HERCULANEUM RISES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 52, Issue 205, 11 June 1932, Page 8

HERCULANEUM RISES

PROGRESS OF THE WORK. CHEATING THE VOLCANO. After a lapse of fifty years excavations were resumed in 1927 on the site of ancient Herculaneum to the south of Naples in the shadow of Vesuvius. In the interval which has followed the ancient city has slowly risen from beneath a deep stratum of solidified mud. What has been discovered in four years of work is described in the "New York Times" by Professor Amedeo Maiuri, Superintendent of Antiquities and Excavations in Campania, a position to which he was appointed by, Premier Mussolini. The few foreigners who come to Italy to see the new excavations of Herculaneum, and who may already have some knowledge of discoveries made at Pompeii during the pasl few years, must be profoundly impressed by the spectacle of Herculaneum rising slowly but surely from the hard, deep stratum of solidified mud in which it has been buried since the eruption of A.D. 79, writes Professor Maiuri. What was considered to be the most desperate and heroic undertaking ever planned in the field of practical archaeology and was, indeed, judged to bo impossible of success without joint international effort, is now proceeding toward its execution with regular and uninterrupted rhythm. The excavations are being made and will continue to be made, with the persistency * with which archaelogieal work has been carried out at Pompeii for the last two centuries; methodically, in no spasmodic and fragmentary manner. Only in this way and in this spirit can the mysteries of an ancient city be revealed. Every house, every building every, street, is a monumental unit, a precious and necessary element. for our understanding of the greatest antiquity has bequeathed to us—namely, what the common social life was like in the cities of early civilisation. Four Years of Work. Only in the Campania, and only in that part of it which Avas buried by the eruption of Vesuvius, it is possible to make this study completely and perfectly. In no other part of the ancient world is it possible to find all the structural and architectural evidence of city life—both public and private, from the humble oven of the baker to the magnificence of the temple .so splendidly preserved as in. the two cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, which were united in a single tragic fate nearly 2000 years ago. The external aspect of the city is thus beginning to reveal its real character. Herculaneum, with its large and noble mansions looking toward the Bay of Naples its modest homes of the lower middle-class inhabitants its quiet streets, and its few shops and* tabernae, its freedom from that mural publicity which conferred such disquieting animation upon the streets of Pompeii, reveals itself as a more tranquil city than its commercial neighbour: It was clearly better adapted, by reason, of its healthy climate and the view whicli could be enjoyed from the slopes of Vesuvius, to be a leisured suburban retreat. The least imaginative visitor cannot but be impressed by the house recently excavated at Pompeii where all the objects of domestic furniture found during the work have been restored with loving care to their proper places; but of still greater human interest is the vision we now have of life in the houses of Herculaneum. Carbonised Wood. Here, owing to the different nature of the soil in which the buildings were buried, is found in good preservation the one essential element in the structure of the ancient homes of Italy and in their furniture— namely, wood. Beams from the roofs and attics of the upper floors, posts of doors, cupboards, beds, staircases, and partitions are found—standing in their original positions with the appearance which is characteristic of the wood discovered in the earth of the Vesuvius area; the character of carbonised wood resulting from the slow process of fossilisation and not, as might be thought, from a superficial glance, the result of incineration. Not less important is the study of the upper floors at Herculaneum, where the much higher level of the soil has preserved those floors. At Pompeii the upper floors can be seen only in mutilated and fragmentary forms. The picture of Herculaneum now to be visualised not only completes m many respects that of Pompeii but presents an urban ensemble substantially different, owing to the different demographic and economic positions. When a sufficiently extensive portion of the closely inhabited area in the city has been brought to light it will be possible to resume the examination of the suburban roads which branch off from the o-ates of the city. The explorers will then be able to retrace other patrician villas and to complete, it is hoped, the excavation of the famous villa of the Papyri, which in addition to the priceless art treasures that it has already given to us, may be reserving other surprises. The dwelling quarters ot the eastern side, as it is known were only in part explored from the galleries driven by archaeologists under the Bourbons.