The Arvada enterprise., 1912-11-14

culaneum the city OF Resina is built and the ex-
preparation Of the land there Is not so easy as In
the of Pompeii We have under considera-
ton bill dealing with the proprietorship OF
archaeological subsoils. which Will probably al
low to excavate Herculaneum by series OF
underground galleries without demolishng the
pretty little town which stands smngly above
it. commission has been appointed with this
object. There is immediate call for the under
taking except that due to our praiseworthy curios
ity. The world of science can wait; 1t has yet to
study at least threequarters OF the objects found
at Pompeii and in the vicinity. and the jewels
OF art which hidden under the lava are not
perishng. On the contrary, the frescoes uncov-
cred at Pompeii some fifty years ago spoil
ing and falling into ruin under the action OF the
air and damp"
1t is little wonder that the entire world has
been deeply interested In the excavations at
Herculaneum and that archaeoogiss and his
torans have treasured such ardor for the
completion of the unearthing of the ancient city
for 80 many years, for the conditions of its
tragic engulfment such that 1t is generally
believed these ruins more than any others will
present complete picture of the life OF the
times before the seputure of the city. The more
suddenly the forces OF nature did their work OF
destruction the more perfect have been found to
be all the details OF the buildings and their fur
nishngs when the work OF excavation has been
completed In the other cities where great
yations have been made the destruction was more
the final sepulture took place. Thus. although
OF the other points at which excavations
have been made were OF greater Importance In
the ancient world than Herculaneum 1t Of
fers the most perfect opportunities for beholding
an ancient settlement nc It existed. with few
important details DESTROYED disturbed
Another point which contributes to the greater
Importance OF Hercuaneum 3 a field for archaeo-
logical investigation is that the suddenness OF the
disaster from which It suffered made It impos-
sibe for the inhabitants to make an effort to
any OF the valuable articles OF their homes
by attempting to remove them to distant
place. In Pompeli, for Instance. there was ample
time to remove many OF the most precious be-
longings OF the Inhabitants But In Herculaneum
this seems to have been impossible and the val
liable objects OF the rich households buried
beneath the mass OF liquid mud which inundated
the city as securely as II they had been locked
in impregnable vaults. This mud extra
ordinarily successful preserving fluid, to fudge
from the finds which have been made, for instead
OF the surface OF objects having been burned and
charred by hot ashes, as was the at Pompeii
at Hercuaneum the objects discovered by the
eNcavators many OF them in wonderfully
perfect condition. Bronze marble and glass OBJ.
jects were none OF them severely damaged and
manuscripts were sufficiently preserved to make
possible their restoration to a degree which is high
ly satisfactory to archaeologists and historians
That the modern world will be able to obtain
n better Illustration OF Hellenic culture as II was
represented in a Graeco.Roman town from the
excavations at Herculaneum than from those at
Pompeii is the belief OF many who have made
comparative study OF the ruined cities They ad
duce this belief from the fact that Hercuaneum
is believed to have been less OF a commercial
settlement than Pompei and that its In.
habitnnts were greatly more interested in the
fine arts and in all that pertained to the most
advanced thought and culture OF the times The
inhabitants OF Pompeu. on the other hand. are be-