1839.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



115 



ANTIQUITIES. 



Disrovenj of Ancient C'olm, S^c, in the Tcinpk. — M'itliin llie last few days the 

 workmt^n euiployed in Jigging tlie lountlalion of tho chambers in Paper-buildings, 

 Templf, have discovered several earthen ve^isels of curious construction, some of them 

 containing coins of an ancient date. Many hu\e been purchased, and the spot is. 

 daily visited by antiquaries, who evince great anxiety to possess some of iho relic*. — 

 Morning Chronicle. 



EaiNA Casts. — These casts in the British Museum have now been arranged 

 as the originals arw in tho Cilyptothdi at Munich, so as to exhibit their position 

 on the pediiuent of tlie temple. This is almo>t the solitary arcliitecttual monu- 

 ment in the museum, and it is well calculated to animate tho public mind in 

 favour of architectural decorations, while it more than ever induces us to regret the 

 blind policy of tho governnu-nt in having allowed the originals lo escape them. The 

 arrangement confers great credit on Mr. Loft, the modeller to the museum, who has 

 liad the supeiintendeuce of the work. 



Vfiicruhlv RlUc. — In the very ancient ecclesiastical structure called King's Chapel, 

 at Islip, in Oxfordshire, formerly stood a stone foul, which was used, as tradition 

 athrms, tor the baptism of Kdward the Confessor, more than 800 years ago. It lias 

 long been displaced, and now occupies a far less pious position in the gardens ot Sir 

 Henry Brown, who resides not lav oH", at Nether Ituddington, and attords free access 

 to this antiquarian curiosity. 



E<jnptian Slnnt- Coffin. — There is now on board of the brig Klizabeth Ann. Captain 

 Ellis, lying at the north end of the (Queens Dock, a renmrkaUy ancient Egyptian 

 stone coifin, recently importeti from Alexandria, in the vessel called the Hope, whence 

 it has been transhipped, to be taken to the British Museum. It is eight feet six inches 

 ill length, measured outsidf, and three feet six inches in width. It is covered with 

 curious carving of human figures, hieroglyphics, and emblomalical devices. It was 

 discovered far in the interior of Egyjit, and has been sent to England by our consul 

 at Alexandria. Tho cost of its conveyance it is supjiosed will reach 1 ,000/ , owing to 

 tho want of roads iu Egypt, and the necessity of employing men chioily as ctirriers. — 

 Lirerjwol Paper. 



SarcopJuigim. — In the Island of St. Margaret, on the Danube, betwixt Pesth and 

 Ol'en, has been found a sarcophagus of coloured marble, and of distinguished work- 

 manship, containing th« body of a female, embalmed, and in a jemarkable slate of 

 preservation. It is clothed in a dress of silver brocade, with a crow n of massive gold 

 on tho head ; a pearl necklace .surrounds the neck, and eacli hnger i"* covered with 

 rings, made of precious stones, besides which there aro many other ornaments of the 

 same material, as well as of gold. It is generally thought that it is the body of St. 

 Mai'garet, daughter of Bela IV., King of Hungary, patroness of the island. The 

 sarcophagus having been taken to the Bishop of Pesth, he lias ordered it to bo 

 temporarily deposited iu tho Catbedvid. — Near Pesth has also been discovered in a 

 cave, on a hill, amidst the bones of the mammoth, and other extinct species of animals, 

 an ancient vase, of an extraordinary shape, totally new to anliciuarians. 



At Marsal, iu /•Vajicf, workmen excavating the bed of tlie river Seille have found, 

 amidst the remains of aquatic plants, and buried deep in the soil, twenty skeletons iu 

 perfect preservation. They lay in ditlerent positions, without any WL^apons by llieni 

 some liaving fractured skulls, some with their face to the ground, appearing to indicuts 

 their having been peaceable men, who fell victims to an unexpected attack of warlike 

 invaders. Their necks, their arms, and their legs were surrounded by bronze rings 

 like those found iu the tumuli of Brittany. One of these rings, or solid necklaces, is 

 of remarkable workmanship, elegance and finish. This is formed of gold and bronze, 

 and being tittod tight to the neck, so that it could not pass over the head, it must 

 either have been put on the person who wore it in early youth, or have been soldered 

 when on. Those relics, supposed to bo two thousand years old, are occupying the 

 attention of the antiquaries of France, whose descriptions, details, and suppositiitns 

 would consume more space than we caw spare. Tho bodies, from the appearance of 

 tho ancient brickwork beneath them, appear to have sunk into tho soft slime of the 

 river, which has subsequently soliditied, and been augmented by successive depositions 

 of earth and aquatic plants. 



