Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1912-11-15

culaneum the city of Resina is built and the ex-
preparation of the land there is not SO easy as IN
the case of Pompei We have under consldera
ton bill dealing with the prcprietorship OF
archaeological subsoils, which will probably al
low to excayate Herculaneum by series or
underground galleries without demolishing the
pretty little town which stands sm1ngly above
it. A commission has been appointed with this
object. There is no immediate call for the under
taking except that due to praiseworthy curios-
ity. The world Of science can wait; it has yet to
study at least threequarters of the objects found
at Pompe 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 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 many years, for the conditions of its
tragic engulfment such that it is generally
believed these ruins more than any others will
present complete picture of the life of the
times before the sculpture of the city. The
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
vations have been made the destruction was more
gradual and great havoc wrought before
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, it Of
fers the most perfect opportunities for beholding
ancient settlement it existed, with few
important details DESTROYED disturbed.
Another point which contributes to the greater
Importance of Herculaneum field for archaeo-
logical investigation is that the suddenness Of the
disaster from which it suffered made it impos-
cih1 qOr fho {pho 70 DO offor 10
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 many of the most precious be-
longngs 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 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, 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
better illustration of Hellenic culture 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
comparative study of the ruined cities. They ad
duce this belief from the fact that Herculaneum
is believed to have been less of 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
inhabitants Of Pompei, e1 the other hand, are be-