DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61387#0059
THE RUINS OF POMPEII.
27
The Gate of Stabise, 01 that near the theatres, first discovered m 1851,
appears also to be very ancient. The walls near it are. of a very antique
style of masonry, consisting of huge blocks of stone put together without
mortar. The holes for bolts show that this gate was not closed like that of
Herculaneum, with a portcullis, but with strong double doors. An Oscan
inscription was also found in this gateway mentioning the names of some
streets and other objects in Pompeii.
Of all these gates only three are now used for the purpose of entering
the city—namely, the Sea Gate, the Herculaneum Gate, and the Gate of
Stabiae. The last, however, being on the south side of the city, and conse-
quently out of the way of visitors from Naples, is seldom used. Whether
the visitor should enter by the Sea Gate, or that of Herculaneum, is a matter
that must be referred entirely to taste and convenience. The Sea Gate is
more handy for those who travel by the railroad, and leads more directly to
the Forum and the principal parts of the city. The Herculaneum gate is
equally, or perhaps more convenient for visitors in carriages, and conveys a
better idea of the approach to an ancient Roman town. The road which leads
to it, called Strada ddle Tombe, is lined on both sides with tombs, as shown in
the annexed photograph. These tombs, from their comparative magnificence,
may be supposed to have belonged to the leading families of Pompeii; and in
this way, to compare small things with great, the traveller may be reminded
of the approach to Rome by the Appian Way. As at the capital, the other
entrances to Pompeii present but few tombs. The remains of a burial-place
outside the Gate of Nola are supposed to have belonged to Alexandrians,
who formed part of the population. It is well known that the burying or
burning of a dead body within the precincts of a city was forbidden by the
decemviral laws—a piece of civilization which, in spite of our superior refine-
ment, we have only just begun to imitate. Driven thus beyond the walls,
the rich and great seem to have preferred the most travelled roads for the
last resting-place of their ashes; and as the Via Appia was the queen of ways,
so also the Via Domitiana, which was a branch of it, formed the principal
approach to Pompeii.
Before entering the town we will linger awhile among the objects pre-
sented in the view.
The first building on the right, having an open doorway, erltered by
three steps from the street, and having a gable over it, is the Triclinium
Funebre, or dining room, in which, after the last honours had been rendered
27
The Gate of Stabise, 01 that near the theatres, first discovered m 1851,
appears also to be very ancient. The walls near it are. of a very antique
style of masonry, consisting of huge blocks of stone put together without
mortar. The holes for bolts show that this gate was not closed like that of
Herculaneum, with a portcullis, but with strong double doors. An Oscan
inscription was also found in this gateway mentioning the names of some
streets and other objects in Pompeii.
Of all these gates only three are now used for the purpose of entering
the city—namely, the Sea Gate, the Herculaneum Gate, and the Gate of
Stabiae. The last, however, being on the south side of the city, and conse-
quently out of the way of visitors from Naples, is seldom used. Whether
the visitor should enter by the Sea Gate, or that of Herculaneum, is a matter
that must be referred entirely to taste and convenience. The Sea Gate is
more handy for those who travel by the railroad, and leads more directly to
the Forum and the principal parts of the city. The Herculaneum gate is
equally, or perhaps more convenient for visitors in carriages, and conveys a
better idea of the approach to an ancient Roman town. The road which leads
to it, called Strada ddle Tombe, is lined on both sides with tombs, as shown in
the annexed photograph. These tombs, from their comparative magnificence,
may be supposed to have belonged to the leading families of Pompeii; and in
this way, to compare small things with great, the traveller may be reminded
of the approach to Rome by the Appian Way. As at the capital, the other
entrances to Pompeii present but few tombs. The remains of a burial-place
outside the Gate of Nola are supposed to have belonged to Alexandrians,
who formed part of the population. It is well known that the burying or
burning of a dead body within the precincts of a city was forbidden by the
decemviral laws—a piece of civilization which, in spite of our superior refine-
ment, we have only just begun to imitate. Driven thus beyond the walls,
the rich and great seem to have preferred the most travelled roads for the
last resting-place of their ashes; and as the Via Appia was the queen of ways,
so also the Via Domitiana, which was a branch of it, formed the principal
approach to Pompeii.
Before entering the town we will linger awhile among the objects pre-
sented in the view.
The first building on the right, having an open doorway, erltered by
three steps from the street, and having a gable over it, is the Triclinium
Funebre, or dining room, in which, after the last honours had been rendered