MESOPOTAMIA
[See the diagrams of flint implements, Illustration II; pottery and
brick-forms, Illustration XIV; cuneiform signs, and other scripts
Illustration XV].
Mesopotamian antiquities are nearly always found in Tells, or
artificial mounds, which are the sites of ancient towns or temples.
The surrounding plain for a distance of several hundred yards out,
whether steppe-desert or untilled land, will usually be found to be
productive of antiquities, either a few inches or few feet deep or,
in the case of the dessert, actually lying upon the surface. These
are usually the result of rainstorms washing out antiquities from the
tell itself. Each tell or ganglion of connected tells usually has a
number of small subsidiary tells round about it, the sites of small
isolated buildings or villages connected with the central settlement.
Originally the settlements were built upon natural rises of the
ground which stood up as islands in the fen-country.
Visitors should give the local names of tells in Arabic characters,
when possible, so that mistakes in transliteration into English may
be avoided. Antiquities bought in the neighbourhood of a tell should
be noted as coming from that neighbourhood. Depredations by Arabs (or
by others!) should be noted, and reported to the nearest Political
Officer or Inspector of Antiquities. The barbarous practice of
forcibly dislodging inscribed bricks from walls, as trophies and
'souvenirs', which has unhappily been common during the war, should
never be imitated and always discountenanced as much as possible.
Other good spots for antiquities than tells are rare. In the
mountainous and stony country of the North we may meet with rock-
sculptures, as at Bavian, and these should always be recorded by a
traveller, even if he is not certain that they have not been remarked
before: something new may turn up at any time. Antiquities acquired
in the neighbourhood of such monuments should be noted, and their
precise place of origin ascertained, if possible, as in this way the
site of some ancient settlement adjoining the monument may be
identified. The open ruin-fields, or _Khurbas_, characteristic of
Palestine are not usual, except in the case of Parthian or Sassanian
palace ruins such as Ctesiphon, Hatra, or Ukheidhir, which were often
abandoned almost as soon as they were built, so that no later
population could pile up rubbish-heaps or graves above them.
In order to aid the visitor to get some idea of the age of a tell or
other site from the antiquities found on its surface and its
neighbourhood, and so to be able to give some idea of what is likely
to be found in it, the following hints have been drawn up.
In the first place, most of the surface remains, are, as elsewhere,
pottery sherds. These should tell us their date by their appearance.
It must be said, however, that our experience on the subject of the
development of Mesopotamian pottery is limited. Owing to the
attention of Assyriologists having been so long focussed on the study
of the cuneiform records, to the neglect of general archaeology, we
have nothing like the knowledge of these things that we have in Egypt
or in Greece. Such minutiae of information as our common knowledge of
ceramic development in Egypt or in Greece gives us with regard to
these countries, enabling us to date sites with great accuracy, are
not vet available for Mesopotamia. And if for this reason all
possible information as to the objects found on archaeological sites
is desirable, it is also impossible yet to give the visitor any
absolute guide to the distinctive appearance of pottery at every
period. The main periods are known. The 'prehistoric', the Sumerian,
the late Babylonian, and the Parthian styles are easily
distinguishable. If a visitor is able to tell us that such-and-such a
mound is prehistoric or is Parthian, or that settlements of both
periods existed on it, this is what we want. One of the most general
of criteria with regard to pottery is whether it is glazed or not. If
glazed, it is, generally speaking, late. Other things besides pottery
are of course found, and the presence or the absence of metal, and
the occurrence of stone implements, are important. But it must be
remembered that stone was used long into the 'Bronze' Age, and
contemporaneously with copper. There is no sudden break between the
two periods. Fragments of shell and mother-of-pearl, often with
incised designs, are very characteristic of the earliest period.
Coins are of late date; a tell with coins on it is certain to contain
buildings as late as the fourth or third century B.C. (though it may
also contain far older buildings as well). One of the most useful
criteria of age is: Bricks. The form of the brick is a very good
guide to date. The Babylonians used both kiln-baked and crude bricks.
