Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-12-15
POMPEII
FOUND IN ALGERIA
TIMeAD, FOUNDED BY -RAJAn,
YIELDS MANY INTEREST
ING RELICS.
GREAT MONASTERY DISCOVERED
BEAUTIFUL MosAlcs
UNEARTHED.
Rene Fage in Paris Illustrator.

OSdu 1OE many ESHLuIl6Ss us ElLe
forgotten and it's name preserved only
in certain ancient writings, Tinsad
has shaken off the mantle of sand
that entirely covered it and come
forth once more into the Algerian
sunshine. To NJ. Albert Ballu, direct
or of the service des monuments his
toriques, we owe the excavation or
this ancient Thamugadi, the impor-
tant Roman city founded by Trajan
at the entrance to the defiles of the
Aures. In less than twenty years
Timgad has been exhumed, and it
now remains to uneartn the suburbs
that stretched away toward Tebessa.
Maseula and Eambese.
The last campaign of digging un.
covered the extension of the Trium-
phal avenue along an extent of near
ly seven hundred feet, and that OF
the Decumanas- Maximus- Est till
monumental arch was reached mat
resembles the beautiful gate of Lam
bese. The fiuted Corinthian col
umns, the cornices, the frieze and the
entire entablature lay scattered about
on the ground; an inscription Informs
us that the arch dates from III, A.
D. The slabs of the pavement SIN
show the deep ruts worn by chariot
wheels in the days of Marcus Aurel-
ius
Other highways were discovered
nat no ri
little shops, with workrooms and
workmen's lodgings in the rear as
well as the shopkeepers' own abodes
Here the country people could make
purchases at once without entering
the city Soldiers from the Augustan
third legion used to congregate here.
These suburban districts were bus
ting with activity.
Among mediocre dwellings rose
certain larger. more luxurious houses,
with paved vestibules at the front
and porticoes around the outside.
Huge square basins occupied the mid
die of these buildings, and the rooms
opened upon atriums paved with mar
BILE mosaics.
Great Monastery Found.
The principal event of the cam
paign was the excavation If the great
Timgad monastery. The iiggings of
the preceding years had unearthed
the basilica and several contiguous
buildings. The work is finished now.
We see the long alignment of CALLER
les and cells, the common rooms, the
lavatory and laundry, and the nexa-
gonal baptistry with it's central
tank, which was reached by three
steps sheathed in mosaics. Extensive
additions to the abbey show how the
community grew and prospered
And this magnificent christian edi-
fee, $50 feet long by 230 broad, dis
appeared one day like all the pagan
monuments of Timgad. when the bar
barrie invaders swooped down from
the Aures. A cemetery was estap-
lished on the site, and it has been
necessary to remove the tombs in
order to reach the monastery pave
ments below. And they are worth all
the toll it takes to recover them.
They are adorned with zigzags,
chrisms, laurel leaves. and panels in
bright and varied colors
Beautiful Mosaics Uncovered.
Still more remarkable are those
that NJ. Ballu discovered in two |
houses within the city. One of these |
represents nude sea god |
dess dressing her hair. Two genn, |
likewise nude, bear her aloft upon a |
seashell. Dolphins gambol with her.
The background of the picture con-
sists Of red drapery. The other mo- |
sale. framed in acanthus leaves, ten
drills and volutes, with birds fitting |
among them, shows us another nude |
goddess, in the midst of the waves,
seated upon a Triton's tail; she holds |
up her tresses with her hand; a light |
filmy veil floats above her head
No one knows what the next dig |
gings will bring forth. Has Timgad /
Yielded up her last secret? Perhaps
WIN enable scholars to
write her history, though | fear it
will remain shrouded in mystery for
4 long time to come Still, confess
that this absence of details, this lack
Of knowledge, give an added charm to
The dead city.
When last / saw Timgad, a cold
mist covered the treeless plateau.
Not house was to be seen as we fol-
owed the road from Lambese.
climbed the FIRST foothills OF the
Aures. whose SUBMITS were barely
7isible along the horizon Poor
arms, dismal green, were lost
among the brush. Oh, but the land
'cape looked gloomy!
The wind swept the mist away, and
/ pale RAJ Of light tinted the noun
ain backg ound 8 delicate purple.
rhe air had rosy transparency
when the whole city came before me.
rently outlined along the siope Of a
I'LL It's arches of triumph. its col
INNS and piiasters. and the broken
walls Of its houses and shops and
emples Law ranged along broaf ave
,ues. In the center. the symmetri- +
al lines Of the forum made a start
ng place for paved streets leading TO
he theater and the baths. Further
N was the +umhled mass Of a Byzan-
Inc fort Around this tangle cf