Pru Has Opened The Box
For the rest of you, I'm going to share the text of The Book of the Box of the Stynkii:
The Box of the Stynkii
Instructions to Researchers:
What you hold before you is an artefact of great antiquity. However, because of the nature of the contents, certain cautionary measures must be taken.
If nothing else, it is strongly urged that protective gloves be worn when handling, due to the volatile nature of the substances. Safety glasses are certainly recommended. Dr. Giuseppe Maggi of the University of Naples opined, “No one with a proper sense of smell should be allowed within ten metres of the Box! I, myself had my nose removed prior to any contact with the Box!” However, using nose plugs or nose clips should be sufficient.
Be aware that each of these substances must be kept away from each other. The accidental blending of any of these would be catastrophic.
This Rare, Object d’Arte was rediscovered in the back of a locked vault deep within the secret archives of the University of Naples in 1864. Within this archive were all of the hidden erotic objects taken from Pompeii by Karl Weber in 1749 at the directions of his mentor, Charles d’Bourbon, King of Naples.
The following has been translated from the original Italian field notes left by Dr. Giuseppi Fiorelli during his excavations in 1860, with commentary by Dr. Maggi in 1982.
About Pompeii:
[Dr. Giuseppi Fiorelli, 1860]
During our excavations of Pompeii, beginning in 1860, we would occasionally find voids in the heavy ash layers that had encapsulated human remains, i.e., bones. This had been remarked upon by previous researchers, including both Franscisco and Pietro la Vega during their years of excavation, but no one understood what it meant.
After a series of disturbing and fantastic dreams where I seemed to encounter former inhabitants of the ruins, I realised these so-called voids were actually the spaces where the original bodies had fallen.
By pouring plaster into the voids and chipping away the volcanic debris, we were given a rare opportunity to see the reactions and last moments of a dying race as Vesuvius threw great masses of ashfall upon both Pompeii and Herculaneum on 27 August 79 AD.
What struck us most was the horror on their faces. Their screams and the paroxysms of death were frozen forever in time by what killed them.
Pompeii, Herculaneum, and The Box:
[Dr. Giuseppi Maggi, 1982]
For centuries, we have believed that it was the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD that destroyed both Pomeii and Herculaneum. However, a series of strange coincidences may have turned up an alternative theory.
Because of reigning morés of the periods involved, there have been a series of cover-ups in Pompeii as well as Herculaneum. Pompeii was well-known for phallic worship and the art uncovered originally in 1599 by Domenico Fontana was reburied and hidden. Later digs in both cities resulted in what became known unofficially as the secret erotic archive of the University of Naples. The existence of this archive was not made public for centuries.
Our own excavations at Herculaneum in 1981 came about by accidental exposure of heretofore unfound bones and skeletal remains by the Naples Public Works in their digging of a drainage ditch through the volcanic tuff. I took over the excavation, where we found that the city once thought to have been utterly evacuated before Vesuvius’ final explosion of pyroclastic flow was not as empty as we once thought. In 1982 over 250 skeletons were discovered huddled in 12 boat houses at the shoreline, evidently awaiting rescue from over the water that never arrived.
Chemical analysis of these skeletons only created more questions. There were substances we could not explain beyond those of the lead (likely leeched from the early Roman plumbing into the water supply) and sulphurous trace from the pyroclastic flow. A sickly-sweet reek of strong roses and ambers was also present.
What I am about to reveal to you is not yet ready for the public to know.
While discussing these issues with other archaeologists who worked on the dig, a Dr. Carmine Ruggieri recalled having been told there were several artefacts still locked away, their Roman or Pompeian provenance unable to be ascertained. Professor Pietro Giovanni Guzzo, the conservator of the Pompeii site, admitted he had knowledge of some of the artefacts from Herculaneum also having been deposited in the vault.
The Mystery, Also Known As The Box:
The international scientific community has always agreed that it was Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 AD that caused all the destruction. Now, we are not so certain. But until it can be proven, this information must not leave the realm of conservation and reconstruction.
While Dr. Michael Bisel continued chemical analysis, carbonised scrolls from the Villa of the Papyrii were being analysed at the National Library of Naples. The Villa had been built at the seaside of Herculaneum as a retreat for Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonius, Julius Caesar’s father-in-law. His library appears to have been extensive and is still revealing its secrets as I write. There are still rooms to be opened within the Villa, as well as within the whole of Herculaneum.
However, a secret passage had been discovered deep in the lower level of the Villa. Once the stone door was unsealed, it revealed a deep, long tunnel moving back to the northwest, along a deep fault in direct line back to Mount Vesuvius. As this had all been sealed behind the stone door, there was no volcanic debris to clear away.
Moving through the passage takes one back to a cave-in that would be nearly at the foot of the original volcano. The smell of sulphur is very strong; there is evidence of venting from the lower layers. Behind the rubble was evidence of a square door lintel.