The oldest type, whether baked or crude, is plano-convex in form, and
uninscribed. The mortar is bitumen. Later on rectangular bricks,
often square, made in moulds, were introduced. These usually bore the
name of the royal builder. Later on bricks became generally oblong
and much like our own. In the sixth century the square shape was
revived. Both shapes were in use at the Nebuchadnezzar period. Glazed
bricks were then common. Under the Persians mortar took the place of
bitumen. Under the Parthians and Sassanians, bricks were yellow,
oblong, small, and very hard. Details will be found below, The names
of various excavated sites are given in brackets as the 'classical'
sources of information on certain points, and as the places from
which type-antiquities have come to our Museums. Ancient names are in
capitals; museums in italics.
I. PREHISTORIC (?) AGE: Chalcolithic (aeneolithic) period, before
3500 B.C.
Until quite recently no traces of the Stone Age had been discovered
in Babylonia other than a few possible palaeoliths lying on the
surface of the desert: all traces of a Neolithic Age were supposed to
have been buried beneath the alluvium of the valley. In Assyria,
however, neolithic traces in the shape of obsidian flakes had been
discovered by the late Prof. L. W. King in the course of his
excavation of the mound of Kuyunjik (NINEVEH), besides fragments of
painted pottery resembling those from the earliest deposits in Asia
Minor and those found by the American geologist Pumpelly in his
diggings in the _kurgans_ of Turkestan, (to which he assigned an
extremely remote date B.C.). In Persia, and about the head of the
Persian Gulf, somewhat similar pottery was discovered by de Morgan
and the other French excavators at Susa, Tepe Musyan, Bandar Bushir,
and other places: here again the dates were put at a very remote
period. With the exception of a few flint saw-blades from Warka [1],
Fara, Zurghul, and Babylon [2], no similar remains had been found in
Babylonia until, in 1918, Capt. R. Campbell Thompson, exploring on
behalf of the British Museum, discovered flint and obsidian flakes
and painted pottery lying on the surface of the desert at Tell Abu
Shahrein (ERIDU), and also at Tell Muqayyar (UR). The continued
excavations carried out by Mr. H. R. Hall for the Museum in 1919 have
produced more of the same evidence from both places, besides a new
'prehistoric' site at Tell el-Ma'abed or Tell el-'Obeid near Ur. It
seems that these antiquities date from the very end of the neolithic,
or rather to the succeeding 'chalcolithic', age; whether they are
really prehistoric, as regards Babylonian history, must until more
evidence from stratified deposits is found remain undecided. They
prove the occupation of the head of the Persian Gulf at the beginning
of history by a people whose primitive art was closely akin to that
of early Elam, and distinct from that of the Sumerians.
[1] Found by Loftus in 1854: their early date was not recognized at
the time.
[2] Koldewey, _Excavations at Babylon, E.T._, p. 261, fig. 182.
Koldewey curiously speaks of the saw-blades as 'palaeolithic.' They
are, of course, nothing of the sort.
Characteristics: flint, chert, obsidian, green and red jasper, and
quartz-crystal flakes, arrowheads, cores, and saw-blades. Chert and
limestone rough hoe-blades (easily mistaken for palaeolithic
implements; they are, however, much flatter); polished serpentine or
jasper celts; lentoid (lentil-shaped), amygdaloid (almond-shaped),
and discoid beads of cornelian, crystal, obsidian, &c., unpolished;
nails of translucent quartz and obsidian (obviously imitations of
metal types); hard grey pottery sickles, pottery cones of various
sizes, and pottery objects like gigantic nails bent up at the ends;
pottery painted with designs in black, usually geometrical (see
illustration XIV, Fig. 1), but sometimes showing plant-forms or even
animals. This ware is often very fine, so much so as to look as if
wheelmade. The shapes are chiefly bowls (often closely resembling
early Egyptian stone bowl types), pots with suspension-handles or
lugs, and spouted 'kettles'. All these objects are at Shahrein and
el-'Obeid found lying on the desert surface at the distance of 50 or
100 yards from the tell; they are supposed to have been washed out of
the lower strata of the latter by rains. Objects of this kind should
be recorded from any site, and the neighbourhood of a desert tell
should always be searched for them.
