Palestine Exploration Fund - Quarterly Statement for 1894/Quarterly Statement for April 1894
[Quarterly Statement, April, 1894.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND.
NOTES AND NEWS.
The Committee have much satisfaction in announcing that a communication has been received from the Earl of Kimberley, stating that a two years' permit will, under certain conditions, be granted by the Sublime Porte to the Fund, for carrying on excavations at Jerusalem. Immediate steps will be taken to begin the works thus graciously permitted by the Ottoman Government, and it is hoped that some of the problems having reference to Ancient Jerusalem may be set at rest. Those desiring to contribute to the expenses of this important work are requested to send in their remittances as early as convenient.
Few spots in the Holy Land are regarded with greater interest than Jacob's Well, as to the identity of which there is no controversy. It was recently visited and examined by Mr. F. J. Bliss, who has traced the outlines of a church which once stood over it. His report and plan are published in the present number. It is much to be desired that the well and ground around it be thoroughly cleared and examined.
We are enabled this quarter to publish Canon Curtis's lecture on the very remarkable sarcophagi found at Sidon in the year 1887.
The representations of the sarcophagi which accompany the lecture are reproductions of some beautiful photographs of these most interesting specimens of Asiatic-G-reek art, which His Excellency Hamdy Bey, the Director of the Imperial Ottoman Museum of Antiquities at Constantinople, was so good as to send to Colonel C. M. Watson, R.E., with permission for their publication by the Palestine Exploration Fund. The lecture by the Rev. Canon Curtis gives a short account of these sarcophagi and of their discovery. To those subscribers who desire complete information regarding them, we would recommend the magnificient work now in course of publication at Paris by Hamdy Bey and his collaborateur, Monsieur Theodore Reinach, entitled, "Une Necropole Royale à Sidon." Several numbers of this work, which is being published in parts, have already been issued, and the remainder are in hand. The plates are beautifully executed, and the letterpress is of great interest. The book will doubtless find a place in every library of importance.
Information with reference to the discovery of these sarcophagi, together with descriptions of them and of the tombs in which they were found, and plans of the tombs were published in the Quarterly Statements for 1887, p. 69, and for 1888, pp. 5, 9, 140.
Herr Ton Schick sends a copy of a Greek inscription on an ancient tombstone found on the summit of Mount Olivet by the Greek Bishop Epiphanias, who translates the inscription as follows: "The tomb of our holy father Theogenos. In the year 220." The Bishop thinks this is the Martyrs' Chronology, and that 284, the year of Diocletian's reign, should be added, making the date of the tomb A.D. 504.
Herr von Schick has also forwarded impressions in wax of some scarabei said to have been found at Askelon, and drawings of some bronze (?) medals alleged to have been discovered at Et Tireh, north-west of Ramallah.
During the visit of the recent English pilgrim party to Jerusalem, lectures were delivered by the Rev. A. H. Kelk, on "Walks about Jerusalem"; by the Rev. J. Zeller, on "The Druzes"; by the Rev. J. E. Hanauer, on "The Present Walls and Grates of Jerusalem," and on "The Haram"; and by Mr. F. J. Bliss on "The Mounds of Palestine."
Mr. Baldensperger's "Answers to Questions" on Birth, Marriage, and Death among the Fellahin of Palestine are of special interest as illustrating passages of the Bible. The paper will be found in the present number, p. 127, et seq.
All Palestine explorers will be glad that Kerak is now occupied by a Turkish garrison. Doubtless under the protecting ægis of the sovereign power this remote and wild part of the country will be safer for travellers than it has hitherto been, and archæological discoveries of much interest and importance may be hoped for.
The Greek and other inscriptions from the Hauran, collected by the Rev. W. Ewing, have been reproduced, and will be published with translations and notes. Professor Ramsay and Mr. A. G. Wright, of Aberdeen, and Mr. A. Souter, M. A,, of Caius College, Cambridge, have kindly prepared them for publication.
