The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-11-15

culaneum the city of Regtna is built and the ex-
preparation Of the land there Is not so easy as In
the case Of Pompeii. We have under considers
ton a bill dealing with the proprietorship OF
archaeological subsoils, which Will probably al
low us to excavate Herculaneum by a series OF
underground galleries without demolshing the
pretty little town which stands smilingly above
1t. A commission has been appointed with this
object. There is no Immediate call for the under
taking except that due to our pratseworthy curios.
ity. The world Of science can wait; 1t has yet to
study at least three-guarters Of the objects found
at Pompeii and in the vicinity, and the Jewels
of art which are hidden under the lava are not
p~erishing, On the contrary, the frescOes uncov'
cred ut Pompeii some 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 so deeply Interested In the excavations at
HerCulaneum and that archaeologiBtg and his.
torians have treasured such an ardor for the
completion Of the unearthing Of the ancient city
for so many years, for the conditions Of its
tragic e%ngulfment we're such that It is generally
believed these ruins more than any others will
present a complete picture of the life Of the
times before the %sepulture 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.
n~ishings 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 was wrought before
the final sepulture took place. Thus, although
some of the other pointH at which excavations
have been made we're Of greater Importance In
the ancient world than was Herculaneum, II of.
fers the most perfect opportunities for beholding
an ancient settlement as It existed, with few
important details destroyed or disturbed.
Another point which contributes to the greater
Importance Of Herculaneum as a field for archaeo-
logical investigation is that the suddennegg of the
disaster from which 1t suffered made 1t impos-
Bible 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-
lOngings 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 as If they had been locked
in impregnable vaults. This mud was an 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 case at Pompeii,
at Herculaneum the objects discovered by the
excavators were many of them In wonderfully
perfect condition. Bronze, marble and glass OBJ
jects were none Of them severely damaged, and
manuscripts we're 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
q better illustration of Hellenic culture as It 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 a
comparative study Of the ruined cities. They ad.
duce this belief from the fact that Herculaneum
Is believed to have been less Of a commercial
settlement than was Pompeii, and that its In
habitants we're 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 Pompeil. on the other hand, are be-