ARCHAEOLOGY. 



35 



quiline Hill, containing so great a proportion 

 (two thirds) of supellex of Etruscaii manufact- 

 ure, that some persons attributed it to that 

 people, and it has been regarded by Mr. J. H. 

 Middleton ("Ancient Rome in 1885," Edin- 

 burgh) as implying the existence of an Etrus- 

 can city of great size and importance, previ- 

 ous to the legendary period, and as "strong 

 evidence against the theory of an early Latin 

 superiority in Rome," Signor Rodolfo Lanciani, 

 the official superintendent of the excavations 

 in that quarter, who participated in the dis- 

 covery of the necropolis, sees in it only proof 

 of the great extent of the trade that was car- 

 ried on between the Latin colonists of Rome 

 and their Etruscan neighbors. The supellex 

 of the cemeteries of Alba Longa, one third of 

 which are of Etruscan manufacture, show that 

 its people had commercial transactions with 

 the Etruscans for a long period. The inter- 

 course between the settlers on the Palatine 

 Hill and these people, from whom they were 

 separated only by the river Rumion and its 

 marshes, must have been tenfold greater. 



Excavations for building a sewer in the region 

 of the plain of Testaccio have brought to light 

 one of the terminal stones of the sacred area 

 of Rome in its proper place. The stone bears 

 a record of the amplification of the area which 

 was made in A. D. 49. 



The Horrea Galbae. One of the buildings of 

 the public docks, or warehouses, on the banks 

 of the Tiber, which were known as the Horrea 

 Publica, or Horrea Ca3saris, has been laid open. 

 It consists of a series of rectangular courts, 

 wide enough to admit carts, with staircases at 

 intervals giving access to the offices above. An 

 inscription giving the names of the officers and 

 keepers of the Horrea Galbse was found in one 

 of the rooms. These boards appear to have 

 been composed of sixty members, men and 

 women, the former being always in the ma- 

 jority. A marble slab of the date of the Em- 

 peror Hadrian, found in the same neighbor- 

 hood, records the terms on which the ware- 

 houses were let. Also connected with these 

 discoveries is that of the tomb of the founder 

 of the horrea, Sergius Sulpicius Galba, son of 

 Sergius, consul in the year 646 of Rome, and 

 great-grandfather of the Emperor Galba. It is 

 built in the severe style of the republic, and 

 bears an inscription simply recording the name 

 and position of the man, with a group of con- 

 sular fasces, of five each, on either side. 



Barracks of the Eqnites Singnlares. A part of 

 the barracks of the Equites Singulares, or 

 horse-guards of the Roman emperors, has been 

 discovered in the Via Tasso. It runs parallel 

 with an antique street thirteen feet wide, and 

 contains a hall more than ninety feet long, with 

 smaller apartments on each side, the whole of 

 which is built in the reticulated work of Ha- 

 drian's time. In it were forty-three marble 

 pedestals or slabs bearing inscriptions of ac- 

 knowledgment of veterans of the corps for be- 

 ing missi honesta missione, or having obtained 



honorable dismissal after twenty-five years x>f 

 faithful service. The inscriptions are either 

 raised by individuals or by groups of from six 

 to forty men. Those raised by individuals are 

 usually dedicated to one god ; those raised by 

 the subscriptions of groups often to several 

 gods and goddesses. The building is supposed 

 to be a part of the older barracks. 



The Ancient Vetnlonia. The site of the ancient 

 Vetulonia has been fixed by Dr. I. Falchi at 

 Colonna, in the province of Grosseto. One of 

 the tombs contained more than twenty bronze 

 vases, together with shields, helmets, swords, 

 lances, and vases of silver, one of which was 

 chiseled. The collections in the aggregate 

 represent an extraordinary quantity of remains 

 of Etruscan art. 



Herr Pfarrer Schreimer has laid bare the 

 military works of the Roman station of Abu- 

 sina, on the Danube, which was established to 

 maintain the connection between the armies of 

 the East and the West. The remains indicate 

 that the fortress was one of great importance 

 and strength, and afford numerous richly 

 adorned objects. 



England. Discovery of a Prehistoric Boat at Brigg. 

 Workmen excavating for the gas-works at 

 Brigg, in North Lincolnshire, England, on the 

 20th of April, found, a few yards from the 

 river Ancholme, and some two or three feet 

 below the surface, a large boat, or canoe, cut 

 out of the trunk of a solid tree. It was 48 feet 

 long, 4 feet 4 inches wide, and 2 feet 9 inches 

 deep, and had been shaped in a very workman- 

 like manner with the adze or axe. The prow 

 was rather blunt, and the stern the log hav- 

 ing been cut through to the end had been 

 fitted in with a plank end, beyond which the 

 sides projected as if it had been designed that 

 they should support a raised deck or seat. 

 Large holes pierced through the wood toward 

 the top edges of these projections appeared to 

 have been intended for the insertion of cords 

 to bind the sides and press them up close to the 

 plank ends. Other smaller holes along the 

 sides of the vessel may have been for cords for 

 lashing the sides and preventing their spring- 

 ing. In hollowing the boat, ridges of timber 

 had been left at intervals, crossing the bottom 

 athwartship, which seemed to correspond with 

 the floor-timbers of modern craft. No definite 

 age has been assigned to this boat, but it is 

 regarded as very ancient. 



Afghanistan. The Colossal Statues of Bamian. At 

 Bamian, where the road between Cabul and 

 Balkh crosses the Paropamisus range, at a 

 height of about 8,500 feet above the sea, are 

 five colossal statues, three of which are in 

 niches cut out of the conglomerate rock of the 

 cliff, the figures themselves being formed of 

 the rock within the niche. The largest statue, 

 which is one of these three, is 173 feet high, 

 and is called by the Mussulmans the " male 

 idol," and said by the Chinese to be an image 

 of Buddha. At its feet are entrances, which 

 communicate with stairs and galleries, so that 



