Clifton.
Minor Queries.
246. _Rocky Chasm near Gaeta: Earthquake at the Crucifixion._--Dr.
Basire (who was archdeacon of Northumberland, prebendary of Durham, and
chaplain to King Charles the Martyr and King Charles II.), in his
account of a tour made by himself and companions in 1649, says:
"Wee landed to see Gaeta, a pleasant, strong, and very antient
citty. In it we saw some wonders, especially the thorow rupture of
a rocky mountain by an earthquake, which tradition sayes, and
Cardinal Baronius publishes to have happened at our Savior's
passion: a stupendous sight it is however, and well worth our
digression."--_Correspondence, &c., of Basire_, edited by the Rev.
W. N. Darnell, p. 90.
I cannot here consult Baronius, to see whether he gives any references,
and should be very glad to be referred to any ancient historian who has
noticed the event to which this remarkable chasm is attributed, and to
know whether the tradition is preserved by any classical writer. I do
not find the chasm in question described by any naturalist, or other
traveller, whose writings I have been able to refer to. It is in a
locality which abounds with indications of volcanic action. It is said
that the Monte Somma was probably not distinct from the present cone of
Vesuvius prior to the great eruption in A.D. 79. In Dr. Daubeny's
_Description of Active and Extinct Volcanos_, mention is made of an
ancient town beneath the town of Sessa, where a chamber with antique
frescoes and the remains of an amphitheatre were disinterred, of the
overwhelming of which there is no record, nor is there even a tradition
of any eruption having occurred near it in the memory of man.