'rmu T-LVIKS, THURSDAY, DECiiJviBEK 2G, 1912. 



I ARCHyEOLOGICAL RESEARCH 

 IN ITALY. 



I.— ROME IX liU-i. 



TO THE JSDITOJa OF THE TIMES. 



Sir, — Tho folJo-wing report upon arphsBologioeJ 

 researi'h iu Italy is inUMided to deal wiUvwhat 

 ll89 t>ROH done, ditriug the past yeais in cjm- 

 frQuation of the letter from me -which you -wero 

 good enough to publish in your issae of 

 .Tanuary 4 last. As usual I shall commence my 

 acco\mt with Rorno it^self. 



The PiiiATimE. 

 Coramondatoro Boni's escavations on the 

 l altttmo liavo bePii continupd throuehoufc tho 

 vca,r, and have lod <o resiJla ot grriat mtcrest' 

 iiud impori^anco. I ho htaxn ap&rtmfints of 

 f iio preat pala^ifs ereot«d by tho Mavian Km- 

 pcvrors havo now bc<ni cntjrolv Iftid harp, 

 and oven tho central portion, which fulls 

 ■vTJthui fho aroa ocmipied until letolv by 

 tho \ il.la MULs. o.nd which w ats probably dovotea 

 to domestio lusee. haa bpmn m part esr()lcced- 

 !t. i?eorns cle-Ar that iJio iemnlo ot Apollo 

 cannot hi i ' ' f i if i>i, \ij)a 



IS a'- -ed and 



though 1!- i:i i.H, r:i:;\. uiiMi ,> iUions havo 

 definitely octticd the ])oiiil. to assort the 

 impossibiJity of the sito pro]xiscd bv Professor 

 Halsou, abo\^c ihe Arch ot Jitu.s. 1 think 

 that, f.hoa© who hoard Mr. O. h. Hichnioiifi rf 

 advocacy of his own viow^ at the Archaologji^al 

 Congress m October will luive felt, with him. 

 that tho probabilities are strongly m favour 

 of tlio sito on the #outli sado ol the lull, over- 

 looking t ho A% cntinc. 



But the discoveries Tjeneath t,ho levftl of i ' 

 paliiCf aro almost morn intprp.sfincr. Tt serv,. 



r'>asonablv be at.(.ributed ; and it is to bo not.ieed 

 tuafc the shock suoms to havo gone from north 

 to south, so tliat it is tho soufJa side of the 

 tamplea of VeBpasiaji and Saturn, ol" tho 

 Basilica of Constanfine, and of tha CoIossouul 

 that havo suffered the most, damage ; while the 

 temple of «>astor and Pollux, with S. Maria 

 Antiqiui unc] tlir adjacent angle of t he Palatine, 

 f:eems to havo been exposed to especial violeaoo ; 

 but the final abandonment of the Roman, level 

 probably dates fron\ tho firo wJiich foQowod tho 

 (lapturo of fhL-i part of Rome by Robert Guift- 

 card, the Norman, in 1084. cvoii thoujih M. do 

 Oriineison, in his valuable work on S. Maria 

 .'Vntiqua, is inclined to date the latest of tho 

 paiotings in the atrium of the church to the 

 I3th century. 



The Impekiai. Fora. 

 Tlie question of the excavation of tJie remains 

 of the Imperial Fora, which occupied (jho spaoS 

 between t.he Capitol and the Quirinal. to the 

 north-east of tho l*oruni Uonianuni. will t^hortly 

 become urgent. Ihe tliiek nct.work of narrow 

 stJWtR which covers ifis .«ito iis ii preat hindrance 

 to trafhc. anil sorno .■^lop;-. will |)robab!v havo to 

 be taken in the near future to link np tho Via 

 Oavour with the f'lax/ji Vcmvii i !■ i nn! 

 tore Corrado Hicci, the Uir 

 Antiqmties and Jnne Arts in 1 1 

 forward a scheme, wlm i' i ^ 

 ideally coinpiete : imii. ii 

 to clear the whole yri , 

 rontly open would hn ;■ i : i n ; ■ 

 and would eonstitaito >i, Jiiiuii mico iu modern 

 t-rafflc that could not be tolerated for a moment . 

