ARCILEOL'OGY (ante), has recently gained new and World-wide interest through the indefatigable labors and rich discoveries of count and gen. Luigi Palma di Cesnola, and Dr. Heinrich Schliemann, the first a native of Italy, but an American citizen, and the last a native and a citizen of Germany. At the close of the civil war in the United States, in which gen. di Cesnola served with distinction, he was sent as American consul to Cyprus. He was at once inspired with the idea that the famous island was the door between Asia and Europe, and must be full of relics of the nations which traversed and ruled it three thousand years ago. This was in 1865, and he very soon devoted his whole attention to archeological investigations. He began excavations at Kitium (the Chittim of the Old Testament), over the buried streets of which there is now the town of Larnaca. Within a year lie found the sites of three other old cities, Salamis, Golgos, and Idalium. At Kitium he found that the graves had been plundered, most likely hi= the time of the early crusades; but he discovered the remains of a temple dedicated to Demeter Paralia, and next to it, in a tomb, a jar with 600 gold coins of the great Alexander and his father, Philip of Macedon. He also found remains of a Phoenician temple, older than that of Demeter, a marble sarcophagus with a Phoenician head in high relief, and two vases of alabaster. The Greek tombs, more than 2000 of which he opened, contained lamps, bronze mirrors, glass vessels, and other funereal decorations. At Idalium, under the modern town of Dali, 15,000 tombs were opened, the greater part Phoenician, in which were myriads of the oldest terra-cotta vases of all shapes and sizes, and some Greek vases containing iridescent glass. At Salamis lie found nothing of consequence; that city was doubtless despoiled of its art-treasures at an early period. In the ruins of Leucolla he found the remains of a temple with statues, and near it a rock cavern accessible only from the sea, in which was an immense quantity of human bones in a state of petrifac tion. At Golgos he found most of the rich store exhibited by him in London in 1872, which the British museum sought to secure, but which New York acquired. Iu the course of further exploration he found the sites of nearly a dozen cities and towns, Acte Achmon, Amathus, Aphrodisium, Arsince, Karpassia, Lapethus, Neo-Paphos, Palteo Paphos, Soli, Throni, and Visuri. Then came his great triumph, at Kurium, where in
the treasure-chambers of an unknown temple lie found the most wonderful deposits of gold and silver diadems, bracelets, rings of all kinds, armlets, etc., votive offerings of the finest workmanship, among them some of the finest gem-engraving and delicate metal work ever discovered. The extent of his discovery may be judged from the fact that from one treasure-chamber, or series of vaults, he took more than 1200 objects, about half of them of gold. Some of the more interesting articles, in a historical view, are: the official seal of Thotmes III., a king of Egypt who conquered Cyprus about 3300 years ago; Babylonian cylinders, or records on fine stone, which Rawlinson and Sayce refer to dates 2700, 3100, and 3500 years ago; a gold armlet of a king of Paphos of six or seven centuries B. c., and others of less clearly defined ancient dates. Rings in the form of asps, some retaining their stone settings or remains of enamel; gold clasps and pendants, beau tifully incrusted by a granulating process, and diadems of gold, clasped around the fore heads of skulls, are among the treasures. There is a calyx of gold, nearly six inches in diameter, with circular engraved bands on which are traced stags, hunters, palm trees, and water, in the Egyptian style, an article of remarkable beauty in perfect preservation; there are also numerous articles of silver and bronze of rare interest. But the most valuable portion of the treasure is the large collection of engraved stones. Carnelian, agate, onyx, jasper, chalcedony, and other hard and fine grained stones, were used by the ancient engravers. One specimen, " Boreas carrying off Zephyr," is a masterpiece of genius; the " Rape of Proserpine" is also ve7 fine. These are in miniature, less than an inch in diam eter. Intaglios are in the collection in hard stone, representing Egyptian gods, priests, and worship. There are carvings in alabaster, and others of terra eotta. The objects in bronze, more than 500 in number, are lamps, mirrors, stands, vases, and heads of animals. This wonderful collection, but a portion of which can be here indicated, was purchased for the city of New York, and may be found in the museum of natural history and art, Central park.