The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1907-01-31

0htCA htdily luIt0 ycATS vi
enort, Prof. Waldstein has secured the
opportunity of continuing the work of
excavation of Herculaneum, which has
been attempted upon several different
occasions and then abandoned, and
now the hopes and expectations of
archaeologists is to be realized. for It
Is confidently asserted that no ancient
city could yield so rich art treasures
as those of Herculaneum.
Herculaneum is supposed to have
been founded by Hercules when, on
his return to Iberia, he landed on the
coast OF Campania, some 800 years be-
fore Christ was born, It being a
Roman city, with all the rights and
dignlties attaching thereunto.
In A. ID. GO dread Vesuvius gave evil
dence of activity. Past and gone was
the era in which old Strabo described
the lush meadows that in the days
of Augustus spread their green velvet
in the very crater itself. On the final
day of the cataclysm the whole world
seemed to be shaken with earthquake,
whose traces are seen to-day in the
cracked mosaics and villa walls of
dug-up Pompeii.
All psychologists are agreed that
the houses and villas of Herculaneum
were far more magnificent than those
of Pompeii. This has been proved by
the House of the Papyri, which was
dug out in 1854, but was afterward
recovered with debris from other ex-
cavations. This famous villa is sup
posed to have belonged to Lucius Cal.
purniu5 Piso. Here was found a
treasure in the form of a library of
nearly 1000 rolls Of papyrus, which
gave promise of far greater riches to
come.
The history of Hercuianeum shows
a series of spasmodic efforts on the
part of patriots and scientists to I'M
cover its buried wealth. Toward the
close of the fifteenth century some ac.
cidentally found fragments of mosaic
and s%tatuary led the archaeologists of
the day to think that the long-lost city
lay beneath the soil at that spot. But
not for another 200 years was any
thing made certain. In 1905 the Prince
d'Elbeuf of Lorraine came to Italy
with Philip V. and settled in the city
Of Naples, after marrying the Prince
of Salsa's daughter.
A few years later he built a beauti-
full palace near Portici, and it's most
precious ornaments were certain an
cient marbles sold to him by peasants,
who had found them while digging a
| well. Now, the Prince d'Elbeuf was a
connoisseur of no mean merit. Amazed
at the quantity and beauty of the
| antiquities that came to him so
strangely, he began to dig on his own
account, with unexpected success. His
workmen turned up several beautiful
| statues before his eyes,, and some of
them he presented to Prince Eugene
of Saxony and others to Louis XIV.
Soon the municipal authorities of
| Naples began to object to this free
booting. and stopped all further work.
The princes director had been Giu-
seppe Stendardi, who wrote a book on
the lovely objects he had found. He
| died il Florence, whittier he had to
fly for political reasons.
After this Herculaneum was let lie
for several years. The N~eapolitans
acclaimed Charles III. of Spain as
their king, and the year 1897 found a
royal palace built at Portici. Charles
was greatly interested to know that
beneath his feet there was a marvel
Gus Roman city lying intact. He be-
gan excavations, and at a depth OF
about 80 feet below the surface came
upon the long-buried city of Hercula-
neum under the miserable modern
villages of Resina and Portici.
The following year work was begun
again in the well out of which d'Elbeuf
had taken his bronzes, marbles and
terra cottas, and to the delight OF the
kingly archaelogist the workmen inn
mediately came upon the fragments
Of the far-famea Bronze Horse, now in
the Naples museum. There followed
stately statues of three Roman con
suls, together with an inscription
showing that at a certain spot was the
grand entrance to the theater of Her
culaneum. This superb structure, by
the way, was entirely excavated I'M
foreground at various times during the
following decade.
1t is worth noting that so far all
work had been carried on by military
engineers, sappers and miners. One
Of the most notable was Alcabierre,
who had come from Spain with
Charles. He entered into this work
with all the spirit and enthusiasm of a
treasure diver, but fell i'll through ex-
posture in damp tunnels. and was sue
ceeded at various times by Francesca
Zorro and Peter Baudet.
Not much was done under these;
and when Carl Weber, a Swiss, had
been at work for a few months it was