|
The excavations being continued, a wide street
occurred, beginning at the arch adjoining the back wall
of the Temple of Jupiter in the Forum, and ending in a
second triumphal arch, near which were found the bronze
fragments of the equestrian statue it had once
supported. On the right was discovered a temple of
Fortune, doubly interesting because founded by the
illustrious family of the Tullii, and, about the centre
of the left side of the same street, an entrance was
opened into an area which proved to belong to
the public baths or thermae of the city. Some of
the apartments of this edifice yet remained covered by
stone arches, which, having resisted the pressure of
the cinders and accumulated earth, retained, in all
their original freshness of colour, those beautiful
ornaments and fretted ceilings, of which so few have
resisted the lapse of eighteen centuries.
The discovery of the baths is perhaps of greater
consequence than may at first appear, for,
notwithstanding the enormous ruins of the Roman
thermae, their component parts seem to have been
little understood, and even variously named by the
authors who have undertaken their elucidation. At
Pompeii, on the contrary, the absence of xystus,
Theatre, Palaestra, and an infinite number of other
intricate divisions which render the thermae of
the great Capital so complicated and unintelligible,
leaves a satisfactory and defined idea of the use and
meaning of every other portion of the fabric.
Previously to the discovery of the baths, the whole of
a narrow alley behind the chalcidicum had been
cleared and a passage opened to the street running
between the Forum and the thermae. From that
alley a still smaller avenue ran between the
chalcidicum and the building which is known on
the spot by the name of the Pantheon ; thus adding to
the former map of Pompeii an entire square or island of
public edifices and habitations, and forming, in
itself, no mean acquisition to the antiquary. This
excavation was also remarkable for the discovery of an
ancient well of considerable depth, and still retaining
fifteen feet of water, which, from its situation, might
possibly have been there before the destruction of the
city.
These various objects, with the house, named that of
the Tragic Poet, situated opposite to the northern side
of the thermae, cover a plot of ground advancing
nearer to the centre of Pompeii than any which had
formerly been cleared, and, in consequence of a greater
depth of superincumbent soil, they have, generally,
been found in a better state of preservation. They
form, altogether, the connexion of two portions of the
plan of the city, which were scarcely united by the
unfinished excavation of the Forum at the period of the
former publication. The house of the Tragic Poet has
exhibited superior specimens of painting, while the
subject of ancient art itself is exciting more of the
public attention, and meeting with merited though tardy
admiration, through the zeal and industry of M.
Ternite, who is engraving at Berlin a superb collection
of the pictures of Herculaneum and Pompeii under the
auspices of the King of Prussia.
With such an accession of new materials, the Author of
the present work has thought it advisable to lay them
before the public without delay, aware that time will
incalculably diminish the freshness of those objects,
which, when stripped of their external coats by the
rains of winter or the burning suns of summer, lose by
far the greater portion of their interest and
identity.
Another motive for the immediate publication of
whatever can be collected, is the great and increasing
difficulty of obtaining permission to draw and measure
the newly-discovered antiquities, by which a foreigner
is reduced to snatch from eternal oblivion only such
morsels as a favourable moment may enable him to
delineate. An astonishing number of interesting objects
is annually and hourly destroyed by the action of the
weather upon substances and surfaces which have been
once subjected to the operation of heat and moisture ;
and this unavoidable decay is the more to be lamented,
as strangers are seldom allowed to draw till the
decomposition both of colour and substance has taken
place to a great extent ; while, even if they were
delineated by a native artist, there are no engravers
on the spot of sufficient skill to multiply the copies,
nor a public sufficiently educated to encourage the
sale of them.
An instance of the delay which takes place in the
native publications may be observed in the description
of the Temple of Isis, which, though discovered at so
early a period, is only at this moment in the progress
of illustration by the care of the Cavaliere Carelli,
whose elaborate account of that interesting relic, with
drawings made at the time of the excavation, is only
now in preparation ; while the monument itself has
already lost the last vestiges of the beauty and
freshness in which it first appeared.