The first edition of Major Condor's "Tell Amarna Tablets" having been sold within the year, lie has prepared a second edition, in which a new chapter is added, giving in full the Royal letters from Armenia, Elishah, Babylon, Assyria, &c., which are of great historical importance, and which contain allusions to the revolts in Palestine, and to the defeat of the Hittites. Major Conder has corrected his translations of the other tablets, and has added a new preface and some notes, including further translations. He has also treated the Mythological Tablets.
The Committee having secured the rights and interests of the publication of "Judas Maccabæus," are about to issue a new edition revised by the author.
Major Conder writes: "The first edition of 'Judas Maccabæus' appeared in 1879, and was well received. During the fourteen years that have followed I had no occasion to look at its pages, until the present edition was called for; but I am glad to find little to correct, though much might be added. During this interval I have revisited many of the scenes described; have lived in Moab, and have ridden through the oak woods of Gilead. In the resting times, between more active years, I have had occasion to study more completely the subjects touched on in this volume, and further discoveries have cast some new light on the period."
"A Mound of many Cities," a complete account of the excavations at Tell el Hesy, with upwards of 250 illustrations, is now ready. This book, which will perhaps become the most popular work of the long list of books issued by the Palestine Exploration Fund, is a history by Mr. F. J. Bliss, of a Tell, or Mound, in Palestine, from the first building erected upon it, 2000 years B.C. to its final abandonment, 409 B.C. Mr. Bliss is a young American, educated partly at Beyrout, partly at Amherst College, Vermont. He is perfectly familiar with the language of the Fellahin. He took up the work upon this Tell where Prof. Flinders Petrie left it, and carried it on until he had compelled the Mound to yield up its secrets. He is the master of a free and lively style, and his work is interesting, not only for the story he has to tell, but also for the manner in which it is told. The work is also illustrated by very numerous drawings of objects found, plans, sections, and elevations.
In the history of this Tell we go back far beyond the beginning of European civilisation. A thousand years before David, a thousand years before the siege of Troy, a city stood upon the bluff overhanging the stream which is now called Tell el Hesy. The site formed a natural fortress. The first city was built by the Amorites. This city was taken, sacked, and destroyed, in one of the countless tribal wars. But the site was too important for the place to be left long deserted; another town was raised upon the ruins. Note that they did not clear away the rubbish when they re-built: they raised the new town upon the débris of the old. On the second town fell the same fate as that which destroyed the first. Then came a third, a fourth, and so on, until the ruins which are now covered with grass hide the remains, certainly of eight, probably of eleven cities. Probably the last city, which was not re-built, was destroyed about the year 400 B.C.
The broken pottery and other remains found on the various levels serve to give a date to the destroyed city. Thus, at a certain level, Phœnician pottery is found for the first time; at higher levels, Greek pottery. But there was also found an unexpected and very precious treasure in the shape of a cuneiform letter, on a clay tablet. The letter is written from the Governor of Lachish to the Egyptian Pharaoh, and the writer, Zimradi, or Zimridi, is mentioned in the Tell el Amarna Tablets as Governor of Lachish. We also learn from the same authority that Zimridi was murdered by servants of the Pharaoh. The letter in the original cuneiform, with its transliteration and translation, will be found in the volume. In a word, the complete story of this Biblical City is here presented. It is the first time that one of the Tells of Palestine has been excavated, and therefore the first time that any of them has yielded up its secrets in illustration of the Biblical narrative. It is a history which is attractive from its subject, and made doubly attractive by the light, easy, and lucid manner in which Mr. Bliss presents it to the readers.
Price to subscribers to the Fund, 3s. 6d.; non-subscribers, 6s.
