EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 912, 2 February 1882, Page 3

EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY.

R.eeent proceedings in the HuiiQwriau Parliament disclosed a most remarkable discovery, wliich, were it not so conclusively authenticated, would be impossible to believe. The story, as condensed from the official reports, is that two peasants, or rather shepherds, from the island of cear tho

ancient city of Veszprim, find not far from the Luke Balatol, came to Pes', h. and to a jeweller offered some broken fragments of what evidently was some very old golden ornament for female wear—probably a bracelet or b and for the upper arm. The jeweller questioned the shepherds, and their answers being unsatisfactory, he had the men arrested on suspicion of beiwsi tlii<-ves. On their examination, they told a taie, winch wa< so astonishing that it wns communicated to the Minister of the Interior, and this functionary ordered an investigation by scien ibxoHi cere. The information of the shepherds was that in the wood* skirting Iv.mwhere they had some huts for shelter when out at night, they had hem digging at a little hill, wanting the earth for building purposes, Suchlen'y they came npnn what apf eared to he a square j structure of brick walls, with a st me i covering the aperture. Removing this stone they found tha' these wal s enclosed an opening into the earth, and le solved to sound its depth. Lowering a , stone tied to some mp.--. they ascertain, d : that the shaft, about three feet in diameter or nine feet square, descended perpendicularly to a depth of over a bundled feet,

The pebble they had lowered reached what seemed like a stone floor beneath, and from the sound its. If. they judged that this opening must lead to some large subterranean cavern or hall. They agreed to keep t!)ir discovery a secret, and to explore the mystery A day or two nfterwards the shepherds were again at work. The prepared a small square board, frughted with stones, and in the centre of it they placed three lighted candles. This they let down through the shaft.

snd by the light of the cand es they saw distinctly that the inner sides of the shaft were smooth, and apparently ended in some larg" -ipartmiMt. As the canriles c -ntinned to burn all '.he way down, they came to the conclusion t.l at Ihe air could not be vitiated, and that it would h<> safe to go down. They nexc prepared a rope

ladder of <he requisite le- gfch, secured several lanterns, and then one of them let himself down the shaft. At the bottom lie stood in wonder ns In- g.'zed upon a lame square hall the wal's covered with faded paintings, chairs, benches, and tables standing around, ornamented with gold, and ivory, large heavy doors hunsr on molded hinges, leading to other rooms. The shepherd climbed the ladder and fcdd h : s companion of the disc very Both of them went down together, and w lki"g about, found themselves in a succession of rooms abounding with olaborafely carved furniture of a style they had never seen before, in snmf of them were low long stands, evidently used for beds, There were also closets, bureaus, containing ormless, nn<rs, medals, coins, daggers, chains, swords, shields and helmets, There were also breastpt res of leather, cover d with iron and studded with ornaments in gold Some of the nrmle f a ?h"y took away, broke then: up. arid carried them to Pesfh for sale, in wh'ch transaction they "ere arrested, as above stated. The officers of ibe Hungarian Ministry of the Interior beg->n their investigation under the an-ci-mt law which makes al! such dis-ove'ies the property of the Crown, a n d the'r report;, as communicated to Parliament, is sti'l mom starting. Their researches clearlv establish as a fact that th\v subterranean structure was undoubtedly °n oVI Roman built many centuries before t»e Huns and agvars left, their Asiatic homes 'o invade this part of Europe T' is section o F TTunorarv was the province of Pmno-'ia. of'he Empire, »nd in the vicinity of Lake Bilato 1 there was a large p»rm inent Roman camp, agricultural and milit'rv settlements of the Romans extending for many miles, and tra-?s of this Roman oocn ation, which continued down to the sixth cen f urv of theOhri j era, h-'ve been reneatedly found But how this vast structure, which is said to cover two acres, and built two storevo hign. with massive walls of stone and br : ck, whs cover d with earth to the depth of more than 60ft.. over which a forest of heavy trees had grown no—a forest too. that is mentioned as exi-d.in o ' in th n oldest ohronieb's of t''o kingdom—the ofrl': Q rs have so f>r found it imnose'ible to account for In one room sev°rd skeletons of human beings have bepn found but the bongo were too m'ich deoaved to indicate with eertaintv the race to which, they belonged. Th" shaft through wh'ch the first di«civerv "'"as male, is. bel-eved to have beerj d+her a chimney, an oboervato r v. or a look-"lit. as iron hooks were found f 's'ened to the w l's inside, to which means of ascent and descent were probably attached. The Minister of the Interior-has asked for a preliminarv ap- | propr'ation of 100,000 flon'n«, to make a more fnil examination, and also demanded | an'horitv to commence work at once, digging out the whole earth covering the plaee. and thus bringing to"the eye of the 19th centnrv evidence of Roman provinc'n] life, h'dden from the light of day possibly for fifteen centuries.