HADRIAN'S STATUE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume IV, Issue 223, 1 September 1936, Page 8

HADRIAN'S STATUE.

BASE DISCOVERED. Archaeologists Unearth Gigantic Marble Slab. INTERESTING FINDS. The base of the statue of Hadrian has been discovered in the Agora, or Athenian market place, by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, according to a report received from Dr. T. Leslie Shear, field director of the work and a member of the Art and Archaeology Department of Princeton University, says the New York Times. The base, a huge square of pentelic marble, was unearthed forty-five metres east of the spot where the statue itself was found in 1931, and half-way between that spot and the place where the leg 'of 1 Hadrian was found earlier this season. ' • iT$ On the face of the slab is a dedication to Hadrian Olympics as the benefactor of the city. Because of the great size and weight of the base, Dr. Shear says in the report, it is quite impossible that it could have been moved from its original location and therefore must be at the long-sought-for site of the Hadrian statue. Circular Building. Another interesting discovery was the foundations of a large circular building. The foundation stones are in place for nearly half the circumference, and for the balance of the circuit the cuttings are evident from which the blocks have been removed. A group of nineteen fourth century coins, all stuck together in a compact mass, was found in the late Roman fill of the Agord. Among these are the first coins found representing the reign of the Emperors Constans 1, Valentinianus T and 11. Theodosius and Arcadius. In all, 1061 coins were discovered during one week, the report says, during which period 2180 tons of earth were removed from the 16-acre space leased from the Greek Government by the school. The sixth year of excavation is now nearing its conclusion, with almost ten of the sixteen acres cleared to an average depth of 20 feet. More than 60,000 coins have now been discovered, ranging from the seventh century B.C. to the middle of the last century. Mrs. Shear, the wife of the field director, is in charge of the classification of the coins, which are invaluable in dating the larger objects, since the period of the coins can almost always been accurately determined.

4000 Inscriptions. The most valuable single element in the discoveries is some 4000 inscriptions, giving insight into the laws, contracts, treaties, leases, indictments, confiscations and other legal measures. There also have been discovered examples of the standard weights and measures. Another interesting find in the Roman fill was a terra-cotta . plaque stamped with a fish and the disc of a lamp. The lamp is decorated with a scene which shows a dog or bear chasing a boy. The boy has swung himself up on the horizontal branch of a tree, and the beast is rearing on its hind legs trying to reach him. A well in the south-west corner of the Agora has now reached a depth of six metres, and is yielding occasional shards of the latter part of the sixth century. Among these is the base of a kylix with the painted signature' of Nikos, and a ied-figured oenochoe decorated with a figure of, Zeus with a sceptre.