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Show jiff I'iriiJUklje s4J CHE question of excavating ex-cavating Hercu-laneum Hercu-laneum has always al-ways been a sub-"JpiErQ sub-"JpiErQ ject of intense ln-Yr ln-Yr 1 ivu terest ror savants. V-yjr Herculaneum was jxjH a sma11 provincial town which was not famed even or its commerce; com-merce; but owing to its position posi-tion in the middle of the Bay of Naples, with Vesuvius and Mount Somma in the background, back-ground, the site was a favorite favor-ite one with wealthy Remans for their villas. It was destroyed de-stroyed so rapidly by the eruption of Vesuvius in A. D. 79 that the excavations there are sure to bring to light ancient an-cient life just as it was lived. Pompeii was buried slowly beneath volcanic ashes and ;.', i lieved to have been an. Mti f 'vV:! aggregation of merchants :f i' Xft;- S,''-"' Ki very largely, and as audi mm'kf W?Bm M&mm, they were not particularly A 'jmmt mS$00mmMm representative of the life MlU't lp;lfrS:&;i and thought of the most famm JW'fe Mf highly cultivated people mL4Si' mmM&i of the times. One of the iOfe 3 or tbis belief the different character of 0ftf iSSM I lliiWfa the two cities is the dl IMl 8S1lJite44 f TlfPrfiliii covery of such a large P Im m miW imiml number of manuscripts at Herculaneum, whereas at Pompeii no manuscripts W6$$3 have been discovered, miplfto Some students of the e, iMM cavatlons attribute this liteilf fact to the greater de-titiM de-titiM : section thatook place ffflttff . at Pompeii or to the fact fW&MfiiiiS that B0 many of the valu-Iff valu-Iff pfc S a w removed, but iMifl p0illt of view 1b dis- arig50ligi'jV TMtiH hv many persons, - N. i lieved to have been an 1 $ 3- aggregation of merchants Ml very larely, and as such hffi$'$lfJ&S. they were not Particularly 1 825aV representative of the life 'S& and thought of the most 1 highly cultivated people ' j?d;xk;J1S;3 of the times. One of the M'S&jGjm reasons for this belief In ' IMW" the different character of miMmtmm two cme. is th. dis- - affiyi MlfiSif covery of such a large Aw$ fiplliSl number of manuscripU at M'W0MW Herculaneum, whereas at Pompeii no manuscripts IllSSfy have been discovered. Some students of the ex-fiMwW' ex-fiMwW' cavaUons attribute this fact to the greater de-IWH de-IWH : struction that took place at Pompeii or to the fact kiifli that so many of the valu- ables were removed, but mmSimiS&- thia p0mt of view la dis puted by many persons, 'O wh0 are of the belief that no manuscripts existed In this city of merchant.. Herculaneum in the time of its prosperity cupied to Rome somewhat the position which a suburban town of wealth In the vie ntty of a great city fills today, Well-to-do citizens of Rome resorted thither for the benefit of their health, as its air was believed to be particularly exhilarating. Rest and quiet from the disturb ng influences of the great center were found In the luxurious villas which were situated In and around Herculaneum. There seems to have been no industry In the town except fishing, and the , character of the ruins suggests that, like such a ; prosperous suburban retreat of today, the settle- ment rejoiced in all that wealth and care could afford of beauty and convenience. Agrippina the elder, according to Seneca, was the owner of one of the most gorgeous of the villas in Herculaneum, which, it is believed, was destroyed by the Emperor Caligula because his mother had once been imprisoned therein. Another An-other splendid villa was the Casa del Paplrl. The , t. - : ; a h.t -n.ni. olert QmnnP tVlA aristocrats ' f X ?2Z$ 'jfO&gF 'OXJU??0 ho are of the belief that Jm spends from two to three no manuscripts existed In this city of merb-nt- ''"L millions yearly in digging. Herculaneum in the time of its Prosperity oc- JjSTff- , fc w". 1 L&giT? The excavations at Pom- cupied to Rome somewhat the position which a t J&tf&k peii alone cost 200,000 lire . suburban town of wealth In the vie nity of a JZ-lSfifatifi' a year. The government great city fills today, Well-to-do c ltlen of PXTdEP' will also search the soil Rome resorted thither for the benefit of heir t - TcXrK fl'JL? XJ. tt of Herculaneum, but that health, as its air was believed to be Particularly 4 Y J. Z- t V 1 is not so simple an under- exhilarating. Rest and quiet from the disturb ng J CMtft: I ft ' ! ' f 4 - ' taking as the uncovering Influences of the great center were found In the f11 rf&tTsl 7U of Pompeii, over which luxurious villas which were situated in and I-g XA 6 5jfe ( ? vineyards and olive groves around Herculaneum. There seems to have been , H " $ have sPread- Above Her- 110 lndustry ln th town except J'fv an w fMWti PjXJzt I Magna Graecia. We ex- character of the ruins suggests that, like such a , 5 fCTy?V li -f i Ponded 30,000 lire to satis- prosperous suburban retreat of today, the settle- tfi'i'J 'Altt&ftSWt? t fy the wish. That is what ment rejoiced in all that wealth and care could is' J V' KS. ' we did also for tne Brit' afford of beauty and convenience. f dlt m T isAhaefcf .BC0tn1 Agrippina the elder, according to Seneca was W &,rk 1 ' - it 4 Wrl in Rome' whlch desired to the Qwner of one of the most gorgeous of the ifitJ 3. H' - C m P 1 6,t lV Cia Tillas in Herculaneum, which, it is believed, was XT T1 J- " ZwL&$y SearCheS ln th6 FrUm destroyed by the Emperor Caligula because his Vti4 Itf ff't4 -V JS -Nerva- ,. mother had once been imprisoned therein. An- -'Lz.t : -fe. ..xhe Italian govern- other gplendiQ villa waa the Casa del Paplrl. The SCg?ZgKM TVTl OJ' 2222? 