The Rev. T. F. Wright, Ph.D., General Secretary of the Fund in the United States of America, reports that the books, maps, and raised map sent out by the Committee for exhibition at the World's Fair, Chicago, attracted a large number of visitors who "were delighted with what they saw." A medal was awarded for the things exhibited, all of which were sold. The raised map was specially admired, and Dr. Wright mentions that the Judge was much impressed with the thoroughness of the work of the Fund.
Mr. George Armstrong's Raised Map of Palestine is attracting much attention, and it is difficult to supply promptly all the orders that come in for it.
This raised map is constructed on the same scale as those of the Old and New Testament maps already issued by the Society. These were reduced from the scale of the large map (1 inch to the mile) to 38 of an inch to the mile, or the fraction of 1168960. The levels, as calculated by the engineers who triangulated the country, of whom Mr. Armstrong was one from the commencement to the end, are followed exactly. No other correct raised map of the country is possible, because the Survey of Palestine is copyright and belongs to the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Without raising the question of piracy, however, no other trustworthy raised map is at all likely to be attempted, because the knowledge of the country requisite can only be possessed by one who has stepped over every foot of it, and because the labour which Mr. Armstrong has given to the work—extending over many years—will scarcely be expended by any other person, now or in the future. This labour will be partly understood when it is explained that the map was prepared by the super-position of small pieces of cardboard, many thousands in number, cut 80 as to represent the line of the country, and laid one above the other. The work occupied all Mr. Armstrong's leisure time for seven years. In its unfinished state the map presents the appearance of a completely terraced country. It embraces the whole of Western Palestine, from Baalbeck in the north, to Kâdesh Barnea in the south, and shows nearly all that is known on the East of Jordan.
The natural features of the country stand out prominently, and show at a glance the relative proportions of the mountains, heights, valleys, plains, &c.
Names are given to the coast towns and a few of the inland ones; other towns are numbered to correspond with a reference list of names.
With this map before him the teacher or the student is enabled to follow the Bible narrative exactly; he can (race the route of armies; he can reconstruct the roads; he can understand the growth and the decay of cities, their safety or their dangers, from their geographical positions. It is a magnificient addition to the many works which this Society has given to the world. It illustrates the practical usefulness of the Society, while it adds one more to its achievements in the cause of illustration and explanation of the Bible Lands.
The map should be in every public library, and every public school, and every Sunday School. Its price is necessarily high, because the work is most costly to produce. It measures 7 feet 6 inches by 4 feet, and can be seen at the office of the Fund, 24, Hanover Square, W.
The map is cast in fibrous plaster, and framed solidly; it is despatched in a wooden box, for which an extra charge is made, but this is partly returned on the return of the box. The price to subscribers, partly coloured, is £7 7s.; if fully coloured and framed, £10 10s. The price to the general public is £10 10s. and £13 13s.
The partly coloured raised map has the seas, lakes, marshes, and perennial streams coloured blue, the Old and New Testament sites are marked in red, the principal ones having a number to correspond with a reference list of names, the body of the map is left white.
The fully coloured raised map has the seas, lakes, marshes, and perennial streams coloured blue, the Old and New Testament Sites are marked in red, the principal ones having a number to correspond with a reference list of names, the plains green, the rising ground, hills, and mountains in various tints, the olive groves and wooded parts of the country stippled in green, and the main roads are shown in a thin black line.
Photographs of the raised map are now ready. Size 1612 inches by 812 inches, 5s. each; 8 inches by 4 inches, 1s. each.
