The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1912-11-14

culAnsum the city OF Reslna is Dullt ana the en-
preparation of the land there is not easy in
the of Pompeii We have under considera'
tion bill dealing with the proprietorshp of
archaeological subsoils, which will probably al
low to excavate Herculaneum by a series of
underground galleries without demoshing the
pretty little town which stands smilingy 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 wait; it has yet to
study at least threequarters of the objects found
at Pompeii and in the vicinity, and the jewels
OF art which are hidden under the lava not
perishing. On the contrary, the frescoes uncov-
cred at Pompeii fifty years ago are 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 archaeologists and his
rorians have treasured such ardor for the
completion of the unearthing of the ancient city
FOR SO many years, for the conditions of It's
tragic engulfment were such that it is generally
believed these ruins than any others will
present complete picture of the life of the
times before the sculpture 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
nishings when the work of excavation has been
completed. In the other cities where great exca-
vations have been made the destruction was more
gradual and great havoc wrought before
the final seputure took place Thus, although
some of the other points at which excavations
have been made of greater Importance in
the ancient world than Herculaneum it Of
fers the most perfect opportunities for behodng
an ancient settlement as it existed, with few
important details DESTROYED or disturbed
Another point which contributes to the greater
Importance of Herculaneum as field for archaeo-
logical investigation is that the suddenness of the
disaster from which it suffered made it impos-
sible for the inhabitants to make an effort to
save any of the valuable articles of their homes
by attempting to remove them to some distant
place In Pompeii, for instance, there was ample
time to remove many Of the most precious be-
lonsiDgs OF the inhabitants But in Herculaneum
this seems to have been impossible and the val
liable objects OF the rich households were buried
beneath the mass OF liquid mud which inundated
the city as securely IL they had been locked
in impregnable vaults, This mud was an extra
ordinarily successful preserving fluid to Judge
from the finds which have been made, for instead
OF the surface of objects having been burned and
charred by hot ashes the case at Pompeii
ut Herculaneum the objects discovered by the
excavators were many of them in wonderfully
perfect condition Bronze marble and glass OBJ.
jects were OF them severely damaged and
manuscripts were sufficiently preserved to make
possible their restoration to degree which is high
~ satisfactory to archaeologists and historians
That the modern world will be able to obtain
better illustration of Hellenic culture as It was
represented in Graeco-Roman town from the
excavations at Herculaneum than from those at
Pompeii Is the belief of many who have made n
comparative study of the ruined cities They ad-
duce this belief from the fact that Herculaneum
In believed to- have been less of a commercial
settlement than was Pompeli, and that its in.
habitants were greatly more interested In the
nne arts and In all that pertained to the most
advanced thought and culture OF the times. The
innnbstBpfs ef Pompeii on the other hand, are be-