Show ww ti UNDER THE SEA 20 CENTURIES vase which it Is believed dates back to B C in possession of massachusetts man boston here Is a age which I 1 nell worth study or if the stories told about it are true it Is a find of interest to archaeologist archeologist arche tor it probably dates back to at least the year D C it la now in the of john of and he haa been offered for it but has spurned the offer claiming har desires to retain it for himself the story of the ase as he tells it Is interesting in the extreme tl says that four years ago this month sicilian fishermen plying their calling were one day delighted to feel a se ancient vase as it looks now vere tug on their deep line which waa dragging bottom at a depth of feet just oft Ra narla among the ll 11 parl islands north of sicily upon pulling in the line their joy was turned to chagrin when they found they had hooked not a fish but some sort of old jar the graceful outlines of which were almost concealed by the growth of coral and barnacled barnacles barn acles which adhered to it the interior of the vase was filled with mud which made it very heavy and had given rise to hopes of a large fish when they first hooked it the vase bore every evidence of having been on the bottom of the sea tor centuries but that fact did not greatly impress the fishermen who however did think enough of it to carry if ashore later they carefully chiseled away as much of the marine growth from its sides as possible as well a from the inside neck and then worked the mud out from the bowl of the vase this done they conald ered its appearance much improved they were about to present it to a wealthy of the Is land when they changed their minds it was the sight of a small sum of money caused this alteration in their plans john had taken a vacation from his little shoe shop in ebmer valle and had gone to italy to visit the scenes of his boyhood ahu t sicily he learned of the laso found by the fishermen and went to see it he Is no authority on ancient relics but he had an idea that the vase w asworth something learning the fishr ermen intended giving it away he offered a small sum for it and it became his property the jar is of plain red earthenware the ineida of the neck apparently plainly showing the handiwork of the artist who wrought it despite its partial coating of marine growth tho inside of the bowl seems much smoother almost too smooth to havea been dona by hand and it is as clean as if fresh from the pottery tha owner accounts cpr tills by the fact that it has so long been filled with mud from the bottom of the sea |