In the "Revue Critique d'Histoire et de Litterature," M. Clermont-Ganneau writes as follows respecting the raised map of Palestine:—
Mr. George Armstrong, Assistant Secretary of the Palestine Exploration Fund, has just completed the construction of a large raised map of Palestine, of which the Fund offers for sale casts in fibrous plaster. Mr. Armstrong, as one of the surveyors, had taken an active part both in the preparation on the spot, and in the careful drawing afterwards, of the large English map of 1 inch per mile in 26 sheets, a monumental map, which will henceforth be the basis of all geographical studies relating to the Holy Land. He was, then, better qualified than any other person, to undertake this colossal work, which has cost him long years of labour. He has executed it with a conscientiousness and a precision worthy of all praise. We already had raised maps of Palestine; but they were very rough and without scientific value. This one, a rigorously exact translation of the map of the Palestine Exploration Fund, gives us for the first time an image of the land, faithfully modelled even in the smallest details, by a professional man who has walked, with theodolite in hand, over the whole of its extent. The planimetric scale, identical with that of the large reduction of the map of 1 inch per mile, is of 38 of an inch per mile, or to 1168960; the hypsometric scale is three and a half times larger. The map does not measure less than 7 feet 6 inches long by 4 feet wide. Besides the purely topographical indications, shown by the relief and different colourings, the localities are represented by numbers corresponding to a long list of names of places. This superb raised map can then, besides its own peculiar interest, serve all the purposes of an ordinary map. Several great foreign scientific establishments are eager to obtain copies of it.
The construction of the Haifa-Damascus Railway is proceeding. By the kindness of Mr. Pilling, arrangements have been entered into for archæological discoveries made in the course of the works to be reported to the Fund, and, if necessary, to be carefully examined.
The Rev. Theodore E. Dowling, Jerusalem, asks for reliable information as to the origin of the "Jerusalem Cross." Four theories of the early history of this cross are current in Jerusalem.
Can any date, prior to that of the Crusading Kingdom of Jerusalem, be assigned to it?
Index to the Quarterly Statement.—A new edition of the Index to the Quarterly Statements has been compiled. It embraces the years 1869 (the first issue of the journal) to the end of 1892. Contents:—Names of the Authors and of the Papers contributed by them; List of the Illustrations; and General Index. This Index will be found extremely useful. Price to subscribers to the Fund, in paper cover, 1s. 6d., in cloth, 2s. 6d., post free; non-subscribers, 2s. and 3s.
The following have kindly consented to act as Honorary Local Secretaries:—The Rev. H. Kingsford Harris, Runwell Vicarage, Wickford, for Chelmsford; the Rev. E. S. Little, Kiukiang, for Central China; Mrs. Elwes, Shadowbash, Nungumbankum, Madras, for Madras Presidency; the Rev. H. T. Ottley, St. Stephen's Parsonage, Kidderpore, Calcutta, for Bengal Presidency.
The new railway from Jaffa to Jerusalem has been laid down on the sheets of the large and small maps. Copies of these sheets are now ready.
The museum of the Fund, at 24, Hanover Square, is now open to subscribers between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., every week-day except Saturdays, when it closes at 2 p.m.
The Committee have to acknowledge with thanks the following donations to the Library of the Fund:—
"The Holy Land," in two Vols. By William Hepworth Dixon. From A, S. Wardlaw, Esq.
"The Title-Deeds of the Holy Land." By the late John Wilson. From Mrs. E. Wilson Melville. "Résultats Scientifiques d'un Voyage Entrepris en Palestine et en Syrie. Arachides, Crustacés Phyllopodes, Décapodes Fluviatiles, Crustacés." By Dr. Th. Barrois. From the Author.
"Sur une Curieuse Difformité de Certaines Coequilles D'unionidees." By Dr. Th. Barrois. From the Author.
"Description d'un Appareil destiné a la Recherche des Organismes Pélagiques par des Profoundeurs déterminées." By Dr. Th. Barrois. From the Author.
The Committee will be glad to receive donations of Books to the Library of the Fund, which already contains many works of great value relating to Palestine and other Bible Lands. See list of Books, July Quarterly Statement, 1893.
It may be well to mention that plans and photographs alluded to in the reports from Jerusalem and elsewhere cannot all be published, but all are preserved in the offices of the Fund, where they may be seen by subscribers.
A new edition of "Twenty-one Years' Work" is in course of preparation, and will be brought down to date.
