Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1911-07-13
How | Became an
Archaeologiist
By ARNOLD l. TINKAM
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

I read stories about ancient Rome that
gave me an unconquerable desire to
see the Eternal City. / wished to visit
the chasm, or at least the place where
It was, into which Quintus Curtius
leaped on horseback, the remaining pill
lars of the temple erected to the two
beautiful strangers, Castor and Pol
lux, who watered their horses in the
forum after the battle of Lake Regillus,
and the bridge that Horatius defended
80 valiantly. There was no prospect
of my ever visiting Italy, for 1 had
not the means even to take me to col
sege.
But was a good deal of dreamer,
and, my fancy getting fixed on my OBJ
feet, I couldn't turn it upon anything
else. The only practical result was q
resolve to save up" as children put
1t, with a view to getting enough mon
ey to take me to Rome keep me there
long enough to get hurried view OF
what l wished to see and bring ma
back to America.
By the time l was eighteen years
old had acquired this amount. sup
pose should have spent it in starting
me upon a college education, but l did
not 1 bought second class ticket ON
ship crossing the Atlantic and pro-
ceeding through the Mediterranean to
Naples. I remained at Naples long
enough to visit Pompeii, then went by
rail to Rome.
At first was disappointed in getting
into a modern commercial city, but
when l struck some of the landmarks
of ancient Rome-the Pantheon, the
arches Of Constantine and Titus, the
Coliseum-I was not long in forgetting
the modern in my rapture over the an
cient. When l had exhausted Rome
itself l was seized with a desire to
visit its environs. had read Of the
Campagna as it was when covered
with farms and villas.
But by the time had seen Rome IT.
self my money was all gone. l hadn't
enough even to buy return trip ticket
| to America. ! was stranded in for
eign country. What could l do?
What did / do? / followed the genius
Of archaeology that was strong within
me. Reading a notice in a newspaper
that an excavating party was to make
@ search for the ruins of certain villa
some fifty miles from the city, hired
myself as a digger to the archaeologist
in charge, went with him and dug with
the rest. In his reading he had hit
upon q description Of the site, but
could only confirm his views by bur-
rowing in the ground In other words,
he must hunt for that for which he
was looking.
We dug three days, at the end of
which time my employer gave up the
search. During this time l put in my
spade here and there on my own ac-
count, with no result. When the par
ty went back to Rome I asked for my
pay, a few Ira, and they returned
without me. l had seen stone pro-
jecting from the soil at some distance
from where we were digging that SEEM
ed to me to have been artifcially shap-
ed, and wished to investigate it.
AS soon as the party were gone
began to dig about this stone. l found
that it rested on another, to which it
was fixed by mortar. This in turn
rested on another. Then l came to g
wall. followed the wall for a dozen
feet and came to an angle. The top
Of the wall was five or six feet from
the surface, and l was not likely to
find anything of value at less depth.
I dug all day, and as the evening was
coming on, some ten feet below the
surface, my spade struck something
hard shuddered, for by this time
knew that l was liable to ruin a treas
ure. These villas were ornamented
with statues-some of them very beau
tiful-and every year they are found.
had with me a scoop and, throwing
down my spade, began to dig about
the hard substance with the smaller
implement. 1t was round. In few
minutes uncovered a marble head.
Had l discovered a mine of mex
haustible gold l could not have been
more delighted. l scooped away
enough earth to tell me that l had
found a statue. But it was by this
time too late to look any further.
threw back the loose earth, marked
the spot with a stake and hurried
away from the fever stricken Cam
pagna that might not be caught there
after nightfall.
The next morning / went to the ar
chaeologist who had conducted the
search and told him of my find. 1t
would have been illegal for me to re-
move the statue myself, and l pre-
ferred to proceed under his superin-
tendence. He was as much delighted
ut my luck as was myself. We start
ed at once for the hole 1 had dug,
removed the loose earth and exposed
the marble. We could tell nothing
about it except that the face was verS
beautiful
We dug about the statue till we
could see that it was the figure OF a
woman, the drapery being ancient Ro-
man.
The archaeologist before leaving
Rome had left word for workmen to
follow, and when they arrived the
statue was removed. 1t proved to be
Of great value. l had struck the site
of the villa for which we had searched,
and other articles were found in it,
though none In as good condition as
this. l received a remuneration for
my find, but what I valued more was