The Society of Antiquarians of Normandy have decided on elevating once more in 

 its place a miliary stone found in 1819, near Bayoux. It bears an inscription in 

 honour of the Emperor Claudius, and was erected in the XLVT. year of the Christian 

 era. It is tlie most ancient monument of Romans found in Normandy. In coming 

 to invade England tho Emperor Claudius twice traversed Franco, and Suetonius 

 relates that in the last journey he made, which only took up six months from the 

 moment he left Rome, till that when ho returned there in triumph, he travelled on 

 foot from Maiseilles to Bouhigne. It was probably after these expeditions that ho 

 established tho military road of which this miliary stone was one of the appendages. 



Cathedral of Chartres. — The Monitfur publishes areport, addressed to the Minister 

 of Public Instruction by M. Didron, Secretary of the Historical C<immittoo of Arts 

 anil Mmuiinents, on tho archffiological monography of the cathedral of Chartres. 

 Amongst other interesting facts, M. Didron establishes that the statues taken d»'«n 

 during the revolution of 1793 from tho gallery over the grand portal of Notre Dame 

 do Paris were not the statues of tho Kings of France, as lias been stated by tho 

 Benedictines and Sauval, and as was believed by Napoleon, who iutondud to repeople 

 the gallery, but simply the statues of the Kings of Juda, the ancestors 4if the Virgin 

 Mary, and Joseph. In tlic rojjort the statue of Liberty is aUo described — a statue 

 belonging to tho 13th century, and decorating tho northern porch of tho Cathedral 

 of Chartres. 



A curious and Inferestinij sci'ulcliral monument has lutciy been discorcnd at Hu/ni'. 

 The ancient aqueducts at the Porta Maggiore, bearing on their lofty entablature the 

 three inscriptions, will be taiuiliar to the recollection of all persons who have visited 

 the pntiquitiesof Rome, — (The reader will tind a description of these majestic arches; 

 and the subsequent rude works of Iloiiorius phiced against them, iu Burgess's " To- 

 pography and Antiquities of Rome," vol. ii. p. all, 312, and 3i9.) Two of the arches 

 <d' tho Claudiim aqueduct served for two gates of tho city, respectively conducting to 

 tho roads which led to Prieneste and Eabicum. Stilicho, the general of the Emperor 

 Honorius, placed some cumbrous walls against those arches. In an attempt to clear 

 and repair some of these walls last September, the workmen discovered a portion of a 

 bas-relief, which tinally led to the demolition of the tower on tho right in going 

 but of the city gate. The tan« was found to enclose a renmiUtibltf luonuiocntj a* 



singular for its construction as fttr the subjects it ropvesents. It was found in very- 

 good preservation. In clearing away thn surrounding walls, the next discovery, 

 after the hasieUef, h as a slab of marble, on which were two recumbent statues, ratlier 

 larger than the life, male and female ; close by thorn was tho foUi>wing inscription, — 



FVIT ATISTIA VXOR MIIIEI 



FBMINA OPITVMA VEIXSIT 



QVUIVS COKl'ORIS BELIQVIAE 



HOC PANARIU. 



The form of the monument is that of a machine which was used by the Romans for 

 encloMiig the uewlvbaked bread, and which was perlorateil wilh hde.-s or tubes to let 

 out the steam. These are curiously imitated in the construction of the tomb. The 

 bas-relief represents the whole jirocsss of making bread ; it runs all round the top, and 

 is supported at the angles by pilasters, the capitals of which aro neatly ornamented. 

 These descend halfway down, and repose upon a broad square plinth, on wliich is 

 the following inscription on one side : — 



EST HOC. MUNIMENTVM MaUCI 

 VEftGILl KVRVSAC 



On the other side the three first words are wanting as far as the m in monimentum 

 and the name of Marcus Vcrgiliiis Eurysax is written with some little dittt^rence in 

 tlie paleography. The cognomen of" kvrvsacis, however, is complete, and then 

 follow these three words, pistoius. rf.dkmotoris aim-aret. On the sides, along tho 

 upper part, are placed horizontallv, in ritws of three, nine hollow stone cylinders, and 

 in the lower part (be-iieath. the inscription Est Hoc, Arc.) two columnar masses aro 

 placed perpendicnlarlv. separated by a square block. The " Panarium" was also 

 found, and is carved 'in the form of a circular wicker basket. It is observable that 

 the southern side of the monument, which probably stood within the property of 

 Vergilius Eurysax, is formed of line Travertine slone, while the sides exposed to the 

 public roads aro of Tufo. The whole of this sepulchral monument was completely 

 enveloped in the comparatively modern wall built against tho aqueduct. It is pro- 

 posed to clear away the obstructing walls, and to lay open the tomb and the Poi ta 

 Labicana to public view. The two statues have been conveyed tr. llie Vatican 

 Museum. The materials of which this tomb is bnilt, and tlie paleography of tho 

 inscription, appear to show that it is a monument of the republic. It is not impro- 

 bable that the Travertine stone may have been added at a more recent period : the 

 words gvoivs, mihei, and opitvma, nmy be compared w illi tho inscription on the 

 sarcophagus of L Scipio Barbatus, where we have qvuivs fouma virtvtxi pakisvma. 