The first volume of the "Survey of Eastern Palestine," by Major Conder, is accompanied by a map of the portion of country surveyed, special plans, and upwards of 350 drawings of ruins, tombs, dolmens, stone circles, inscriptions, &c. Subscribers to the "Survey of Western Palestine" are privileged to have the volumes for seven guineas. The price will be raised, after 250 names are received, to twelve guineas. The Committee are pledged never to let any copies be subscribed for under the sum of seven guineas. A. P. Watt and Son, Hastings House, Norfolk Street, Strand, W.C, are the Sole Agents. The attention of intending subscribers is directed to the announcement in the last page of this number.
Mr. H. Chichester Hart's "Fauna and Flora of Sinai, Petra, and the Wâdy Arabah," which forms the second volume, can be had separately.
M. Clermont-Granneau's work, "Archæological Researches in Palestine," will form the third volume. The first portion of it is already translated, and it is hoped that the concluding part will soon be completed.
The maps and books now contained in the Society's publications comprise an amount of information on Palestine, and on the researches conducted in the country, which can be found in no other publications. It must never be forgotten that no single traveller, however well equipped by previous knowledge, can compete with a scientific body of explorers, instructed in the periods required, and provided with all the instruments necessary for carrying cut their work. See list of Publications. The Old and New Testament Map of Palestine (scale 38 of an inch to a mile).—Embraces both sides of the Jordan, and extends from Baalbek in the north to Kadesh Barnea in the south. All the modern names are in black; over these are printed in red the Old Testament and Apocrypha names. The New Testament, Josephus, and Talmudic names are in blue, and the tribal possessions are tinted in colours, giving clearly all the identifications up to date. It is the most comprehensive map that has been published, and will be invaluable to universities, colleges, schools, &c.
It is published in 20 sheets, with paper cover; price to subscribers to the Fund, 23s.; to the public, £2. It can be had mounted on cloth, rollers, and varnished for hanging. The size is 8 feet by 6 feet. The cost of mounting is extra (see Maps).
In addition to the 20-sheet map, the Committee have issued as a separate Map the 12 sheets (viz., Nos. 5-7, 9-11, 13-15, 20-22), which include the whole of Palestine as far north as Mount Hermon, and the districts beyond Jordan as far as they are surveyed. See key-map to the sheets.
The price of this map, in 12 sheets, in paper cover, to subscribers to the Fund, 12s. 6d.; to the public, £1 1s.
The size of the map, mounted on cloth and roller for hanging, is 412 feet by 634 feet.
Any single sheet of the map can be had separately, price, to subscribers of the Fund, 1s. 6d. Mounted on cloth to fold in the pocket suitable for travelling, 2s. To the public 2s. and 2s. 6d.
Single copies of these maps in sheets, with cover, can be sent by post to all foreign countries at an extra charge of 1s.
A copy of names and places in the Old and New Testament, with their modern identifications and full references, can be had by subscribers with either of these maps at the reduced price of 2s. 6d.
Subscribers to the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society will shortly receive "John Poloner's Description of the Holy Land," in addition to the "Anonymous Pilgrims" already issued this year.
The following are a few of the translations in hand:—Brocardus; "John Poloncr's Description of the Holy Land"; "Guide-book to the Holy Land, 1350 A.D."; also extracts from various early writers illustrating topographical details of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, viz., Aristeas, Hecataeus, Origen, Cyril, St. Jerome, The Patriarch Sophronius, &c.
Branch Associations of the Bible Society, all Sunday School Unions within the Sunday School Institute, the Sunday School Union, and the Wesleyan Sunday School Institute, will please observe that by a special Resolution of the Committee they will henceforth be treated as subscribers and be allowed to purchase the books and maps (by application only to the Secretary) at reduced price. The income of the Society, from December 20th, 1893, to March 20th, 1894, was—from annual subscriptions and donations, including Local Societies, £608 0s. 5d.; from all sources—£928 12s. 2d. The expenditure during the same period was £469 17s. 4d. On March 20th the balance in the Bank was £803 0s. 0d.