The original excavators of 1738 were less interested in conservation and more interested in finding ‘treasure’, so when they moved the stones away, they found what they thought to be a destroyed alchemist’s laboratory and after a cursory search for something valuable, had left those items along with a brief summary of their search back in the vault in Naples.
What we discovered in retracing their steps, as well as perusing the items they had taken, was astounding. All evidence appears that the original eruption of Vesuvius may well have been triggered by the volatile substances being worked within this ancient laboratory. A great blast had ripped through the carven stone room, destroying much of what had been there and leaving only cursory evidence to what must have been a terrible force. Nothing but charred remains of what must have been a broken stone table was in the room. Some carving had been made over the lintel and also in the room, but was badly damaged. Dr. Ruggeri’s reconstruction of what we think it may have said is:
Phoenus Infusca Magus Illic Opus Operus,
or, “The Blackened Phoenix’ Magical Place of Work”
What Was Found:
Within the vault were found several small cylinders of strange workmanship. Some of the items bore marks testifying to Greek origins; others appeared to be Egyptian or Coptic in nature. In translating the hieratic, it was found to say “The Stynx”. Of all the Stynkii recovered from the blast site, all of them appear to be containers of various substances the World Health Organisation would deem to be either “biohazardous” or “hazardous to health”.
Dr. Ruggieri suggested this might be an explanation to the strange graffiti scratched into the walls of those trapped within rooms in Pompeii. Some examples are:
“Damn the Stynkii”
“May Priapus abuse Herculaneum”
“I really hate florals”
“Augh! Amber!”
The Box itself, The Box of the Stynkii, was constructed much later to house the offending items. Despite all attempts to make it appear cheery and perhaps presentable, the contents are so foul as to conjure up the very image of death and destruction. Superstitious conservators at the University of Naples have always sworn The Box is haunted by spirits of those who died from the mishandling of substances back in that subterranean laboratory.
All researchers are encouraged to use extreme caution in handling the remaining substances during examination. While it is hoped all the explosive material was extinguished in the explosion and subsequent eruption of Vesuvius, there is always the possibility some of the Stynkii might still be volatile.
DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, get any of this on your skin. Modern hazmat procedures as of this writing can only wash away the first layers of skin along with contagion, but the Stynkii is what might be called “ugly to the bone”.
I'll let Pru tell you what the heck I actually sent to her. *laughs*
What ended up being left out (besides some stone rubbings of Roman inscriptions and a few other weird things) are another story entirely! Likely the funniest part is that despite not having the full Egyptian dictionary, between the first volume and the other two books I had, I could construct ACTUAL TEXT.
Nechtan ;)
The Box of the Stynkii
Instructions to Researchers:
What you hold before you is an artefact of great antiquity. However, because of the nature of the contents, certain cautionary measures must be taken.
If nothing else, it is strongly urged that protective gloves be worn when handling, due to the volatile nature of the substances. Safety glasses are certainly recommended. Dr. Giuseppe Maggi of the University of Naples opined, “No one with a proper sense of smell should be allowed within ten metres of the Box! I, myself had my nose removed prior to any contact with the Box!” However, using nose plugs or nose clips should be sufficient.
Be aware that each of these substances must be kept away from each other. The accidental blending of any of these would be catastrophic.
This Rare, Object d’Arte was rediscovered in the back of a locked vault deep within the secret archives of the University of Naples in 1864. Within this archive were all of the hidden erotic objects taken from Pompeii by Karl Weber in 1749 at the directions of his mentor, Charles d’Bourbon, King of Naples.
The following has been translated from the original Italian field notes left by Dr. Giuseppi Fiorelli during his excavations in 1860, with commentary by Dr. Maggi in 1982.
About Pompeii:
[Dr. Giuseppi Fiorelli, 1860]
During our excavations of Pompeii, beginning in 1860, we would occasionally find voids in the heavy ash layers that had encapsulated human remains, i.e., bones. This had been remarked upon by previous researchers, including both Franscisco and Pietro la Vega during their years of excavation, but no one understood what it meant.
After a series of disturbing and fantastic dreams where I seemed to encounter former inhabitants of the ruins, I realised these so-called voids were actually the spaces where the original bodies had fallen.
By pouring plaster into the voids and chipping away the volcanic debris, we were given a rare opportunity to see the reactions and last moments of a dying race as Vesuvius threw great masses of ashfall upon both Pompeii and Herculaneum on 27 August 79 AD.
What struck us most was the horror on their faces. Their screams and the paroxysms of death were frozen forever in time by what killed them.
Pompeii, Herculaneum, and The Box:
[Dr. Giuseppi Maggi, 1982]
For centuries, we have believed that it was the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD that destroyed both Pomeii and Herculaneum. However, a series of strange coincidences may have turned up an alternative theory.
Because of reigning morés of the periods involved, there have been a series of cover-ups in Pompeii as well as Herculaneum. Pompeii was well-known for phallic worship and the art uncovered originally in 1599 by Domenico Fontana was reburied and hidden. Later digs in both cities resulted in what became known unofficially as the secret erotic archive of the University of Naples. The existence of this archive was not made public for centuries.