 He therefore proposes an ingenious method by 

 which, witii !i. minimum oi aemohuon. a muxj- 

 JBum of arnhanoloffical resuhs and mouunientJil 

 effect could be .attained. Bx- exea\-atio_c the 



Iseirs a. aud irajan — ihe 

 the remains would be 1;- 



I historio pott.er-\- iv 

 I only a few feet b. i. 

 I fountain basin, in tli 

 I and tliere is a mass 

 I hill osi,sting imme( 

 I Mills, wlueh accotm 

 I level thai, nccur;; In i 

 Fron'i :••-,■-.! : 



.loped.; .: : : ,1 , 



rcraa.ms lA t;ir-i' ■ : 

 I both under tJje > > i 



t^o gitat hill 

 1 tJie north side of tin 

 I and xmder the trjclini 

 I or rooms w ilh fou 



j mtesrmodiato In 



chamhers. a ^-< 



orum c 

 i«piouo 



medieval 

 I my own 

 tore Ri( 



long liave t(> 



' buildlr.!: m i 



nd l i 

 1 1 lied 



proper aettmg, aad ii 

 Honio prooeeda at li.s 



iir' c.jin'M !T ixiween ihe 

 :.■ ■.•ill before 



' nardiy a 

 fa require- ! 



ifl i goes down. VOttil:;. 



bottom has not, 



^vel are apparenriy ; 

 end of the Renubhi 

 <X oftheEmmre ; v; 1 



been dolennu 

 ontain pamtii 

 f them aro ii 



id should be prescrx-ed about 

 lae (where t he uiRvitable mam i 

 inication was to be placed, 

 luldmss were to bo eree.lfsd. i 

 (o be kf?[>i' perioancinlv open. 



irt.hi, until the 



11 w uld 1 

 I all : but It ); 

 i.^te could ri 

 !^iom Kieci', 



ite 



■re compU'tpIv I 

 ■ the b&^t I 

 I ban the j 

 i.ud : and 

 can be 

 iei,l, tiCrras 

 prejudieo 



plo 



to 



tUIV 



and 

 ihe 

 ISth 



co\-ered ■ :rr. jiiMt tho only 



record •• -n'oiu ci draw ings 



lnOWprrr:i ; -l ie, I 'l.jn ('ntlft^p 



1 the Xauc.j.-^ . :v, wluch are iiot 



I always remarkable for viieir accui'acy. 



Ihe tioujKN Jlousu oi' JSbeo- 

 .'An ovou greater sr,r\-icf^ luus been rendered 

 to our kuowlod.Ho oi aucieut uamf.mg in Rome 

 bv the researches or Dr. )<Titz 'W'oege iu the 

 riuuii of tho ()0i'.!' ■: :i .i - i mto. An mipoi-t- 

 ant part ot it xv mown, covered in 



Roman tmies ^ .'■Iwus oi a vei-y 



large yet of pu,bj. . . i .. , .Inch untd (he last 

 20 X HI lo u iij ( A Uh r Titus, but 

 irru X Inovntjh \ I n r t 'b Trajan. 

 Tue. rooms oi Jseio palace, wuh tneir beautiful 

 pamtm2t=, were closed m and rendered in- 

 accessible bv (he masoivo foundation walls of 

 the loic c Inif-ture, which wasi sajpeiamposod on 

 li': ' . became knoxvu early m the 



I. ii'l were .studied bv artLsts such 



H.- i . i ■.Mu.MifM cti, 1 nine, wlio found 



m tht'iii .1 : ' ■ '1.^ of ancient 



deco.rat.i! ttjQ gnest 



prodncti' : - . f tho rooms 



ha.vo alvvyv . ijfz^ii t!i 1 ■ ,:, :i>in i-j riie ordinary 

 visitor, bttt, m these tiae Irescoe;^ are sadly fadwl 

 and blackened with t he smoke of t.orches ; 

 while others have remained unseen sine* 

 the end ot the Ifeth centurv. though, as 

 la the case of the frescoes on tlie PaJatine, 

 dTavim.a;B and encravmss existed, which gave 

 u I I S > ictcr but 



n n pi t til lit i nt nor of the 

 b u 1 \\ "a hm 



fo-timat Kill nl |i r oom.s. 



