244 Mr Ramage on the Excavations made at Pompeii 



is distinctly crystalline. It emits a faint but distinct odour of 

 sulphur, when moderately heated. Considering the use to which 

 the gil-i-toorsch is applied, I presume all the iron found in the 

 specimen sent to me, must be derived from the box which con- 

 tained it. I therefore infer, that it consisted originally of sul- 

 phate of lime, with a little siliceous matter, acidulated by free 

 sulphuric acid. This acid can scarcely have originated in the de- 

 composition of metallic sulphurets, but must, I apprehend, have 

 been derived from the combustion of sulphur. The sulphureous 

 vapour noticed in the vicinity of the earth, confirms this opi- 

 nion." 



Account of Excavations made at Pompeii from December 1826 

 to August 1827. By T. C, Ramage, Esq. Communicated 

 by the Author. 



-I T was in the autumn of 1825 that I first paid a visit to Pom- 

 peii, and the impression it then made on my mind was by no 

 means equal to what I had expected. I returned, however, se- 

 veral times, and found that every examination only increased 

 my desire to investigate it more minutely. You are aware that 

 Pompeii is about fourteen miles from Naples, and five from the 

 crater of Vesuvius. Through it ran the Via Consularis, a branch 

 of the Via Appia, which, striking off from Capua, passed through 

 Naples and Pompeii to Solerno. On entering the suburbs you 

 set your foot on this ancient road, which, like all the other Ro- 

 man ways, is composed of large unhewn blocks of stone. In 

 Pompeii the pavement has been composed of lava, and shews 

 that Vesuvius must have been a volcanic mountain in some early 

 period of the world, though history has left us no account of it. 

 Alighting at the barrier, where a guard is placed, you enter its 

 suburbs, which have been called Augustus Fehx, and appear to 

 have been founded by the colonies of Sylla and Augustus, 

 whose names have been discovered on many of the monuments. 

 One single villa has been completely excavated, and many 

 others no doubt surround it, which will hereafter be exposed to 

 view. The first coup d'^oeil is remarkably striking, and well 

 fitted to make an impression on the mind ; you see at once the 

 whole length of the street, which is lined on both sides by 