[ILLUSTRATION XIV MESOPOTAMIAN POTTERY, SEALS, ETC].
[ILLUSTRATION XV: CUNEIFORM AND OTHER SCRIPTS].
II. EARLY BRONZE (Copper) AGE: First Sumerian (pre-Sargonic) Period;
c. 3500-3000 B.C. Earliest Sumerian civilization.
Typical sites. Older strata at Telloh (LAGASH); Fara (SHURUPPAK);
Tell 'Obeid (ancient name as yet unknown); Shahrein (ERIDU).
Characteristics. Writing. First appearance of script, already
conventionalized from pictographs. Cut on stone and incised on clay
tablets and bricks of characteristic early style. Brick buildings,
with crenellated walls (until the discovery of Tell 'Obeid supposed
to date only from the later Sumerian period) of typical plano-convex
bricks, baked or crude, usually with thumb-mark down length of
convex side (Shahrein), or with two thumb-holes (for carrying the
brick when wet?), or vent-holes ('Obeid); at first uninscribed, later
with long inscriptions; measuring 10 x 6 x 2-2 1/4 ins. (Shahrein),
and 8 x 6 x 2-2 1/4 ins. ('Obeid); poorly shaped and baked (see XIV,
Fig. 3). Bitumen used for mortar; laid very thick. Hard white stucco
on internal faces of crude brick house walls, often decorated with
red, white, and black painted horizontal stripes (Shahrein.)
Pottery. Wheel and hand-made; drab, fine or coarse paste, unpainted
and usually undecorated. Typical shapes: (see XIV, Figs. 2 abc)
mostly handleless vases, and cups, and spouted 'kettles' (again often
resembling early Egyptian types).
Metals: Copper. Extensive use: large copper figures of animals,
heads cast, bodies of copper plates fastened by nails over a core of
clay with a mixture of bitumen and straw; the figures have eyes,
tongues, and teeth of red and white stone and nacre (Tell 'Obeid);
goat's head with inlaid eyes of nacre (Fara). Otherwise ordinary
treatment of eye shows a number of wrinkle lines round it, and it is
always disproportionately large (bull's heads, Tell 'Obeid and
Telloh). Small fragments of copper or bronze on the surface of a tell
should never be neglected, as there may be enough in any fragment to
give an idea of possible archaic remains within the tell.
Silver. Rare. Fine engraved vase of Entemena (Telloh, _Louvre_).
Gold. Not uncommon. Copper nails with gold-plated heads (Shahrein).
Stone. Portrait figures in round (Bismaya, Telloh, &c.), usually
representing men, with face and head shaven; very prominent large
curved nose; usually squatting with arms crossed, sometimes standing;
only garment a kilt apparently made of locks of natural wool. Usually
inscribed in archaic characters on back of shoulders. Material: a
grey or a white limestone most usual; tufa and dolerite also used.
Reliefs: large stelae (Stele of the Vultures; Telloh, _Louvre_,
fragment in _B. M._), completely inscribed; small relief plaques,
inscribed (Telloh, _Louvre_). Flint carved and engraved cylinder-
seals, of limestone, black basalt, jasper, diorite, &c. Vases, bowls,
and cups (usually fragmentary), of white and pink limestone and
breccia. Maceheads of breccia, granite, &c., of same type as the
early Egyptian (Shahrein).
Shell. Very largely used for decoration; small plaques of nacre
often engraved with scenes of men worshipping, &c. (Telloh);
tessellated pillars with nacre plaques ('Obeid). Seal-cylinders of
shell.
Wood. Rarely survives; small beams plated with copper ('Obeid).