It has often been
noticed, during the winter months, that the stuccos
which had been observed perfect, during a first visit
to any newly-discovered edifice, had entirely
disappeared on a second examination ; so that, no
traces being left, many of the prettiest fancies of
antiquity are irrecoverably lost ; while the order
continues to prevent strangers from drawing till three
or four years have expired, and the objects become
defaced. At the present moment, in the year 1826, only
those parts of Pompeii can be drawn and measured with
the consent of those immediately concerned, which have
heen discovered prior to the year 1823, or which, in
other words, after the publication of the former
portion of this work, have little or no novelty to
recommend them. A foreign antiquary can only hope for
better times and a more liberal policy with regard to
Pompeii ; at present, while a sort of patent exists, by
which a very eminent architect and scene-painter
possesses the exclusive privilege of publishing
antiquities, to which it does not appear that he has
ever particularly turned his attention, a stranger
meets with almost insurmountable difficulties, and
nothing is known to the literary world of the most
important discoveries. For a time, the gentlemanly
feeling of those who were employed in the execution of
this seeming monopoly of antiquarian research, induced
them to overlook some occasional violations of the
rigid order for exclusion from the latest discoveries ;
but, on a recent change in the department, the acting
Superintendent having done the present work the honour
to consider it as the principal means of conveying to
the public a faithful account of the latest discoveries
of Pompeii, has made the interdiction of it the subject
of a particular injunction ; a circumstance very
creditable to the work, but at the same time rendering
its execution more difficult (1).
In the course of the year 1825 three new works appeared
on Pompeii, of which that of Mr. Goldicutt, of London,
seems to possess a considerable degree of splendour.
One, undertaken by Captain de Goro, in folio, under the
patronage of the Emperor of Austria, is written in
German, and was received with approbation by his
learned countrymen. The other is by Signor Carlo
Bonucci, the Neapolitan architect, now, in 1827,
director of the new excavations at Herculaneum, and
nephew of Signor Bonucci, formerly the excellent and
indefatigable director of the excavations at Pompeii.
This volume, which has been twice printed, is intended
as a pocket companion and guide to those who visit the
spot, and is both convenient as to size, and replete
with every information which might be expected from the
enthusiasm, talents, and opportunities of an author
whose whole occupation is the study of Pompeii, where
he became director in 1828. It is to him that we are
indebted for the communication of what appears to be
the just interpretation of all those inscriptions at
Pompeii which have an accusative termination, and which
have hitherto so much puzzled the antiquary.
The letters AED, which had been supposed to refer to
the house, seem really to signify the aedile whose
favour was invoked by the owner of the shop : an easy
and satisfactory interpretation, which leaves no
further doubt on the subject. As an example that of
Paratus may be given :
Pansam. Aed. Paratus.
rog.
Paratus invokes Pansa the Aedi1e.
The editors of the Museo Borbonico have also
announced their intention of publishing an account of
the recent discoveries at Pompeii, and will, doubtless,
communicate many particulars which their official
situation enables them only to collect. To these may be
added the magnificent map of M. Bibent, on so large a
scale that the details of every house are represented,
but not at present, February, 1827, containing the
latest excavations.
It may not be quite uninteresting to notice the
progress of the excavations, which, notwithstanding all
that has been said on the subject to the contrary, seem
to have been as well conducted, and as steadily
pursued, as times and circumstances have permitted.
Since the return of the legitimate sovereign, more than
half of the Forum has been cleared, the Senaculum or
Temple of Jupiter, the chalcidicum, the Temple
of Mercury, the Pantheon, the Temple of Venus, that of
Fortune, the thermae, and innumerable private
houses have been disinterred ; and, though it be true
that more labourers might have been employed, it is not
less so that the work ought not to proceed, till the
objects already explored are roofed and fortified
against the weather. At present, considerable expense
attends the excavation, on account of the greater depth
of soil which occurs toward the centre of the city. The
preservation of the vaults of the thermae has
been a work of no trifling importance ; and both time
and skill are necessary in the application of the means
best calculated to hand down to posterity whatever can
be saved of these crumbling relics of antiquity. The
merit of Signor Bonucci the elder has been conspicuous
on these occasions, and it is to be hoped that his
successor may continue the system. The director is
assisted by an intendant, who is on the spot, and by
three overseers, who not only watch the workmen, but
sometimes show objects of particular interest to
travellers. In addition to these, is a number of
inferior custodi or guardians, whose chief duties
consist in accompanying visitors, or taking care of
such ruins as, being considered of more importance, are
shut up from the vulgar by way of protection from
wanton injury, or the inscription of names by which
many beautiful relics have suffered. It is usual for
travellers to bestow a trifle upon the custodi. Till
human nature can be changed, this is the best way of
rewarding civility, for the keepers of museums and
cabinets who are not permitted to take money, have been
always observed to hurry the stranger through their
respective departments, instead of gratifying his
curiosity.
