Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-28

THUS it comes to pass that almost every city
in classic lands is sort of archaeological
layer cake, with frosting of modern buildings
standing on top Of many strata of ancient re-
mains, the older always at the bottom This
is great blessing for the scientists of the spade
for they can thus read their book backward as
they go down through the ruins.
The practice of saving choice bits of the old
place serves the archeologist also, for if you
find in Roman wall stones cut in the pattern
Greek stonecutterS were accustomed to use or
If you find Greek statues in the garden of an
overthrown Roman villa you have some good
connecting links between one culture and the
one that went before it.
Thus in the Roman ruins of Buthrotum they
found the statue by the Greek sculptor
Praxiteles, and behind the theater was an older
amphitheater of Greek construction. The
Greek inscriptions carved on the stones are
still legible; they inform citizens of certain
rules and ordinances regarding traffic, sports
and municipal elections. Some of the inscrip-
ConS of Roman date are carved in both Latin
and Greek a testimony to the persistence Of
Greek speech both here and in other parts Of
the empire long after Roman arms had blotted
out Greek independence.
The gate which Vergn knew as the "Porta
Scaea" was definitely of Greek construction,
dating from about the fifth century BIC. The
Italian party dug more than IL feet of soil from
above it, and worried great tree roots away
from it, but the rugged arch still stands, intact
was modified and partly rebuilt by the Romans.
But the history of the New Troy does not
begin with its Greek occupants. Deep be-
meath the Greek level, Signor Ugolini's party
has come upon traces of New Stone Age cul-
ture. As is frequently the case, these were best
preserved in a burial place. A beveled ak,
several other tools and some ornaments were
found that antedate the nlyrian settlement by
at least $500 years. Thus the history of the
Albanian people has suddenly been given a re-
mr. he mi hat
stand between that background and the earliest
continuous record now available constitute q
formidable challenge to Psychologists
Nor did the history of Buthrotum stop with
the fall of the Roman empire. During the
Byzantine period, when the center of civiliza-
ton shifted from Rome to Constantinople and
remained there for many centuries, there q
prosperous Christian city where Vergil hao once
known his New Troy.
In the strata above the Roman remains the
excavators found the ruins of elaborate
baptistery, special pool for the administra-
ton of baptism by immersion which was q
common rite in the early days of the Church.
THE building that rooted over the pool was
supported on 16 marble columns which had
probably been taken from Roman building,
IusS as the Romans had once borrowed building
materials from older Greek structures The
font, or pool is itself well preserved.
The mosaic pavement of Roman craftsman
ship must have been the chief pride Of the
congregation whose new members came to them
through the waters of this font There are
two chief designs wrought out in the colored
stone fragments One of these consists of q
vase with trailing grapevnes together with
two peacocks, symbolic of the sacrament of the
eucharist. The other is emblematic of the
sacrament of baptism; it shows two stays APP
preaching font, under q sign of salvation-a
cross with palm leaves.
After the period of Byzantine dominance,
which came to an end when the Turks con-
quered Constantinople at the close Of the
Middle Ages, Buthrotum fell to Venice, which
built the walls Of the fortress whose ruins at
tracted Signor Ugolini and led to the re-
discovery.
The discovery Of New Troy comes at most
timely date, for Vergil was born October IS,
20 BE-, and 1880 Is the 2,0O0th anniversary
of his BIRTH which all the learned world -