The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1912-11-15

cuIaneum 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 consldera
ton bill dealing with the propretorship OF
archaeological subsoils which viii probably al
low us to excavate Herculaneum by a series of
underground galleries without demolishing the
pretty little town which stands smil1ngly above
it. commission has been appointed with this
object There is no Immediate call for the under
taking except that due to praiseworthy curos-
ty The world Of science can 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 hidden under the lava are not
perishing 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 archaeologsts and his
torians have treasured such ardor for the
completion of the unearthing of the ancient city
for many years. for the conditions of its
tragic engulfment were such that it is generally
believed these ruins more than any others will
present 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 perfect have been found to
be all the details of the buildings and their fur
nshings when the work of excavation has been
completed. In the other cities where great
vations have been made the destruction more
s
the final sepulture took place. Thus although
some of the other points at which excavations
have been made were of greater Importance in
the ancient world than was Herculaneum, it Of
fers the most perfect opportunities for beholding
an ancient settlement it existed, with few
important details DESTROYED 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
any of the valuable articles of their homes
by attempting to remove them to distant
place. In Pompeii, for instance there 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 if they had been locked
in impregnable vaults. This mud was an extra
ordinarily successful preserving huid 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
at Herculaneum the objects discovered by the
eXcaFators 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 degree which is high
ly satisfactory to archaeologsts and historians
That the modern world will be able to obtain
a better Illustration of Hellenic culture as 1t
represented IN 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 Herculaneum
is believed to have been less of a commercial
settlement than Pompeii and that its in
habitants were greatly more interested In the
fine arts and in all that pertained to the most
advanced thought and culture Of the times. The
lnhahtants OF Pompeli, on the other hand are be-