Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/266

* POMPANO. 228 POMPEII. representing a section of tlic {,'reat 'liorse-niack- •erel' family Caraugidif, and of admirable qual- ity. The •eonmion' pompano (Tnnhynotus Caro- linus) dwells along the South Atlantic and Gulf shores of the Inited States and southward, and is. occasionally seen on the Pacific Coast. It has the characteristic ovate form of the group (see Plate of IIor.se Mackerels and Allies), is bluish and silvery in colors, and is about 18 in- ches long. This pnmpano is found all the year round at the Florida Keys and south of that, but northward enters the bays in large schools in the spring. These disperse to the feeding and spawning grounds in shallow inlets, and gather agiiin in the autumn for migration. This tisli is caught in seines and otherwise both in spring and fall, but is fattest and best in the latter season. Several other species exist, some of which are valuable. The largest, the 'great pompano' or 'permit' (Triichyiiotus (loodei) of the West In- dian region, reaches a length of three feet; it is closely allied to a well-known African one. An- other noticeable species is the 'round pompano' {TrocJnpu/liis fiilcritiis). which may be identical with an Kast Indian form : it has a more circular •outline than the others, and ranges northward to Vineyard Sound. It is not so good as the com- mon poni])ano: and several other of the numerous species are almost worthless as food, though some, like the 'banner' or 'gafl-topsail' pompano of the Carolina and Gulf coasts (Trdduinoiiis gluiwus), are exceedingly handsome in form and colors. The so-called poniinino i llhomliiis simil- limtts) so highly prized in southern California, is a somewhat dilTerent fish, being one of the true harvest-fishes (q.v.). POMPEII, in'im-pfi'v*. An ancient city of Cam]iania. built at the mouth of the river Sarnus (Sarnii). looking out on the Bay of Naples. It stood only a few miles from Mount 'esuvius. be- tween Herculaneum and Stabia'. It was founded as early as the sixth century n.c. by Oscans. who •were later conquered by Samnites. The city fell under the power of Home diring the Sanmite wars, n. c. 342-290. but retained autonomy in a measure. Under Sulla (n.c. 80), it became a Roman colony, and later a favorite resort for wealthy Romans, many of whom, including Cicero and the Emperor Claudius, hail villas in the sub- urbs. It was also a place of considerable trade, and was the port town of Xola and other inland cities which studded the fertile valley of the Sarnus. Its population must have been about 20,000. The city was much damaged by an earth- quake which occurred on February o, a.d. 63. In 70 occurred that terrific eruption of Vesuvius which, in one day. overwhelmed in irremediable ruin the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum. and Stabi;e. In course of time a small village rose at or near the spot: but the memory of Pompeii faded gradually, and for centiries its very site Avas unknown. The dilTiculty of discovering its true position was increased in consequence of the changes produced by this fearful convulsion, which had hurled hack the Sarnus from its an- cient course, and raised the sea-beach to a con- siderable height, so that the rediscovered city, to which merchantmen resorted of old. is now a mile from the coast, and a considerable distance from the stream that in ancient times ran near its walls. For more than fifteen hundred years Pompeii lay undisturbed beneath heaps of ashes and cinders. In I.')'.l4-Ui00 an aqueduct for Tone Aiinunziata was tunnele<l under the ruins, but no substantial notice laki'U of them. It was not till 1748 that any excavations were made. These operations, begun by the Neapolitan Government, have been continued till the present time (and recently with increased energy), and have been exceedingly ])roductive of objects which interest the antiquarian and the classical scholar. The remains found are in a remarkably good state of preservation, owing to the fact that the city was destroyed not by lava, but by showers of ashes and cinders (lapilli), forming a light covering, which found their way into every nook, and, as it were, hermetically sealed up the town. Only about 2000 of the inhaliitants perished. Around the bodies of some of these the ashes (mixed with rain) settled into a coni])actness that ])reserved the character of the mold after the bodies them- selves had turned to dust. Into some of these molds licjuid jdaster has been poured by the excavators, and tluis the form of the boilies jjre- served. Xot only did most of the inhaliitants suc- ceed in escaping during the eruption, and in carry- ing with Ihcm their movable valuables, but they returned after the eruption had ceased, tunneled down into and around the houses and iiublic buildings (the upper stories rose above the fallen ashes), and carried off almost everything of value, even to the extent of stripping movable slabs from the buildings. This explains why so few objects of great value have been discovered. What has been found affords us a remarkably realistic and complete iiicture of life in a small provincial city of Italy in the first century after Christ. Jlost of the movable objects discovered, and a large number of the best executed wall- jiaintings ( for example see Colored Plate accom- ])anying article Decorative Art) and fioor mosaics, have been removed to the Royal Museum of Naples. Lately, however, one house of a family of wealth (the 'house of the Vettii') has lieen left, with all its equipments, as found. About one half of the city has already been excavated, and the circuit of the walls (about two miles) determined. Many years nnist elapse before the entire city can be laid bare. The most interesting discoveries recently have been those of the (unfinished) temple of Venus Pompeiana, and of the remains of a number of fugitives carrying much jiweliy and other valuables, whose attempted lliglit in the direction of Stabia? was blocked by the ruin of the bridge over the Sarnus. or by the lack of boats. They took refuge in a wayside inn. and there jierished. The entire countryside annind Pompeii abounded in residences of the wealthy, and rich returns doubtless await the excavators there. A beginning has been made near Bos- coreale. and the finding of a very valuable table- service of silver at the bottom of a well in a villa is an indication of what may be expected elsewhere. The owner had thrown it there for safety when he lied, and was unable to rescue it later. BiBLior.RAPiiY. The best book on Pompeii is Mau, Pompeii: Its Life and Art, trans, bj' Kclsey (New York, 2d ed., 1002). Other recent winks of merit are: Overbeck-Mau, Pompeii, in itrinen Gebiiudcn. Alterthiimmi mid Kuiifturrken (Leip- zig, 1882 I : Ousman, Pompci. trans, by Sinionds and .Jourdain (Ix)ndon, 1900); Weichardt,