and found tho pomtings in a, \Tr\- swod state 

 of prescr\ y,tinD ; .j. series ol coloi.ired drawinss 

 aud photoRrapbfj, which he exhibited at the 

 Archicological Confrrciss m. October, brought 

 them to tho kuox^ledgo of tlie learned world. 

 The Jtahan authoriiiea accepted hia proposal 

 that ii»-v •uKHilii completely clear tho most 

 eaisUv i),.:rr;.«ihle ot tho roomj?. ccintauu'ng a 

 pamtmg linown to I8th centirry artL-sts o-s 

 • Oonolami.^ and ins wife and mother." but 

 which really represents iloctor and . Andro- 

 mache. 1 he work i.s now nearly completed, 

 and the rt.'siill.s are <H such importance that 

 It mav 1)0 hoiied tiiat the other roomn will in 

 time bo laid bare : lor we shall then have a quite 

 umquo example of the decoi-al.jon of the palaces 

 of imperial Rome in the first century after 

 Chri.st. 



In tho Forum there is nothing to record, 

 with the exception of tho pubHcation of 

 Commcndatore Boni's seventh report on the 

 prehistoric cemot«ry' near tho temple of 

 Antoninus and FauBtiua, and of Mie clcAr- 

 ing of the east end of the nave of tlio 

 Basilica Aemilia as far as the north wall. 

 It had two aisles supported by marble 

 c^jlumns on tho no.rt.h side of tlie nave, and 

 only oue on the sotith, and the north side, 

 like the south, was closed by a wall. In its 

 ruins we may read the history of it« gradual 

 decay. From the rrccnl it.ve,st.ig»tjon« of 

 Dr. A. .Bartoli it seem iio building 



was never restored all ..f the .5th 



eenturj A.D,,from wbi- i. thin layer 



of ashes, wntli coins »ail .r./mauis of wood and 

 iron, which was found lyiii«; on tho pavement. 

 The red graniUi eotimiri.s xvliieh were hilhedvo 

 behoved to .have i)oiongptl . ■ ■ rule 



must bo attribiiteri to sen I 

 perhaps a large private hou. . '-nly 



medieval period. On the oilu r ji.'md, tli 

 att*r collapse of the interior dates from two 

 or three centuries later, for tho splendid white 

 and colom-ed marble fragments of its archi- 

 tectme. some of them shattered by their fall 

 and otlicra broken up by later seekers for 

 building material or food for the limekiln, 

 were found lying on a stratum of e.irth 3ft. 

 thick wbicJi must have required some time 

 to aeciiraulate ; and on tho wall of the nave, 

 which fell inivards on top of them, was a 

 Christian p.nm' ing of perhaps the 8th century. 



The fiuftl colJ.T.pKO of t.he building, therefore, 

 was probably due to an earthquake, very likely 

 that which is rnenlioned in the Liber Pontificahs 

 as occurrini; in 847 during the pontificatJ> nf 

 Loo lY. ihmUS beaii tcni^m-r. pr'-., r , : . :„r,in:^ 

 in urbf' Roma per indiciiomti' 

 ul omnia ehmanta wncueaa n ■ 

 tniJS). To this th" eollapfie of s, \:,:i,intk 

 and of many other buildings m tlie i' onun may 



great extent. 



ThJ5 f)A.THS OF CABACtA.U.A. 