Burials. Pottery coffins with lids, mat burials; bodies contracted;
funerary furniture, copper, stone or pottery drinking cups held near
mouth: copper weapons, fish-hooks, net weights; beads of agate,
lapis, shell (unpolished); colour-dishes, (Fara). (The idea that the
Babylonians ever burnt their dead is now discredited; the supposed
'fire-necropoles' at Zurghul, &c., are not substantiated.)
The burials are hard to distinguish from similar contracted
interments of later date, except that the furniture is more abundant
in early times and mat graves are unusual in later days Mounds of
this age may be known by the occurrence on the surface of scraps of
oxydized copper, nails, &c.; shell-fragments; undecorated light drab
sherds; and the typical small plano-convex bricks.
III. MIDDLE BRONZE AGE.
1. Early Semitic or Akkadian (Sargonid) period; c. 3000-2500 B.C.
Characteristics. Less crude style of art: development of writing (see
XIV, Fig. 1); first inscribed clay tablets of usual style; beginnings
of cuneiform, developed from the archaic semi-pictographic character.
Bricks still plano-convex; stamped inscriptions begin. Stone
maceheads of same type as earlier. Large and well-cut cylinder-seals
of fine limestone, lapis, diorite, granite, and shell are
characteristic of the period: they are generally of an easily
recognizable form (reel-shaped) with sides showing a marked concavity
(see XIV, Fig. 5). The great development of art is shown by the stele
of Naram-Sin (_Louvre_) found at Susa. Not many mounds of this period
have been dug.
2. Later Sumerian (Gudea) and early Semitic Babylonian (Hammurabi)
periods; c. 2500-1800 B.C.
Characteristics. Typical 'Gudea' style of sculpture, in round and
relief (Telloh, _Louvre_); materials hard diorite, dolerite and
basalt as well as limestone: characteristic treatment of eye with
heavily marked brows: elaborate tiaras and head-dresses of female
figures, &c. Very high development. Regular use of cuneiform on clay
tablets and cones (see XV, Figs. 13-15); non-cuneiform character (in
a developed form) still used in brick stamps (XV, Fig. 10) and on
stone monuments. Bricks (XIV, Fig. 4) now rectangular and well made,
either square (14 ins., usually, by 2 1/2 ins. thick) or oblong (11
1/2 x 8 x 2 1/2 ins., or 10 x 5 x 2 1/2 ins.) with stamps or incised
inscriptions of Ur-Engur, Dungi, Bur-Sin, Gudea and other kings (XV,
Fig. 10), from Ur, Shahrein, Telloh, Niffer, &c. Bricks of Bur-Sin
from Shahrein often have inscription-stamps also on the smaller sides
(thickness). Great buildings of crude and baked brick (Telloh, Ur);
temple-towers (ziggurats) of crude brick faced with burnt brick (Ur,
Shahrein, Niffer). Town ruins of Hammurabi's age (Babylon): crude
brick: plans always confused and haphazard. Bitumen still used for
mortar. Burials, contracted, often in double pots (mouth to mouth),
sealed with bitumen. With the bodies are found large numbers of agate
and cornelian beads, unpolished.
Mounds of this period may be recognized by the typical square or
oblong bricks (often with thumb-holes), with stamps of kings' names,
&c., in non-cuneiform characters, or with hand-incised inscriptions
in early cuneiform, made while the clay was wet; clay tablets or
cones inscribed in early cuneiform; copper nails (those with gold-
plated heads found at Shahrein may also date from this time); drab or
black pottery sherds with impressed or incised designs, generally
rough and evidently made with a piece of stick or the thumb-nail;
rough stone quern-slabs with rubbers, grinding and hammer-stones,
&c.; and the burials described above (these, however, also occur in
later times).
IV. LATER BRONZE AGE:
Kassite, Middle Babylonian, and Early Assyrian periods; c. 1800-
1000 B.C.
Characteristics. Stabilization of Babylonian art; typical 'Kassite'
cylinder-seals with straight sides (XIV, Fig. 6); disappearance of
old non-cuneiform character with gradual disuse of Sumerian; early
stone-cut inscriptions in cuneiform (see XV, Fig. 16; an Elamite
inscription). Occasional and rare appearance of glazed pottery
(imitation of Egyptian), and multi-coloured glass; early Assyrian
sculpture (those unversed in minutiae of Mesopotamian art will only
be able to tell this earlier work from the later by the earlier style
of the accompanying inscriptions). Not many mounds of this period
have been dug.