It has been the custom to honour the arrival of
illustrious personages by excavating in their presence
some small portion of Pompeii ; an enviable method of
showing respect exclusively possessed by the court of
Naples. For these occasions, an order is given that the
earth should be left undisturbed to the depth of a foot
or more, in several of the rooms of a newly-discovered
house, and, on the day appointed, these are cleared out
for the amusement of the guests. It is seldom a
fruitless search, as the overseers are previously aware
that some curiosities exist, though they know not
precisely what they may be. An example of the reports
made by the overseers on some of these occasions may
suffice to give a general idea of the objects which are
usually brought to light in the excavations of
Pompeii.
REPORT.
«On the fourth of November, 1823, was found,
at the height of fourteen palms from the pavement, and
in the street running from the Temple of Fortune toward
the house of Pansa, the head of a Roman Emperor in
bronze, not unlike Caligula. It was three-fourths of a
palm high. Soon after, a leg of the same was found, one
palm three-fourths long. On November 5th, was found a
skeleton, with sixty-five coins of small silver, and
two large medals in bronze. On November 8th, was found
the body of the Emperor's equestrian statue. The right
hand held the reins, and the left was in an attitude of
command. On November 9th, the legs of the horse were
found, and some portions of the body. The whole was
about six palms one-fourth high. On the 10th of
November, in the third and fourth houses on the right
of this street, were found several articles in the
presence of the English minister. These were : a vase
with a handle ; an oil vessel with a handle and cover ;
six coins of middle size, and some ornaments of a door,
all of bronze ; ten lamps of terra cotta, one of a
circular form, with an eagle in relievo ; five cups,
two earthen pots, into which money was slipped through
a hole, and preserved till wanted ; and a number of
bronze sockets, or umbilici, on which doors had turned.
On November l2th, was found, in the presence of General
Baron Frimont, a statue four inches high, plated with
silver ; another silver statue of Fortune with the horn
of abundance ; six coins, two of a large, and four of
middle size ; a patera, the handles of which were
covered with silver ; the two hinges or sockets of a
door ; a basin ; a lamp, with a handle and cover, for
one light ; other hinges of a door ; three buckles for
harness ; a glass bottle with a handle ; a fluted
tumbler ; eight circular vases of glass ; a little
bottle, or lachrymatory, half melted ; a Faun's head of
marble ; a cylindric piece of granite, and other
objects.»
This may suffice as a specimen of the yet incalculable
riches of Pompeii. Not a day passes without the
discovery of something of greater or less importance ;
while the previous acquisition of at least twenty great
statues of marble, and four of bronze, not to mention a
countless multitude of smaller figures and precious
objects, promises an ample harvest in future. It is
certainly surprising that so few skeletons have yet
been found in Pompeii ; but, by estimating the number,
160, already discovered at about an eighth of the
whole, according to the proportion which the city
already laid open bears to the area enclosed by
the walis and supposed suburbs, we shall find that
nearly one thousand three hundred of the unfortunate
inhabitants were destroyed by the fatal eruption ; a
computation by no means insignificant to the population
of a city scarcely two miles in circuit, and of which
so considerable a portion was occupied by public
buildings.
It may be necessary to say a few words on the subject
of the present deviation from the order observed in the
former part of this work, which was divided into
dissertations treating distinctly of temples, theatres,
and private houses. As it is proposed to follow, if
possible, the traces of the excavators, it will be
evident that every succeeding portion of the work must
have had the same endless distribution and division ;
and, in short, that an essay on the Temples of Pompeii
could never have been completed till the entire city
was disinterred ; and the same observation applies
equally to every other species of building. If,
therefore, any classification of the edifices be
desirable, the task must unavoidably be left to some
future author who may be so fortunate as to have the
whole of the materials in his possession. The former
work was considered as a whole, and, indeed, from the
political convulsions which took place at the moment of
collecting the materials for it, it seemed probable
that some time might elapse before many fresh documents
could be produced. At present the case is different ;
whatever is published can only be regarded as a
repository of details which would otherwise have
perished long before the entire city of Pompeii could
be explored. The excavations, though proceeding slowly,
have laid open other temples and other dwellings, with
public edifices of a distinct character, so that,
perhaps, no order could be chosen better calculated to
convey an exact idea of the relative situations of the
various objects than that which their topographical
position suggests.
Should it be thought that this volume contains, at its
commencement, an account of objects either in some
degree previously known, or less interesting than might
have been expected from the variety of new matter
afforded by the excavations, it may be observed, that
it was necessary to insert them for the purpose of
uniting the former with the present publication, which
would have been defective while a hiatus was suffered
to exist in a region so important as the Forum.
|
