city,
till it issued out on the northern side at the gate of Vesuvius. It
has been cleared to the point where it intersects the Streets of
Fortune and of Nola, which, with the Street of the Baths, traverse the
city in its length. The Street of Stabiae forms the boundary of the
excavations; all that part of Pompeii which lies to the east of it,
with the exception of the amphitheatre, and the line forming the
Street of Nola, being still occupied by vineyards and cultivated
fields. On the other hand, that part of the city lying to the west of
it has been for the most part disinterred; though there are still some
portions lying to the south and west of the Street of Abundance and
the Forum, and to the east of the Vico Storto, which remain to be
excavated.
The streets of Pompeii are paved with large irregular pieces of lava
joined neatly together, in which the chariot wheels have worn ruts,
still discernible; in some places they are an inch and a half deep,
and in the narrow streets follow one track; where the streets are
wider, the ruts are more numerous and irregular. The width of the
streets varies from eight or nine feet to about twenty-two, including
the footpaths or trottoirs. In many places they are so narrow that
they may be crossed at one stride; where they are wider, a raised
stepping-stone, and sometimes two or three, have been placed in the
centre of the crossing. These stones, though in the middle of the
carriage way, did not much inconvenience those who drove about in the
biga, or two-horsed chariot, as the wheels passed freely in the spaces
left, while the horses, being loosely harnessed, might either have
stepped over the stones or passed by the sides. The curb-stones are
elevated from one foot to eighteen inches, and separate the
foot-pavement from the road. Throughout the city there is hardly a
street unfurnished with this convenience. Where there is width to
admit of a broad foot-path, the interval between the curb and the line
of building is filled up with earth, which has then been covered over
with stucco, and sometimes with a coarse mosaic of brickwork. Here and
there traces of this sort of pavement still remain, especially in
those streets which were protected by porticoes.
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ARRANGEMENT OF PRIVATE HOUSES.
We will now give an account of some of the most remarkable private
houses which have been disinterred; of the paintings, domestic
utensils, a
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