Subscribers are requested to note that the following cases, casts, and slides can be had by application to the Assistant Secretary at the Office of the Fund:—
Cases for binding Herr Schumacher's "Jaulân," 1s. each.
Cases for binding the Quarterly Statement, in green or chocolate, 1s. each.
Cases for binding "Abila," "Pella," and "'Ajlûn" in one volume, 1s. each.
Casts of the Tablet with a Cuneiform Inscription found at Tell el Hesy, price 2s. 6d. each.
Casts of the Ancient Hebrew Weight brought by Dr. Chaplin from Samaria, price 2s. 6d. each.
Casts of an Inscribed Weight or Bead from Palestine, forwarded by Professor Wright, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A., price 1s. each.
Lantern slides of the Raised Map, the Sidon Sarcophagi, and of the Bible places mentioned in the catalogue of photos and special list.
Back numbers of the Quarterly Statement.—In order to make up complete sets, the Committee will be very glad to receive any of the following numbers:—
No. II, 1869; Nos. VI and VII, 1870; No. III, 1871; January and April, 1872; October, 1873; January, 1874; January and October, 1875; January, 1883, and January, 1886.
While desiring to give every publicity to proposed identifications and other theories advanced by officers of the Fund and contributors to the pages of the Quarterly Statement, the Committee wish it to be distinctly understood that by publishing them in the Quarterly Statement they neither sanction nor adopt them.
Subscribers who do not receive the Quarterly Statement regularly are asked to send a note to the Secretary. Great care is taken to forward each number to all who are entitled to receive it, but changes of address and other causes give rise occasionally to omissions.
TREASURER'S STATEMENT.
The amount expended on exploration during the past year has been small owing to delays in obtaining a Firman from the Ottoman Porte. Large sums have, as in past years, been expended on the production of the Quarterly Statements, which are distributed gratuitously among our subscribers, and of Books, Maps, and Photographs, for which there is a steady sale. The amount thus received during the year has been £685, as against £903 expended on their production, to which should be added the cost of posting them.
| Assets. | Liabilities. | ||||||
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | ||
| Balance in Bank | 418 | 7 | 10 | Printing, Lithographing, and Current Expenses Exploration. | 308 | 18 | 9 |
| Stock of Publications on hand, Surveying Instruments, Show Cases, Furniture. | |||||||
| In addition there is the valuable library and unique collection of antiques, models, &c. | |||||||
| W. Morrison, | |||||||
| Treasurer. | |||||||
The authorised lecturers for the Society are—
(1) Research and Discovery in the Holy Land.
(2) In the Track of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan.
(3) Bible Scenes in the Light of Modern Science.
(4) Eastern Palestine.
(5) The Dead Sea and the Cities of the Plain.
(1) The Work of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
(2) The Survey of Palestine.
(3) The City of Jerusalem.
(4) Eastern Palestine.
(5) Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
(1) Explorations in Judea.
(2) Research and Discovery in Samaria and Galilee.
(3) In Bible Lands; a Narrative of Personal Experiences.
(4) The Reconstruction of Jerusalem.
(5) Problems of Palestine.
(1) Modern Discoveries in Palestine.
(2) Stories in Stones; or, New Light on the Old Testament.
(1) The Building of Jerusalem.
(2) The Overthrow of Jerusalem.
(3) The Progress of the Palestine Exploration.
(1) Work in and around the Holy City.
(2) Work outside the Holy City.
(3) Popular Lecture upon the General Results obtained by the Fund.
The Rev. Wm. Roby Fletcher, Wavertree, Kent Town, Adelaide, Australia.
Application for Lectures may be either addressed to the Secretary, 24, Hanover Square, W., or sent to the address of the Lecturers.