Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1912-11-15
WIKI EEw ~ NW1E XCHE7NOzNS

culaneum the city Of ReSlna is Dullt anu Ii eA-
propriation of the land there is not so easy as IN
the case Of Pompeii. We have under consldera'
ton a bill dealing with the proprietorshlp OF
archaeological subsoils, which will probably al
low us to excavate Herculaneum by a series OF
underground galleries without demolishing the
pretty little town which stands smilingly above
it. A commission has been appointed with THIS
object. There is no immediate call for the under
taking except that due to our praiseworthy curlos-
ity. The world Of science can wait; it has yet to
study at least three quarters 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 at 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 archaeologists 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 engulfment were 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.
nishings when the work Of excavation has beer
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 points az which excavations
have been made were of greater Importance in
the ancient world than was Herculaneurn, it 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 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-
longings of the inhabitants. But ia 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 judge
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 were sufficiently preserved to make
possible their restoration to a degree which is high
ly satisfactory to archaeologis.s and historians.
That the modern world will be able 20 obtain
a 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
hahitants were greatly more interested III the
fine arts and in all that pertained to the most
advanced thought and culture Of the times. The
inhabitants of Pompeii, on the other hand, are be-