V. EARLY IRON AGE:
1. Late Babylonian and Assyrian periods; c. 1000-540 B.C.
Characteristics. Flourishing period of Assyrian art and writing (for
details see the archaeological books, which are very full on this
period). Mounds may be known by the occurrence of fragments of
granite or basalt bowl-querns, often with feet; pieces or whole vases
of the multi-coloured opaque glass usually called 'Phoenician' (which
are already found in the preceding period); alabaster pots; straight-
sided cylinder seals (see XIV, Fig. 6); Syrian conical seals of
steatite (XIV, Fig. 7); small and rude clay figures of deities, such
as Ishtar or Papsukal (the guardian of buildings), and animals, such
as horses, sheep, doves, ducks, &c.; bronze pins, often with birds on
the heads; baked clay tablets of the fine Kuyunjik type (see XV, Fig.
12; script, Fig. 17); pottery lamps with long protruding curved
nozzles; pottery vases simple and undecorated save by incised lines,
as for many centuries past (for types see XIV, Figs. 9 a b c d);
light-blue glazed ware introduced from Egypt towards end of period;
polychrome glazed ware with designs of rosettes, chevrons) &c.,
somewhat earlier; large pots without feet common for storage of grain
and oil, sometimes for tablets: mouth often closed with a brick.
Stone pithoi are also found. Vertical drains or sinks, made of a
number of pottery cylindrical drums, fitting on top of or into one
another, are found everywhere on town-mounds of this period; visitors
should avoid tumbling into them, as they are often open or only
covered by a very thin crust of earth. Usually they are perforated to
allow of soaking into the surrounding earth, and are, when excavated
whole, generally found capped by, a beehive-shaped perforated cover.
Sometimes these drains were made of old pots with their lower parts
broken off, and fitted into one another. Secular buildings were of
burnt brick; sacred buildings usually of crude brick, from religious
conservatism. Crude bricks nearly always oblong; burnt bricks square
(14 ins.) or oblong (9x6x3 ins.). The burnt brick of Nebuchadnezzar's
time is extraordinarily fine and hard, and the bitumen-mortar so
finely spread as to be almost invisible (Babylon). Walls of this
reign have a rock-like solidity and tenacity that should make them
easily recognizable. Those of immediately preceding reigns show the
bitumen far more clearly, and the bricks are usually not as finely
made as Nebuchadnezzar's; at Babylon the latter's work is thus at
once distinguishable from that of Nabopolassar. A typical brick-
inscription of Nebuchadnezzar is illustrated above, XV, Fig. 11. It
is in the revived archaic script, always used for this purpose by the
late Babylonian kings. Use of coloured glazed brick is characteristic
of period; often relief figures of animals are made up of glazed
bricks each specially moulded for its proper position and numbered
(Ishtar Gate, Babylon). Royal palaces were often decorated with
reliefs depicting conquests, &c., carved on slabs of alabastrine
marble placed along the brick walls, with great statues of human-
headed bulls (_Cherubim_), &c. (Nimrud [CALAH], Kuyunjik [NINEVEH],
Khorsabad. _Brit. Mus._ and _Louvre_.) Burials usually in drab clay
pot-coffins (larnakes) with covers; bodies still contracted; funerary
furniture scanty, consisting chiefly of pins, beads, an occasional
cylinder-seal, and a few pots (XIV, Figs. 9 a b c d). Ribbed pots
with blue (weathered green) glaze, often pitched both within and
without, were also employed towards the end of the period, inverted
over the bodies. Also anthropoid pottery sarcophagi, an idea imported
from Egypt. Child burials in bowls. Iron objects sometimes buried
with the dead; often found in palace-ruins (weapons, horse-furniture,
&c.). Bronze commonly used for gates, door, bolts, &c. (Gates of
Shalmaneser's palace; _Brit. Mus._).
