THE SPADE'S CONTRIBUTION TO HISTORY.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11010, 6 July 1901, Page 6

THE SPADE'S CONTRIBUTION TO HISTORY.

TJie insanitary oond'ition of ancient cities was, no doubt, a scourge to their inhabitants; but the archeeologist probably finds it in his heart to bless the absence of sewers, dustmen, and scavengers. The accumulation of refuse in ancient towns was the meantf* of securely hiding many a treasure that would otherwise have perished. Some excavations have been prosecuted through a depth of 90 feet of rubbish and ruins, in which several cities and civilisations have left their imperfect but "highly acceptable records. A' traveller in Egypt relates that in a village in Egypt, situated on a mound, he found the inhabitants using the huge capitals of ancient columns as seats. They were only 18 inches above the surface. Yet they proved to be on thfe tops of noble columns which "had adorned an ancient temple. The village had been planted at the base of these pillars, and, in the course of many centuries, had risen

dn the top of its own refuse till the inhabitants sat at eve on the capitals that had once towered high above their ancestors. Everyone remembers how Nansen and his companions, in their famous winter hut, found it necessary to excavate their floor when the accumulated refuse cftueedi > them to stoop too much. The ancients may also have excavated their floors while their huts lasted, but they did not attempt to preserve the level~ of the town. It was easier to build the new hut at a higher level. Schliemann's excavations on the site of ancient Troy and Mycense, first whetted the appetites, and roused the expectations of scholars. There is a peculiar pleasure in the discovery of confirmations of any ancient tradition or belief, especially if that tradition or belief has been discredited by scepticism. This was the case with regard to Homer and! Troy. The very existence of Honwrlipd been doubted, and Troy and the famous siege were pooh-poohed. When, therefore, Schliemann, on the traditional ! site, discovered the remains of three successive cities, one of which had perished by , fiie, it seemed as if a cherished belief were restored from the dead. His discovery of a cltest containing gold ornaments, in a imposition which indicated that an effort had be£» mads to remove it from the flame*, made it easy ,to believe i that nt\ had discovered the " ; "Trea- | sures of % Priam." The search for Agamemnon, taurdered! on his return to My- , oeme, was regarded by the discovery of i remains very,fair& fulfilling tha conditions. The unusual place sepulture, the size 6f the chief skeleton, the\n umber of attendants, the apparent haste of \&e funeral, and the I »pl«ndour ot the gold oWnwnt* — lQQlbe

weight—all agreed with tradition, and, for 3 a time, at least; the Homeric tradition was -fll re-establish,e'd. - , 'M Since Schlaemann'a day both sacred and M profane history have hid new interest- iin.. r'p parted to them by inoumerable dieooyeiriee"^ and theories ot interpretation. On Biblical. || eubjecte tfco pact i&irty years have aeen numerous volumes on the witness of the '~'fi monuments. ArohtaoJogy, has often given >%| the other side of international events "{% coloured by the Jewish historians, but, on *% the whole, it ihas tended to prove substoo* tial accuracy. This, agafa, has been a •?;! source of great satisfaction to the religious Vt/ mind. We must not, however, trespass !'i] on the domains of the clergy. The bearing^':;f. of recent excavations on profane history ---V affords us ample scope. A few years ago !■/-■* the German expedition to Olnnpia de- *f| lighted the world of art by discovering the f$ only known statue of Praxiteles, a faun, ax %% 1 the exact spot where Pansinias saw and •'.? described it. It is difficult to imagine any.'':-* thing more interesting to the classical and [2 artistic mind. Within the last fevf yeatt -i" also Professor Flinders Petrie has piwed "& the existence of a colony of Greek vasf^"/: cenaries in Egypt, in the tenth or twelfth W V- 1 century, B.C. This fact nob only grtath -.' widens the horizon of Greek histoiy,, bnl-.jf. helps to correct the chronology of archeo- ''.-■?' logists elsewhere. . .\'°! The ldtest reported find is from th*-.£'<* newly-opened island of Crete. The ■=! ' capital, Cnossus, where DiedaJus is alleged-" to have constructed that wonder of tha,--" world, the Labyrinth, for Minos the King 7" J r < to imprison the Minotaur in, has be^nl..;, opened up by an expedition, Much seta.' ticism has prevailed with regard to ijbq .'■„ Labyrinth, which was described by H«ro> .' dotus. According'to the latest advices the ,- ."■' pakce of the King has been discovered, aadt '~ also the Labyrinth. We are quite pre.X> , pared to learn that Herodotus has vaaffA*"^'' fied the work, bufc it is a gratification to . find that he is cleared of the of' ' invention pure on<i simple. •' !