The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-06-07
SOMETHING OF PomrElI.
Ancient Roman City to Be Reproduc-
 ed Here This WeeA.

| Ancient Roman City to Be Reproduc-
 ed Here. This Weex.
 The production in Montgomery this week of Pains Last Days of Pompeif' revtves interest fin that ancient city. ] The city of Pompeii was situated on the 1 Bay of Naples immediately at the foot of l Mount VeSuvius. The celebrity of Pom | peii is due to the peculiar circumstance | of its destruction by an eruption. of the volcano of that mountain in 79 A. D. and of its rediscovery in, modern times.
 Of the previous history of Pompeii com 1 paratively little Is known. It was one or the last cities of Campania reduced by the Romans. under whose dominion 1t passed about 91 B. C., and there. Rome established a military colony under Sulla as dictator, and the inhabitants rapidly | became Romanized, and became the fa- vorite resort of leading nobles of Rome, many of them built villas there. Among | the most prominent of these was Cicero, in whose letters are frequent allusions | to Pompeii the favorite place of his oc- l casional residence.
 Pompeii was frequently subjected to disaster from earthquake shocks. It was just recovering from one and repairing the damage incident thereto when the appalling disaster of 79, A. D., occurred. For unknown ages Vesuvius had been slumberng. Suddenly 1t burst into vi- lolent eruption, burying the two cities or iHerculaneum and Pompeii under dense beds of cinders and ashes. Pompeii was not buried like Herculaneum' in a solid mass of solid stuff but merely covered with bed of lighter substances, cinders, ashes, small stones and matter of that sort thrown out by the volcano. and fall ing on the doomed city The material covering the city is of depth of from eighteen to twenty feet, and 1t was the production of one eruption. This coV- ering is divided into two distinct strata, the lower layer consisting of ashes and small volcanic stones, the upper Of line white ash, which from the action of the water from above took molds of objects upon which it lay. like clay or plaster of Paris.
 Pompeii was so completely buried by this volcanic mass that its very existence was forgotten It was not discovered un- til HAS, when accident led to its reVela- tion, and the fact that beneath the sur face of the earth lay far more interest ing revelations than had come from the excavation of Herculaneum, but 1t was not until 1775 that any systematic search was made for the ruins.
 At the beginning of the nineteenth cen tury the French Government began search of a regular character which pro- gressed under the rule of the Bourbon Kings from 1915 to 1861.
 l The town was situated on a rising ground of small elevation not more than a mile from the rise of the outer cone of Vesuvius. This ennence itself was of lava origin. The city was on the sea- shore. although now its ruins are more than a mile distant
 The forum was the principal point of interest in the city and was surrounded by public buildings of a commanding chara cter It was about 160 yards in length and thirty-five in breadth. The | btYiI in hA eff at the north end of the forum and 1t was known as the Temple of Jupiter Nearby Were the called Pantheon, which some believe to have been a meat market, the house of the City Council called the Senaculum, a temple of small dimensions called the Temple of Mer- cury. and on the street known as the street of SilVersmlths, d large and beau tiful building. which resembles a basillca
 The south end of the forum was occu- pied by the law courts. while the west side is occupied by a basilca and d temple. Neither the size of the public buildings or the materials of which they were built are exceeded by what might be expected in a town of the second class. Among the most conspicuous buildings in the town were the theaters of which there were two, one of which was cased r with marble and had marble seats for the audience. There were barracks ad- joining the theater for the giadiators. The public baths and the cattle mar ket both occupied extensive buildings.
 But the. light thrown on the life of the times is more fully shown in the homes of the people and the shops. The houses were not. more than two stories high. There can be no doubt that there Were glass windows in most of the. houses In the modern excavations of Pompeli and HerCulaneum many beautiful works of art have been found, but no manu- scripts. Inscriptions on walls and over doors have been found in great numbers from which comes most of the informal tion concerning the municipal life of Pompei
 Montgomery is going to have Pompeii as d visitor shortly. Not the Pompeii ; referred to above, but Pains Pumpen, which has become almost famous as the original city which was situated on the Bay of Naples and swept from exist ence by the eruption of VesuVus
 Vesuvius will also be in Montgomery and perform a similar feat in the scenic :, city of Pompeii It will be most realistic too, but when 1t is understood the Mont r gomery Vesuvius will blow it's head of five times during the week and the same |, Romans revive and frolic about each oi the five times, without doubt the visit of the Vesuvius of 1903 will find a hearty welcome in Montgomery.
 l Pains Last Days of Pompeii promises | to be an exceptional treat.
 The Baseball Association Grounds nGs been selected as the site for Pains pro duction, and the engagement will com , mence Tuesday, June 3, and close June |