2ZtelttffO?ig ment," Signor Corrado Nonii of Nuceria were also among the aristocrats ! spends from two to three millions yearly in digging. The excavations at Pompeii Pom-peii alone cost 200,000 lire i year. The government will also search the soil of Herculaneum, but that is not so simple an undertaking under-taking as the uncovering of Pompeii, over which vineyards and olive groves have spread. Above Her-Magna Her-Magna Graecia. We expended ex-pended 30,000 lire to satisfy satis-fy the wish. That is what we did also for the British Brit-ish Archaeological school in Rome, which desired to complete special researches re-searches ln the Forum of Nerva. "The Italian government," govern-ment," Signor Corrado of the time who had villas in the charming little . town. According to Profesor Hughes, "Herculaneum ; Is burled not under lava, rarely under natural ! cement, but generally under locally consolidated tuft (tuff is the word most commonly used when the ash is so far consolidated as to break into lumps). Seeing that we have reason to believe that at least as much ash has fallen since the first century A. D. as fell In 79 A. D., the first thing to do is to endeavor to distinguish between the successive eruptions. If we could find at the bottom of a layer of ash just enough pottery or other relics to enable us to Identify them as belonging be-longing to the seventeenth century or earlier, that line should be traced with the greatest care. In this way we might feel our way back into the remote past and perhaps somewhere make out upon satisfactory evidence how deep some part of Herculaneum was burled in the emption of 79 A. D." 'much was saved from it by its inhabitants, or dug out and dispersed by Pliny's contemporaries and by the barbarians who followed them even in civilized times. On the contrary, Herculaneum was sealed in its tomb in a few hours by the mixture of mud, ashes and scoriae, and no one has even been able to reach it, so high is the mountain of debris and hardened stone by which it was covered. "The entombment of Herculaneum," Hercu-laneum," says Mr. Waldstein, was sudden, complete com-plete and secure, and th'is was not the case with the other Campanian cities, nor with Pompeii." From the excavations under Resina treasures have already been obtained. "All Europe," wrote a correspondent of the Mercure de France in 1751, "Impatiently supports the suspense in which it Is held over the discoveries in ancient Herculaneum, Hercu-laneum, or Heraclea, as it is now termed in Naples." Na-ples." But only at present has the Italian government gov-ernment been able to think of accomplishing the gigantic task of unearthing the entire city, and it is most Drobable that the new tone given to the Rlccl conunueu, aireauy culaneum the city of Resina is built and the expropriation ex-propriation of the land there is not so easy as in the case of Pompeii. We have under consideration considera-tion a bill dealing with the propria ..-ship of archaeological subsoils, which will probably allow al-low us to excavate Herculaneum by a series of underground galleries without demolishing the pretty little town which stands smilingly above it. A commission has been appointed with this object. There is no immediate call for the undertaking under-taking except that due to our praiseworthy curiosity. curios-ity. The world of science can wait; it has yet to study at least three-quarters of the objects found at Pompeii and in the vicinity, and the jewels of art which are hidden under the lava are not perishing. On the contrary, the frescoes uncovered uncov-ered at Pompeii some fifty years ago are spoiling spoil-ing and falling into ruin under the action of the air and damp." It is little wonder that the entire world has been so deeply interested in the excavations at ri that archaeologists and his- national spirit by the war may make the cnarge appear light which must be imposed upon the budget in order to obtain a complete result. In Roman official spheres there is absolutely no knowledge of the existence of and project of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan for excavations at Herculaneum. Hercu-laneum. Mr. Morgan's name has been mixed up with this question owing to the fact that Mr. Charles Waldstein, the author o& an international project for unearthing the buried city, delivered a lecture on January 3, 1905, in his house in New York with the object of collecting .the money necessary for the work, which was then estimated at 1,000,000 JIre annually, at least. Before lecturing in New York Mr. Waldstein had visited Rome and spoken on the matter with the king, Signor Giolitti