 KKLiut'iAii QvoD is also very ancient. — Atheanum. 



STEAM NAVIGATION. 



Ericsson's Steam-Boat Propeller. — The great power exhibited during the early 

 tj-ials of this propeller, about eighteen months since, induced some American caniil 

 proprietors to order an iron steam-boat, with a 50-horse engine, to be fitted witli the 

 new propeller. This small iron steamer, called the Robert F. Stockton, has lately 

 arrived in the Thames from Liverpool, and will shortly proceed to tho liuiled States ; 

 her dimensions are 70 feet length on deck, and 10 feet beam. A variety of experi- 

 ments have been made in presence of several scieiititic and practical men, who con- 

 sider the success to be perfect. Although constructed for towing purposes only, this 

 boat has frequently gone at the rate of twelve miles au hour. As to her power as a 

 tug, we are informed that on Tuesday, Jan. 29, she towed the American packet ship. 

 Toronto, from Blackwall to the lower point of Woolwich, a distance ot three milea 

 and a quarter, iu forty miniiteB, against tho Hood tide, then running from two to ^yn 

 and a half miles ; tlnis towing her through the water at tho rate of upwards oi six 

 miles an hour. The Toronto is tJ50 tons burden, she measures 32 feet beam, and 

 drew at tlie time of the trial 10 feet U inches ; thus preieuting a secUonal area of 

 more than 4Q0 square foet. Now the fact of this body hawog been moved at a rato 

 of upwards of six miles an hour, by a propeller, or piece of mechanism, measuring 

 only six feet four inches in diameter, and occupying less than three feet in 

 length, is one which, scientifically considered, is interesting in the extreme, and ni 

 a practical or commercial point of view, is of immense importance. ^\ e understand 

 a company is about being formed to apply the propeller to a shipof 1,000 ti«ns burden, 

 to be employed in trans-Atlantic na\igation ; and as her sailing qualities will not at 

 all interfere with her steaming power, it is confidently anticipated that increased 

 safety will be insured, and her passage greatly accelerated, at a saving of at least ono- 

 ludf the fuel. — Times. 



Depurlurc of the Great Western, lirislul Jan. 28.— The Great Western having been 

 completely roiitted during hor stay at Pator, a new quarter deck having been built, 

 and increased stowage room provided for upwards of fifty tons, sailed this day on her 

 first voyage for New York this season. She set sail at about twenty minutes beli.ro 

 six p. m., carrving with her 107 passengers, among whom is < 'aptam Hudson ol llie 

 Guards, with Government despatches, and Mr. Balls id' Covent Garden upwards ot 

 8,000 letters, and a full cargo of Biiiish JBanufactured goods, consisting ot silks, IrisU 

 p(qdins, and cotton goods. She is expected to return about the 7th ot Marcli. 



Christiana, Jan. 22.-Orders have been given to build au armed steam-boat of lOO 

 or 120 horse power, after the drawings of Lieutenant Sommorteldt, on the model ot 

 tho Medea, which is reckoned to be tho first armed steam-boat lu Europe. 



The Kite Posl^o(fice Steam-ie.sstl. running from Litciiiool to Dublin, has lately 

 been refitted at Woidwich. Her machinerv and boilers aro the manufacture of 

 Messrs Fawcett Preston, and Co . of Liverpool, who liavo introduced some im- 

 provumonts into them. On her first trial, about tho 22nd of January, in consequence 

 of tho immense draft to tlie boilers, it was considered proper to shorten the chimney 

 eleven feet, which, in ordinary cxses. would so check the draft as almost to destroy 

 it. She then proceeded on her second trial, when it was admitted that her machinery 

 was excellent and satisfactorv ; that the boilers, with tho chimney eleven teet 

 shorter produced a suuerabundance of steam, the engines making their lull comple- 

 ment of revolutions; and. lo the surprise of all on board, scarcely any or no smoke 

 was seen issuing from the chimney, which was then explained to be in consequence 

 vf tho peculiar form of the bridges applied to the turnnces. These are a new 

 invention of Mr. E. Hopkins, Gl, Si. Johu-strect. ClerkenwcU, and have the ettect of 

 returning the Ijglit fuel and gases uu tu lh« file, tth^u the swokt; is tunsviwed. ftBU 

 coftU live consequeiilly SBved. 



