ROMAN SHIPS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3908, 16 February 1929, Page 4

ROMAN SHIPS.

1 . TO BE RAISED PROM LAKE. GREAT ENGINEERING' FEAT. 'Two Roman ships, dating from the time of the Imperial Caesars, will soon he added to the national treasures of Italy when the •gigantic engineering enterprise recently set on foot (by Premier Mussolini accomplishes its task of draining the waters of Lake Nemi so that the ships lying embedded in the sand at the bottom of the lake may be recoveredl states the “San Francisco Chronicle.” In ancient times Lake Nemi, known as Nemorensis, Lacus, was a favourite resort of the rich and pleasure-loving Romans, who constructed luxurious villas on its shores and sought shelter in its breezes from the heat of Rome. It is related by Suetonius that Julius 'Caesar himself caused- a summer palace to he built there at enormous cost, and afterwards ordered that it be destroyed because it failed to please his fancy. Various attempts have been made since the fifteenth century onward to raise these ships, and their existence has been confirmed in recent times by expert divers, who report them to be in a fairly good state of preservation. One of the ships is said to -be 210 feet long and GG feet wide, and is supposed to have been built by Caligula. Parts of it have been recovered and placed in the Museo delle Terme in Rome. It is richly decorated with marble and mosaics, with bronze beamheads in the shape of the he,ads of wolves and lions with rings in their mouths. The other ship is even larger, measuring 233 feet long by 80 feet wide. DIFFICULT PROBLEM. The task of recovering these treasures intact presented difficult engineering problems, as it was tfcared that an attempt to raise them would destroy the ships. The only alternative was to drain the lake, and this is now being done. Electric pumps have been installed to carry off the water through a canal originally constructed by Roman engineers in the second century A.D., and which leads by a tunnel to the plains of Arieeia and thence to the sea. On 20th October 'the work formally began by Premier Mussolini in person, who went to Labe Nemi accompanied by several members of his Cabinet to inspect the electric installation and to ascertain if the pumps were working well.

In order to prevent any damage being done to the two Roman galleys, the work of draining the lake will proceed slowly, at the rate of 1.25 to 1.50 meters for every 30 days’ pumping. Two hundred electric pumps have been installed by combined electrical, gas, and engineering firms of Milan, Rome, and other Italian cities. TEMPLE OF DIANA RUINS FOUND ON SHORE.

Lake Nemi is about six miles south of Rome, in the Alban hills, and it occupies an extinct subsidiary crater somewhat south and cast of the larger 'Crater lake of Albauo. It is about three and a half miles in diameter and .110 feet deep, the slopes of the basin rising above the lake 300 feet. The site is picturesque, and on one of the shores the ruins of a Temple of Diana have been found, the lake having originally been known as the - “Afirror of Diana.” The temple dates from the fourth century B.C.

It is believed that when the waters have been drained away the bed of the lake will yield other treasures dating from ancient Roman and pre-war times. It is expected that the water will be pumped out suffijeiently by next Alareli to salvage the ships and to recover ether sunken treasures of great historic and archaeological interest, after which the lake will be allowed to fill again. The tunnel through which the waters are being drained elf is two miles long.