BERCULA'NEUM, an ancient city of Naples, overwhelmed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the reign of Titus; it was discovered in the year 1689, since which time many manuscripts, paintings, statues, and other relics of antiquity, have been discovered. From the excava tions that have been made from time to time, the ancient streets and buildings have been, as it were, again thrown open, and the domestic affairs of the ancients revealed to the eyes of modern archaolo gists. Since I62S new excavations have taken place, and a splendid private house has been discovered, with a suite of cham bers, and a court iu the centre. There is is separate part of the mansion allotted to females, a garden surrounded by ar cades and columns, and also a grand sa loon, which probably served for the meet ing of the whole family. Another house, also discovered, was very remarkable, from the quantity and nature of the pro visions in it, 11011C of which had been dis turbed for eighteen centuries, for the doors remained fastened, in the same state as they were at the period of the catas trophe which buried I fereulaneum. The
family which occupied this mansion was, in all likelihood, when the disaster took place, laying in provisions for the winter. The provisions found in the store-rooms consist of dates, chestnuts, large tea uts, dried figs, almonds, prunes, corn, oil, pease, lentils, pies, and hams. The in ternal arrangement of the house, the man ner in which it was ornamented, all, in rad, announced that it had belonged to a rery rich family anti to admirers of the Arts; for there were discovered many pic Aires, representing Polyphemus and Ga latea; Hercules anti the three Ilesperides, Cupid and a Bacchante, Mercury and Io, Perseus killing Medusa, and others. There were also in the same house, vases, articles in glass, bronze and terra cotta, as well as med:illions in silver, represent ing in relief Apollo an l Diana.