 .^ CTCal deal of work wis dono iii the hrsl half 1 

 oi rno your at the Baths of ( lai'acalla, under the I 

 direction of benaior Lancia.m : the subsidiai-v 

 liuilduig.s on the north-west and south-west i 

 )i;i ve, lur the mcst part, become Crovernment I 

 )>ropertT, and, with those on. the south-east, 

 cucloscd the groat ceutral biuldmg : they con- I 

 t-ained Inrgo halls, used in tho mam «« places i 

 of puijuo reaori , two oi tliuju. iroui wnat | 

 remauLS of thoir internal arrangements, 

 can bo seen to have hesn. librarias, 

 haviogj like those that have beou brought to 

 hght at Timgad and Ephesiis, roclangular 

 niches in the wall for book cupboards, with 

 steps all rotmd the room leading up to them. 

 Outside these halls was a colonnade, and between 

 this and the batbB pr. ] ^ rr!; n. More 



interesting still were i s in the 



imderground portion oi Passages 

 of an aggregate length of "s \-c ». n,ii.> run right 

 under the baths themselves, the gardeai, aad 

 tho surroui.iding buildings. Tlio\' were used 

 for service and for storage, while at a lower 

 level there was the complicated drainage 

 system which wag n6cessa.ry for this huge 

 establishment. Some of the passages Itave 

 alread.y been cleared. Tho main one on the 

 west is Bomo 30ft. wide, and ne,w its entrance 

 is a hall, which wa.s corivert.ed into a sanctuary 

 of Mithras, perhapp. the 1,irge.-t hitherto known. 

 Its internal arrangements are exirein^lv- well 

 presers-ed. In a room uea.r it wris found a 

 fine statue of Vomis which hag now been placed 

 in the Museo delle Terme. tlnother interesttng 

 ^lithraetim, that under the church of San 

 Clemant.e, will s]>o-' I- '■' ..-Ansftible once more, 

 as soon as tho i . lot.ixl winch .i? 



now bemg drive m th« Colossr.cim, 



thrnuffh the lowc.i. iLiM.(i.diJ!HM of the Goldm 

 House of Nero. 



,\ear the church of S. Maj'ccllo, at the south 

 end of the Corso, a pentagonal baptistry, 

 attributal^le to the period of MaxentiuB, wsva 

 fotmd, with a stairway leading down to the 

 basin for immorsion,. 



Kear the Porti* Slaggiore, in rnaldng the 

 approach to the ktrge new goods station which 

 the growth of Rome has roTidercd necessary, 

 interesting reipaiiis of the great aqueducts 

 AThich entered the city on tJiis side came tx> 

 ligli.t. Thc.'^o partially fell on tho line of tho 

 new road, and had to bo destroyed. But it 

 has been pos.<5ible to fireservo an iuteresting 

 piece of the channel of the A.nio ■\''etiis, still 

 choked with the depoeit left by the river water — 

 the only portion now visible within the city — 

 together with an inspection shaft loading 

 down, into it . 



Another fine piece of sculpture, which has 

 also been included in tlio national collootio.nB,is 

 tho recumbent figure of a vonth ol' about 18 

 years, no doubt a septikhral st.vtue, belonging 

 probably to the Augnstau period, xvlucli w^s 

 toimd, as far as is kn,ov,-D, along t.lie cinu-se 

 of the ancient Via Laurentina, near tho Trappist 

 Monastery of the lYo Fontane, outside tlio 

 walls of Rome. 



It will be good news to all scholars who are 

 intorepted in the classical topography of Rome 

 that the Academy of the Lincei has fa^'■ourably 

 ent.ertained tho idea that it should imdert^ike 

 the preparation of a copy of Senator Lanciani'a 

 Fomui Urbi-o, to be kept up to dat« by tlio 

 insertion of the dLscovories made from time to 

 time, which is to be accessible to studenf.s-. We 

 maj' also uofice the i.wue of a second edition of 

 Kiepert and Holson's Forma c T'rbi-; I'-nvnr 

 .4 9)j!j^«ac, with its useful plans ai ' I i 

 iiid the pubhcation in a coUer 

 late M. Paul Gauckler's various . 

 .ucns Furrinae, on the Janiculum. tiic explora- 

 tion of which foreign arcliajologiats will always 

 issociate with Ms name. 



Your3 faithftdlv, 



THfJMAS ASHBY. 

 P British School, Palazr.o OdescalchJ, Eome, Dec. 17, 