2. Persian (Achaemenian) period: c. 540-330 B.C.
This period is distinguished from the former by the less frequent use
of bronze, the introduction of coinage, and the development of the
simplified Persian cuneiform writing (never on tablets, only on stone
monuments; see XV, Fig. 18). Bitumen ceased to be used as mortar in
buildings. Persian walls (e. g. the Apadana at Babylon) are easily
distinguished by the use of clay mortar, and the unusual thickness of
the mortar-courses between the bricks. Burials in shallow trough-like
pottery coffins, with the bodies at full length, but with the knees
slightly flexed (these continued during the next period).
VI. MIDDLE IRON AGE:
1. Greek and Parthian periods; c. 330 B.C.-220 A.D.
Characteristics. Sudden degeneration and disappearance of the ancient
native civilization and art; imitation of Greek culture, Greek
buildings (theatre at Babylon), and inscriptions; Greek legends on
Parthian coins; Parthian kings call themselves 'Philhellenes';
Graeco-Roman architecture imitated (Hatra). Graeco-Roman terra-
cottas, pottery lamps, pilgrim-flasks and bone-carvings; classical
seal gems; Roman glass; fragments of imitation of classical sculpture
in marble (the material being adopted as well as the style); and, of
course, coins--these are characteristic remains found on mounds of
this period. About l00 B.C. the use of cuneiform was given up; clay
tablets were no longer used. Aramaic became the usual form of
writing; ink used on sherds; wax tablets. Small bowls often found
with ink-written incantations in Judaeo-Aramaic (see XV, Fig. 19).
Mounds of this period are perhaps most easily recognized by the
quantities of deep-blue glazed sherds found lying about on them. The
glaze is rather thin, laid on a coarse drab ware, and is often
cracked. The blue is very fine, rivalling the old Egyptian. Burials
of this period are often found in (besides the shallow pottery
coffins mentioned above) rectangular oblong boxes of thin coarse ware
with light friable blue glaze (Babylon), or (later) in slipper-shaped
coffins (possibly Sassanian) of the same ware, rudely decorated with
human figures (warriors) in relief, on panels (Warka). The blue glaze
has often changed to a dark green, especially in the case of the
Warka slipper-coffins. The lids are cemented to the coffins.
Internments are now full length, the old custom of contraction having
been entirely abandoned [1]. Gold ornaments and pieces of gold leaf,
gold fillets, &c., are not unfrequently found with the bodies,
besides armlets, toe and finger rings, &c., of silver and bronze, the
finger-rings usually of ordinary Roman types; pottery, lamps, and
glass vessels. These coffins are often in brick vaults, usually
placed haphazard in the ground, as in earlier times. Bricks small,
hard, and yellow.
[1] The western custom of cremation was never adopted, in spite of
the Hellenization of culture. It offended both Babylonian and Iranian
sentiment, although the Parthians were never very orthodox followers
of Ahuramazda, and venerated (at least platonically) the most popular
deities of the Greek pantheon.
2. Sassanian Period; c. 220-650 A.D.
Characteristics. Reaction towards Oriental motives in art: a typical
_antika_ of the period is the Sassanian seal of cornelian,
chalcedony, or haematite, in shape sometimes a ring, more often a
flat sphere with one-third cut off to form a seal-base, perforated
for stringing (see XIV, Fig. 8), and inscribed in Pehlevi (see XV,
Fig. 20) a script that to the unitiated looks very like Cufie Arabic:
the language is Old-Persian, which was spoken by the court officials
at Ctesiphon, the language of the people being Aramaic. Sculpture
barbarized, but with a picturesque character of its own (Nakhsh-i-
Rustam, Tak-i-Bostan), sometimes reminiscent of Indian work.
