1146 Mr Ramage on the Excavations made at Pompeii 



buildings, and as these are almost the only edifices that have 

 been as yet uncovered, we may conclude that the private villas 

 are still concealed from our view. The articles that have been 

 found in these houses are generally superior, both in richness of 

 material and beauty of workmanship, to any that the Royal 

 Museum has yet acquired, and display in a very remarkable 

 manner the labour and ingenuity bestowed by the Romans even 

 on their commonest utensils. 



The excavations have taken place principally in two direc- 

 tions, — in that street which is called the Street of the Arch, and 

 towards the angle of the Forum, opposite the Basilica. In the 

 winding lane which leads to the portico of the theatre, there 

 have been several small houses excavated, exhibiting a consi- 

 derable degree of ingenuity in the just arrangement, and agree- 

 able union of all parts of the edifice, and a most extraordinary 

 economy in the employment of ground. It may indeed be af- 

 firmed of them, what Pomponius Atticus said of some old houses 

 he possessed in Rome, that there had been more ingenuity than 

 money expended in their erection. One cannot help admiring 

 the solidity with which many parts have been built, and the 

 beauty of the opiis reticulatum, which is equal even to the ce- 

 lebrated specimens of this sort of work in the gardens of Sallust 

 at Rome. Here also, were found several Ionic chapters, of a 

 style purely Grecian, which you know is a very unusual occur- 

 rence in Pompeii. Their volute resembles the calyx of a flower, 

 attached to its stem, which, turning downwards at the point, 

 where the junction of the volute takes place, winds round the 

 higher part of the shaft of the pillar, — an elegant device, quite 

 new to us. 



In the street of the Arch, the houses are larger and more 

 splendid. One of them has its front decorated with representa- 

 tions of baskets, carved in a greyish coloured volcanic tufa, 

 called by the Italians Tufo of Nocera, from the quarries being 

 discovered in the vicinity of that town. These baskets, exhi- 

 biting great accuracy of outline, are still in some parts covered 

 with the stucco, which had been applied to them to furnish 

 moulds for others intended to imitate the tufa. The cornice, 

 formed of the same material, is lying on the ground, and fur- 

 nishes a beautiful specimen of elegance in architectural disposi- 



