Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-24

stalls were erected and It became the head
quarters for bankers and money changers.
a sort Of market place; the courts of justice
afterward sat there, political meetings were
held there, and 1t became popular prom
enade.
Retained It's Pre- Eminence..
AS Rome grew and business developed.
other forums and market places multiplied.
but the Forum of Romulus always retained
its pre-eminence till 1t became the focus
Of imperial power, the stage upon which
statesmen appeared, and the center OF the
civilized world 1t was surrounded by vast
and sumptuous palaces, temples and other
buildings. the costliest and most magnih-
cent ever erected by human hands, ana
inclosed affairs for the worship OF the vari-
Gus divinities upon whom the Romans de-
pended for happiness and prosperity.
The most interesting of the ancient affairs
is dedicated to 1.-The Unknown GOd"-not
that which Paul refers to. but shrine to a
divinity which was believed to be more
powerful than any other and whose name
and existence were secrets known only to
the priests of Rome. The secrets were SO
precious that the emperor himself was not
permitted to know the name of this god.
and 1t was passed down from generation
to generation of the high priests who con-
Quoted the worship. When the invocation
was made 1t was of course necessary to
mention the deity to whom it was adj
dressed. but, as a precaution, to prevent
the name from becoming known to the
enemies of Rome, 1t was customary to
drown the voice of the priest by the sound
of jinglng bells. The hem of the robe of
the pl lest was covered with little bells. and
when he came to that place in his prayer
he would shake them, and the tinkling
was louder than his voice. Thus was the
name of the most powerful and important
OF all the deities kept from the knowledge
of the people for ear it would be discov-
"a Of he nff ar,I
fear the sod would be annoyed by the pc
titions of the people generally. Hence it
was THE Unknown God"
Another ancient altar disclosed in the
forum is dedicated ITO Whatever God or
Goddess This Place May Be Sacred"
There is doubtless an interesting story con-
nected with this relic of the past. The
superstitious Romans took no chances. If
there was deity anywhere around they
worshiped 1t. and evidently somebody some
how suspected that one had been over
looked.
Accumulation Of Debris.
1t is often asked how these affairs and
temples and other structures of ancient
Rome that occupied the Forum came to be
buried under so much earth, for the pave
ment was fifty feet below the surface. 1t
was because of a lazy custom of the people.
who never cleared their ruins away Each
INVASION OF barparians, each civil war and
Caused the destruction of temples, palaces,
triumphal arches monuments towers,
fortresses and other bu ldlngs, which, as
they felI covered the soil with crumbling
stone and debris, ana it was easier to level
1t over than to haul the rubbish away The
ruins OF the architecture of one century
served as foundation for the next, and
the accumulation continued in 1885, when
Charles V of Spain, who was Emperor OF
Germany and the head of what was known
as the holy Roman empire, the great cham
plon or CathOl c.S-n and defender of the
faith, visited Rome. Pope Sextus built a
road for him to enter the city, and tore
down three churches and more than 20
houses so that he could pass through the
arches of Constantine Titus and Severus
upon straight broad street The re-
mains of the buildings destroyed were
dumped upon the Forum. 1t was then a
desert spot, the dumping ground of all
Rome for centuries, a dusty, open space
upon which rubbish continued to acc lmu-
late until the remains of ancient grandeur
were buried fifty feet below the surface. 1t
was a melancholy and dangerous spot
Nobody dare go there at night, and in the
seventeenth century the mun.c ipal govern
ment of Rome utilized it as a cattle mar
ket. For that reason it was called til,
Campo Vacchino until three generations
ago.
Antiquarians used to mourn; romano
writer's used to rave; poets used to write
odeS and painters used to portray the desc
late appearance of the famous place By
ron described it; Claude Lorraine painted
the Forum as 1t appeared in the middle of
the eighteenth century in picture that is
familiar to everyone, showing the solitary
columns that rose proudly above the debris.
The popes and historians frequently talked
about clearing the dirt away from the most
memorable spot in Europe, but nothing was
done, and even Raphael and Michael Ange.o
robbed the ruins OF the imperial palaces
upon the surrounding hills of their beauti-
full columns and carved marble adorn the
palaces of the cardinals at the other end OF
town.
Excavation Begun.
1t was not until 1929 that antiquarians
began to eXcavate around the half-buried
columns to what was at their base, and
it was not until 1870 that systematic sci
entific work was attempted. This was done
in obedience to decree by King Victor
Emmanuel by Professor Pietro Rossa a
distinguished archaeologist and conscientious
investigator. Many mistakes were made,
many important facts We're lost for the
lack Of some one to make a record of the
daily discoveries.
No official record whatever was kept. and
all our information is due to a young
Frenchman named Dytert, who was pres
ent as an ANA teur observer, and followed
the workmen day by day noting their
progress in his diary and Illustrating it
with sketches. Later the government
tabIished a department of antiquities and
fine arts under a director general Profess
Sor Florelli, to whom the world owes 4
great debt because of his careful and skill
full excavations at Pompeii. Professor
F1orelli organized his department upon
scientific basis and conducted the excava-
tons of the Forum in q systematic manner
until five years ago, when he was succeeded
by Professor Boni Venetian, who Is an