Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 February 1877 — More Concerning Schliemann’s Discoveries at Mycenae. [ARTICLE]

More Concerning Schliemann’s Discoveries at Mycenae.

Dr. Schliemann, writing to the London Timet under date of Nov. 24, gives the following account of the contents cf one of the ancient tombs excavated by him at Mycense: The three bodies of this tomb lay with their heads to the and their feel to the west; all three were of gigantic proportions. and appeared to nave been squeezed with force into the small space of only six feet which was left for them between the aforesaid walls; the bones of the legs, w-hich are nearly uninjured, are really of enormous size. . Although the head of the first man was covered with a massive golden mask, his skull crumbled away on . being exposed to tfie air, and but a few bones could be saved besides those'of the legs. The same was the case with the second body, which had been plundered in antiquity. But of the third body, which lay at the north end of the tomb, the round face with all its flesh had been wonderfully preserved under its pqnderous golden mask; there yras no vestige of hair, but both eyes wpre f perfectly visible, also the mouth, which, by the enormous weight that had been pressing upon it, was wide open and showed thirty-two beautiful teeth. By these all the physicians who came to see the body weie led to believe that the man must have died at the early age of thirtyfive. The nose had entirely gone. Ihe body having been too Iting for the space between the two inner walls of the tomb, the head had been pressed in sqch a way on the breast that the upper paH of the shoulders was nearly in a horizontal line with the vertex of the head. In spite of the large golden breastplate, so little had .been preserved of the breast that the inner tide of the spine was visible- in many places.' In its squeezed and mutilated state the body measured only twp feet four and a Half inches’ from the top of the head to beginning of the loins; the breadth of the shoulders did not exceed one foot and one-quarter inch, and the breadth bf the stomach one foot three inches; but the gigantic thigh-bones could leave no doubt regarding the real proportions of the body. Such had been the pressure of the rubbish and stones that the body had been reduced to a thickness of one to one and a half inches. The color of the corpse resembled very much that of an Egyptian mummy. The front of the man was ornamented with a plain round leaf of gold, ahd a still larger One was lying on the right eye; I further observed a large and a small gold leaf on the breast, below the large golaen breast-cover. The news that the tolerably-well-pre-served body of the mythic heroic age had been found, covered with golden ornaments spread like wild-fire through the Argelid, and people came bv thousands from Argos, Nauplium and the villages, to see the wonder. But nobody being able to give advice how to preserve the body, I sent for a painter to get at least an oilpainting made, for I was afraid the body would crumble to pieces; but, to my great joy, it held out for two days, when a druggist from Argos, Spiridon Nicolaou by name, consolidated it by pouring on it spirit, in which he had dissolved sandarac. Thus I have now strong hopes that it can be saved, the more so as it can lie lifted with an iron-plate, there being no pebblestones below it. Resuming his letter on the 3d of December, Dr. Schliemann says: To the right and left of the body lay long bronze swords; to the left was also a long bronze knife. All these weapons had probably been suspended on a belt of embroidered work, which had disappeared. The sheaths of the swords had been of wood, much debris of which remained. All.the sheaths had been gilded, and had ki their entire length been adorned with .round buttons of gold, which showed many different sorts of magniflcently-en-gsaved spiral lines. The handles of the swords were plated with gold and covered With splendid engravings. Instead of the usual Targe wood or ala* baster buttons of the handles, the sword handles of this body seem to have had at their extremity richlyornamented golden plates, ten of which were found close to it. Each of them is 8 4-5 inches long and 1 8-5 inches broad, and every one of them represents a large cow-heaa with long horns and immense eyes; further, a lion pursuing a stag with such velocity that his four legs are in the feels ttiathe is lost, turns his head toward his merciless pursuer, and looks at him full of anguish. To-the reverse side of these wonderful plates still sticks a good deal of a blackish matter, perhaps a sort of lime, which may have served, I do not know how, to fasten thqm to the handles. KS? V’E.'bK sword, on the right of the body, was attached a 0 8-5 inch long golden tassel. i ue massive guldsnrrnftk which covered the head of this body, and which-1 mentioned in my last letter, is 12 long and 12% inches broad. It so thick that the enormous weight which for ages IttMbeen pressing upon it has made no -flnfbessiou on it. It shows a round face, with large eyes and a large mouth, much resembling the features of the body when first uncoveted, and I feel now more convinced than ever that all the golden masks faithfully represent the features which these splendidly-made masks must convince every one that they are real portraits and not ideal types. The golden, breastcover of this body, which I likewise menright of Um body I .found eleven bronze swords, of which nine had more or less suffered from moisture, but the other two were well preserved. '* t ‘ with the exception <rf the sculptures. They have been deposited in the Hellenic Bank until a proper place can be provided where they may be properly arranged and exhibited.