and Signor Orlando, then-minister then-minister of public instruction. He had even obtained ob-tained from Signor Orlando a letter warmly commending com-mending the project, but in no way engaging his responsibility. As soon as the idea became known in Italy the press raised violent protests and Signor Orlando was obliged to withdraw his moral support from Mr. Waldstein. Two years later an under secretary of 6tate for education declared in the chamber of deputies that the Italian government reserved to itself the faculty of making the necessary excavations, and that a commission had been appointed with torians have treasured such an ardor for the completion of the unearthing of the ancient city for so many years, for the conditions of its tragic engulfment were such that it is generally believed these ruins more than any others will present a complete picture of the life of the times before the sepulture of the city. The more suddenly the forces of nature did their work, of destruction the more perfect have been found to be all the details of the buildings and their furnishings fur-nishings when the work of excavation has been completed. In the other cities where great excavations exca-vations have been made the destruction was more gradual and great havoc was wrought before the final sepulture took place. Thus, although some of the other points at which excavations have been made were of greater importance in the ancient world than was Herculaneum, it offers of-fers the most perfect opportunities for beholding an ancient settlement as it existed, with few important details destroyed or disturbed. Another point which contributes to the greater importance of Herculaneum as a field for archaeological archaeo-logical investigation is that the suddenness of the disaster from which it suffered made it impossible impos-sible for the inhabitants to make an effort to save any of the valuable articles of their homes by attempting to remove them to some distant place. In Pompeii, for instance, there was ample time to remove many of the most precious belongings be-longings of the inhabitants. But in Herculaneum this seems to have been impossible, and the valuable val-uable objects of the rich households were buried beneath the mass of liquid mud which inundated the city as securely as if they had been locked in impregnable vaults. This mud was an extraordinarily extra-ordinarily successful preserving fluid, to judge from the finds which have been made, for instead of the surface of objects having been burned -and charred by hot ashes, as was the case at Pompeii, at Herculaneum the objects discovered by the excavators were many of them in wonderfully perfect condition. Br,-nze. marble and glass objects ob-jects were none of thrni severely damaged, and manuscripts were sufTicii-ntly preserved to maKe possible their restoration to a degree which is highly high-ly satisfactory to archaeologists and historians. That the modern world will be able to obtain a better illustration of Hellenic culture as it was represented in a Graeco-Roman town from the excavations at Herculaneum than from those at Pompeii is the belief of many who have made a comparative study of the ruined cities. They adduce ad-duce this belief from the fact that Herculaneum is believed to have been less of a commercial settlement than was Pompeii, and that its inhabitants in-habitants were greatly more Interested in the fine arts and in all that pertained to the most advanced thought and culture of the times. The Inhabitants of Pompeii, on the other hand, are be- this object ana iunas suppneu iu me geuei.ii ui-rection ui-rection of fine arts and antiquities, the direction of which' had just been placed under Signor Corrado Cor-rado Ricci, a world renowned writer on art. Mr. Waldstein later published an account of his ill luck in Italy and America in a book upon Herculaneum which was muoh appreciated ("'Herculaneum, ("'Her-culaneum, Past, Present and Future," by Charles Waldstein; London; Macmillan & Co.. 190S). ' I saw Signor Giacomo Boni this morning at the excavations on Mount Palatino, where he has just made some lucky finds, which led him to ask humbly: "Am I worthy of it?" He declared to me that he knew nothing of any project of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan in regard to the question of excavations at Herculaneum a question, moreover, more-over, that has been settled. Signor Corrado Ricci. general director of fine arts and antiquities, repeated the same thing to me. He added, "The Italian government will never I repeat never give permission to any one whatever to search the soil of the fatherland. We are not Turkey! Even though foreign governments gov-ernments should express the desire to excavate in certain places to complete their studies, we should hasten to undertake the work ourselves, at our own expense, and to place the material unearthed at the disposal of whoever wishes to study them. "This is what we have just done for the Grand Duchy of Baden, which desired to know what was hidden under the soil of Loeria, in Crotona, in |