No: m.^-^Pausilipo and the Lago cCAgnano. 249 



former times before the road was lowered, yet there seems no 

 doubt that some divisions of strata do occur, as is seen at the 

 east end before entering the lofty arch. * At either end are 

 vast ([uarries, and, as far as the light penetrates, we have an 

 opportunity of admiring the lofty faces of homogeneous tufa 

 which are exposed. In making these excavations, several inte- 

 resting objects have been discovered, particularly wood and 

 shells ; the latter I have noticed in Hamilton's Campi Plde- 

 grcei, since writing the last of these notices, f are actually the 

 shells of fish inhabiting the Bay of Naples at present, parti- 

 cularly oysters, — a very curious fact, which is confirmed^by Mr 

 Scrope in a paper read before the Geological Society J. 



The history of this singular work of art mounts to the ear- 

 liest ages of tradition. It appears originally to have been 

 formed by the Cimmerians, the mysterious original inhabitants 

 of the district, and afterwards employed, probably enlarged, 

 by the Romans. By them it was named the " Crypta Pu- 

 teolana," and is several times mentioned by classic authors §. 

 Its total length is 2322 English feet, or not far from half a 

 mile; it is 22 feet wide ; and its height is generally from 70 to 

 90, but at the west end only 10. This arises from the cut 

 towards the opposite extremity, made in modern times to ren- 

 der the rise uniform, and was performed by Alphonso I. of 

 Arragon, || by whom the shafts from above, in one or two 

 places which had existed in ancient times, as we learn from 

 Strabo, ^ were cleared out for the admission of air, which is 

 very necessary, as even now the central part of the grotto is 

 oppressively ill ventilated. It is well known that towards the 

 end of October, the sun, when nearly setting, shines directly 

 through the grotto. Assximing then his declination — 13^ S. 

 on the 26th, his azimuth, when 5° above the horizon, which 

 we may allow partly for the elevation of the west end of the 

 grotto, will be 69° W : the direction, therefore, of this passage 

 is very nearly W. S. W. With regard to its primaeval use, 



. " Hamilton, Plate xvi. f Last Number of this Journal, p. 126, note. 



J Philosophical Magazine, New Series, i. 388. 

 , § Seneca, Ep. 38. Strabo, lib. iii. Petronius Arbiter. 



II De Jorio, Guida di Fozzuoli. p. 19. 



•IT Cluverius, Italia Antiqua, vol. ii. folio. 



