The Springfield herald., 1912-11-15

cr,apeum the cty of Resina Is built and the
preparation of the land there is not SO easy as In
the case of Pompeii. We have under consdera'
tion bill dealing with the proprietorshp OF
archaeological subsoils. which will probably al
low to excavate Herculaneum by series OF
underground galleries without demolishing the
pretty little town which stands smihnGly abovo
it, commission has been appointed with this
object. There is no immediate call for the under
taking except that due to our praiseworthy curios-
ity. 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 Pompe some fifty years ago are spoil
ing and falling into ruin under the action of the
air and dam =
1t Is little wonder that the entire world has
been SO 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 such that 1t 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 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
vatons have been made the destruction was more
gradual and great havoc was wrought before
the final seputure took place Thus although
of the other points at which excavations
have been made OF greater Importance III
the ancient world than Hercuaneum, 1t Of
fers the most perfect opportunities for beholding
ancient settlement 1t 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 1t suffered made 1t impos-
sibe for the inhabitants to make effort to
any of the valuable articles of their homes
by attempting to them to distant
place. In Pompeii, for instance, there ample
time to remove many of the most precious be-
loLgings OF the Inhabitants. But in Herculaneum
this seems to have been impossible and the val
liable objects of the rich households buried
beneath the mass of liquid mud which inundated
the city securely If they had been locked
in impregnable vaults. This mud 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 Pompeii.
at Herculaneum the objects discovered by the
excavators many of them In wonderfully
perfect condition Bronze, marble and glass oh.
jects were none of them severely damaged and
manuscripts sufficiently preserved MAXI
possible their restoration 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 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 Pompeii, and that its in
habitants were greatly more interested In the
fine arts and in all that pertained to the
advanced thought and culture of the times The
inhabitants of Pompeii. on the other hand. be