Architecture: Parthian-Roman traditions (Ctesiphon). Pottery usually
glazed blue (thicker glaze). Unglazed bowls with Hebrew and Mandaitic
magical inscriptions. Bronze no longer used except for coins. Objects
from mounds very like those of preceding age, but less of Roman
origin. Not much known of burials; the Warka slipper-coffins usually
regarded as Parthian may possibly be of early Sassanian age.
VII. LATER IRON AGE:
Muhammadan Period; c. 650-1500 A.D.[1]
Characteristics. Development of art under Persian influence till
Tartar conquest in thirteenth century: the destruction and
depopulation of the country at that time brought all real artistic
development to an end. Flourishing period: the 'Abbasid Khalifate:
ninth century: Harun al-Rashid. Ruins of the ancient city and palaces
of Samarra: halls with modelled and painted plaster-decorations, not
only geometrical but also (Persian heterodox influence) representing
trees, birds, &c. No more sculpture in round or relief of human
figures or animals. The only survival of classical tradition would
appear to be to some extent in architecture: Greek architects.
Coins: thin gold, and silver, with Cufic inscriptions only (see XV,
Fig. 21). Mounds of this period may be known by fragments of marble-
carving with Cufic inscriptions, plasterwork, Arab and Persian vase
and tile fragments in thick blue, green, yellow, or brown glaze,
metallic lustre-glaze, &c., variegated glass bangles, and rings; bits
of cloudy white glass (from lamps); fragments of wood, carved and
inlaid with bone, nacre, &c., in geometrical patterns; textile
fragments, (which are naturally not commonly found in older mounds),
&c.
Nothing is said with regard to burials as these may not be touched.
[1] The limit of age which constitutes an 'antiquity' for legal
purposes is fixed in most antiquity-laws at 1500 A.D.
APPENDIX
LAWS OF ANTIQUITIES
The following brief notes on the Laws of Antiquities in force in the
various territories with which this book is concerned must not be
taken as absolving the traveller from the necessity of consulting the
full text of the laws. At the time of going to press, the Turkish Law
presumably prevails in such parts of the Turkish Empire as are not
occupied by the troops of the Entente; in the remainder, temporary
regulations are in force which will doubtless be modified when the
new governments are established; and it is possible that the Turkish
Law itself may be brought into greater harmony with modern ideas.
The Greek Law of Antiquities.
[Greek], 24 July 1899, Athens, [Greek] 1889.
All antiquities found are the property of the Government and are
controlled by an Archaeological Commission, consisting of the Ephor
General of Antiquities and the ephors of the archaeological
collections in Athens. Fixed antiquities must be reported by the
discoverer to the Ephor General or one of the ephors of antiquities
or other official. Damaging of ruins or remains of monuments is
forbidden. Owners of the land on which portable antiquities desirable
for the National Museums are found are compensated to the extent of
half their value. Any person who finds antiquities on his land must
report them within five days, on pain of confiscation. The same
applies to any one who finds antiquities on another person's land, or
in any other way comes into possession of antiquities. Informers
against breaches of the law are rewarded by the amount of the
compensation due to those who keep the law. Objects not considered
worth keeping by the Museums are returned to the owner of the land.
Excavations, even on private property, must be authorized by the
Ministry of Education. The Government has the right of expropriating
land for purposes of excavation. In Government excavations, the owner
of the land receives one-third of the value of the objects considered
worth keeping by the Museums. Secret excavation is punished by
confiscation of the finds, imprisonment and temporary loss of civil
rights. In authorized excavations by a landowner or his
representative the excavator receives half the value of the finds
taken by the Museums. Any one attempting to excavate on another man's
land is punished by imprisonment. Antiquities found in the country
may not be exported (on pain of imprisonment or fine and temporary
loss of civil rights) without permission, which is only granted for
objects not considered by the Archaeological Commission to be of use
to the Museums. Such objects on export are subject to a tax of 10
percent. _ad valorem_ unless declared entirely valueless by the
Commission. Antiquities imported into the country must be declared in
the Customs House and reported to the Ephor General of Antiquities, a
descriptive catalogue in duplicate being sent, and cannot be re-
exported without permission, which is obtained by producing the
articles with the original catalogue to the Ephor General; if not
reported they are regarded as having been found in the country.
