The Cairo bulletin., 1906-03-19
RELICS OF POMPE||
Remnants Of City Of Dead Seen In
Museum of Cairo Ii
brary.

| Who has not read with a feeling
indescribable, a feeling of intense awe
OF the mighty Mt Vesuvius, Of its gi
gantic outburst and Of the Jotal dis
appearance from the face of the earth
Of the two ancient cities Pompeii and
Herculaneum?
The eruption of Vesuyius which his
tory tells us occurred :h the year 10
! A. D., was preceded by but a few
| years by an earthquake. lin SO A. ID
which centering upon the i'll fated city
of Pompei. damaged cities for miles
around.
Pompeii and Herculaneum were at
that time almost destroyed and the
work of rebuilding the fallen houses,
and public buildings had not been COM
pleted when all we're buried in mael'
strom of cinders and ashes.
So completely were these unfortu-
nate cities buried under this over
whelming mass that even the sites
were forgotten, nor could even The
celebrated topCgrapher Cluyerius, in
the seventeenth century locate them
with certainty.
Systematic excavations We're begun
in the year 1855 on the site where
Pompeii was once located
These excavations are being contin.
ued with undated vigor even today
and many are the new and startling
evidences of the high and remarkable
state of civilization which existed at
that time
Relics OF that ancient city. the city
of the dead, may he seen in the mus
cum of the Cairo Public Library.
The first, which perhaps would at
tract the attention of the relic hunter
s a small lump Of idocrasc or yesu-
yianite. a mineral substance. brown.
i8h green in color and composed of
silcate Of alumina and lime, with
some iron and magnesia
II is a mineral common al Vesuyms
and is a specimen from the early erup,
tons of the volcano.
Then there are several small pieces
.Cf plaster, yes common unattractive
plaster which most persons would
perhaps pass by, with no more than
a glance Yet this same mixture Of
sand and lime, represents the work
of men who lived and died before the
writing n the New Testament before
perhaps evL the days OF the birth OF
the Savior
II is proof Of the stability Of the
ancient workman's art, for where will
you find the plasterer today who can
so mix his materials a. to make them
last 1000 years?
This plaster is covered with a coat
of paint and at one time adorned the
walls of some dwelling house or public
building in This ancient city.
And a brick another relic of Pom
pei in the early days. is here exhib-
tied. Their buildings were all made
Of either brick or stone and many
have been found intact. having with.
stood the fury of the volcano as well
as the rayages Of tine.
Then, and far more notable than any
of the other relics Of that city. perhaps,
there maybe seen several small pieces
Of stone, fiat but irregular, none of
them more than two inches long aud
remarkably unattractive. These small
bits Of stone would not perhaps at
tract the attention OF the most dis.
corning person, yet they represent
that which many cities. Cairo in par
ucular. are struggling for today. They
are not yitrifed brick-but portions
Of stone street pavement.
The streets Of Pompeli were paved
with large fiat blocks of hard basaltic
lava. fitted very close together. Even
the highway leading 10 Herculaneum
was 50 paved.
In PLACES, ruts appear in the pave
monts. 4 result Of their long continued
usuge by ancient vehicles. though in
most cases the condition Of the streets
even at the present time is almost
perfect
These arc a few Of the ancient relics
seen in oar museum, the few relative
10 Pompeii-but could those ancient
bits Of vesuvianite, plasters. brick or
stone speak-what stories they could
iell Of wealth and prosperity love and
war and The downfall and destruction
Of a once prosperous and thriving city.