Pompeii, its history, buildings, and antiquities : an account of the destruction of the city with a full description of the remains, and of the recent excavations, and also an itinerary for visitors . es,* and on the left-handside, 11, the customary puteal, or well-cover. This is madeof a white calcareous* stone, in which the constant friction ofthe cords used in raising water has worn deep channels. Thewalls of the atrium remain perfect nearly to their originalelevation, as is proved by the existence of the capitals of theCorinthian pilasters. On the left-hand side of the atrium in the corner
Pompeii, its history, buildings, and antiquities : an account of the destruction of the city with a full description of the remains, and of the recent excavations, and also an itinerary for visitors . es,* and on the left-handside, 11, the customary puteal, or well-cover. This is madeof a white calcareous* stone, in which the constant friction ofthe cords used in raising water has worn deep channels. Thewalls of the atrium remain perfect nearly to their originalelevation, as is proved by the existence of the capitals of theCorinthian pilasters. On the left-hand side of the atrium in the corner next thetablinum, the two large chests, marked 12 and 13, werefound, which have given a name to the Each of themwas raised upon a solid plinth, encrusted with marble. Theywere made of wood, lined with plates of brass, and on theexterior bound with iron, and decorated with handles, bosses,and a variety of other ornaments, many of which had fallen * More probably, as Overbeck remarks, the base of a statue. f But without much reason, as similar chests have been found in otherhouses, while the figure of _ Mercury seems to denote the house of amerchant.—Ed. HOUSE OF CASTOK AND POLLUX 405. 406 pojipeii. off by rust and the decay of the wood, and were found lyingbeneath. The locks, handles, and other ornaments weremade of bronze. When found, the bottom of these chestswas formed merely of several parallel bars of iron, which ofcourse supported a planking, now decayed. Through theinterstices of one of them, marked 12, forty-five gold andfive silver coins had fallen, and were found at the time of exca-vation, so as to afford a clue to the use of these remarkablechests.* The greater part of the contents however had beenextracted in old times; evidently by some person who knewtheir value, and was at the labour of digging in search oftheir buried treasure. Owing, however, to some slight errorin his measurements, he got into the adjoining room, 22, andgreatly increased the difficu
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