Our own excavations at Herculaneum in 1981 came about by accidental exposure of heretofore unfound bones and skeletal remains by the Naples Public Works in their digging of a drainage ditch through the volcanic tuff. I took over the excavation, where we found that the city once thought to have been utterly evacuated before Vesuvius’ final explosion of pyroclastic flow was not as empty as we once thought. In 1982 over 250 skeletons were discovered huddled in 12 boat houses at the shoreline, evidently awaiting rescue from over the water that never arrived.
Chemical analysis of these skeletons only created more questions. There were substances we could not explain beyond those of the lead (likely leeched from the early Roman plumbing into the water supply) and sulphurous trace from the pyroclastic flow. A sickly-sweet reek of strong roses and ambers was also present.
What I am about to reveal to you is not yet ready for the public to know.
While discussing these issues with other archaeologists who worked on the dig, a Dr. Carmine Ruggieri recalled having been told there were several artefacts still locked away, their Roman or Pompeian provenance unable to be ascertained. Professor Pietro Giovanni Guzzo, the conservator of the Pompeii site, admitted he had knowledge of some of the artefacts from Herculaneum also having been deposited in the vault.
The Mystery, Also Known As The Box:
The international scientific community has always agreed that it was Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 AD that caused all the destruction. Now, we are not so certain. But until it can be proven, this information must not leave the realm of conservation and reconstruction.
While Dr. Michael Bisel continued chemical analysis, carbonised scrolls from the Villa of the Papyrii were being analysed at the National Library of Naples. The Villa had been built at the seaside of Herculaneum as a retreat for Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonius, Julius Caesar’s father-in-law. His library appears to have been extensive and is still revealing its secrets as I write. There are still rooms to be opened within the Villa, as well as within the whole of Herculaneum.
However, a secret passage had been discovered deep in the lower level of the Villa. Once the stone door was unsealed, it revealed a deep, long tunnel moving back to the northwest, along a deep fault in direct line back to Mount Vesuvius. As this had all been sealed behind the stone door, there was no volcanic debris to clear away.
Moving through the passage takes one back to a cave-in that would be nearly at the foot of the original volcano. The smell of sulphur is very strong; there is evidence of venting from the lower layers. Behind the rubble was evidence of a square door lintel.
The original excavators of 1738 were less interested in conservation and more interested in finding ‘treasure’, so when they moved the stones away, they found what they thought to be a destroyed alchemist’s laboratory and after a cursory search for something valuable, had left those items along with a brief summary of their search back in the vault in Naples.
What we discovered in retracing their steps, as well as perusing the items they had taken, was astounding. All evidence appears that the original eruption of Vesuvius may well have been triggered by the volatile substances being worked within this ancient laboratory. A great blast had ripped through the carven stone room, destroying much of what had been there and leaving only cursory evidence to what must have been a terrible force. Nothing but charred remains of what must have been a broken stone table was in the room. Some carving had been made over the lintel and also in the room, but was badly damaged. Dr. Ruggeri’s reconstruction of what we think it may have said is:
Phoenus Infusca Magus Illic Opus Operus,
or, “The Blackened Phoenix’ Magical Place of Work”
What Was Found:
Within the vault were found several small cylinders of strange workmanship. Some of the items bore marks testifying to Greek origins; others appeared to be Egyptian or Coptic in nature. In translating the hieratic, it was found to say “The Stynx”. Of all the Stynkii recovered from the blast site, all of them appear to be containers of various substances the World Health Organisation would deem to be either “biohazardous” or “hazardous to health”.
Dr. Ruggieri suggested this might be an explanation to the strange graffiti scratched into the walls of those trapped within rooms in Pompeii. Some examples are:
“Damn the Stynkii”
“May Priapus abuse Herculaneum”
“I really hate florals”
“Augh! Amber!”
The Box itself, The Box of the Stynkii, was constructed much later to house the offending items. Despite all attempts to make it appear cheery and perhaps presentable, the contents are so foul as to conjure up the very image of death and destruction. Superstitious conservators at the University of Naples have always sworn The Box is haunted by spirits of those who died from the mishandling of substances back in that subterranean laboratory.
All researchers are encouraged to use extreme caution in handling the remaining substances during examination. While it is hoped all the explosive material was extinguished in the explosion and subsequent eruption of Vesuvius, there is always the possibility some of the Stynkii might still be volatile.
DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, get any of this on your skin. Modern hazmat procedures as of this writing can only wash away the first layers of skin along with contagion, but the Stynkii is what might be called “ugly to the bone”.
I'll let Pru tell you what the heck I actually sent to her. *laughs*
What ended up being left out (besides some stone rubbings of Roman inscriptions and a few other weird things) are another story entirely! Likely the funniest part is that despite not having the full Egyptian dictionary, between the first volume and the other two books I had, I could construct ACTUAL TEXT.
Nechtan ;)