker as applique, herring
boning," piping, " passementerie"
and "swatch. -
While digging the foundations for
the new statue of Kolokotrones, the
famous "klepht and warrior" the
workmen have discovered fragment
of the ancient wall of Athens and
tomb of the first century, B. O., con-
tanning number of valuable objects.
Sixteen tombs of the Roman period,
a wall covered with frescoes and an
ancient inscription have been I'M
earthed by the German excavators at
Orehonienos which has now been COM
pletely eXcayated. The French are
about to resume their excavati ons in
the island of Tenos.
Letters from the German exploring
party in Mesopotamia state that the
work of excavatIng the site of ancient
Babylon is proceeding most satisfac-
torily. The great gate of Nebuchad-
nezzar's palace has been cleared of
rubbish and its stately dimensions re-
vealed. Numerous inscribed bricks
have also been found. In one place
there were 225 with closely written
cuneiform inscriptions, believed to
be fragments of some public library.
They are from the very earliest period
of Babylonian history. Six hundred
cases of glazed tiles have been made
ready for shipment to Germany. They
bear most elaborate designs, and are
from the gate of ACKNOWLEDGMENT S
palace and from sacred professional
avenue.
Two more tombs of the earliest
Roman period have been found in the
Forum near the Temple of Antony and
Faustina, which has now been thor
oughly explored. Both contained hui
man remains, one of a skeleton of a
child four or five years old, and the
other that of an infant who had not
reached the period of dentition' These
were found encased in collins hewn
| from the trunks of two oak trees.
| The collins have now been transferred
| to the convent of Santa Francesca
| Romano, which is being converted
into a museum. Inside the coffin of
the eldest child were an ivory bracelet
and cincture. Numerous metal or
naments and paste pearls adorned the
shroud Of what was seemingly fe-
male corpse. On three shelves around
the graves stood ten vases of Aryan
and Archipelagan type. In one of
these have been found the vertebrae
and ribs of a sea bird and some grape
seeds, whose presence is attributed to
sacrificial reasons. Both sepulchres
may date from the eleventh century
before Christ, but are certainly not
later than the eighth.
According to report from Prof.
Sellin of Vienna ON the results of his
expedition to Palestine he has made
most important discoveries in the
plain of Jezreel. These include bronze
and copper weapons, jewelry, such as
pearls and amulets, also two statues
of the goddess Astarte, said to be
unique specimens, never before found
in Palestine He also unearthed a
large number of tablets covered with
cuneiform inscriptions