The Turkish Law of Antiquities.
Loi sur les Antiquites promulguee le 29 Sefer 1324 (10 Avril 1322).
Extrait du _Levant Herald_ du 8, 9, 11 et 13 Juin 1906. Constantinople,
Imprimerie du _Levant Herald,_ Pera, 1906.
Antiquities are controlled by the Director-General of the Imperial
Museums and a Commission, the Directors of Public Instruction in the
provinces acting as agents. All ancient monuments and objects
(including those of Islamic date) are the property of the Government.
Any fixed antiquities discovered must be reported under pain of fine
within 15 days to the official in charge of antiquities, or in his
absence to the nearest civil or military official. Punishment by fine
and imprisonment is inflicted for destroying or injuring monuments,
measuring or making impressions without authorization.
Transportable antiquities found on a man's land must be reported by
him within a week. The landowner receives half the value of objects
thus reported and bought by the State; objects not reported are
confiscated, and the landowner fined. This clause applies to those
who find antiquities on land belonging to other private persons or to
the State. Excavation is the exclusive privilege of the Museums, but
firmans may be obtained by scientific societies and specialists.
Unauthorized excavation is punished by imprisonment and confiscation.
The State has the right of making preliminary soundings and of
expropriation. Applications for leave to excavate must be made to the
Minister of Public Instruction. All finds belong to the State.
Unauthorized dealing in antiquities is punishable by fine,
imprisonment, and confiscation. Exportation of antiquities found in
the Empire is forbidden. Antiquities imported must be reported to the
directorate of antiquities, and may not be sent from one part of the
Empire to another, or re-exported, without permission from the
Director-General.
The Cypriote Law of Antiquities.
To Consolidate and Amend the Law relating to Ancient Monuments and
Antiquities, and to provide Museums. Law no. IV of 1905. See Sir J.
T. Hutchinson and S. Fisher, _The Statute Laws of Cyprus,_ 1878-1906
(London, 1906), pp. 595-608.
Objects later than the Turkish conquest, and coins of Byzantine or
later times, are not deemed to be antiquities. All undiscovered
antiquities of movable character are the property of the Government;
all immovable antiquities are also the property of the Government,
unless some person shall be the owner of them. All antiquities must
be reported by the person in possession of them to the Museum
Committee, on pain of confiscation; antiquities found except in the
course of authorized excavations must be reported within five days to
the District Commissioner, One-third of such movable antiquities is
taken by the Government, one-third by the finder, and one-third by
the owner of the land. Damage to ancient monuments is punished by
fine or imprisonment or both. Unauthorized excavation, even on land
belonging to the excavator, and the purchasing of objects illegally
excavated, are punished by fine or imprisonment or both. Application
for leave to excavate must be made to the Chief Secretary for
Government. All antiquities found in excavation belong to the
Government; only duplicates, and objects not required by the Museum,
are given to the excavator. The Government has the right to
expropriate land for the purpose of excavations. The Museum Committee
may acquire the interests of any private person in an antiquity on
payment of compensation. If the sum agreed on is not paid within six
months, the Museum Committee loses all right to its acquisition.
Export of antiquities is forbidden except with the permission of the
High Commissioner, which is granted only for objects not required by
the Museum or for antiquities the interests in which the Museum
Committee has failed to acquire in the manner described.
The Egyptian Law of Antiquities.
La Nouvelle Loi sur les Antiquites de l'Egypte et ses annexes.
Service des Antiquites. Le Caire, Imprimerie de l'Institut francais
d'archeologie orientala. 1913.
All antiquities belong to the State. The State has the right of
expropriating ground containing antiquities. Transportable
antiquities when found must be reported to nearest administrative
authority or agents of the Service of Antiquities: the finder
receives half the objects thus reported or their value. Excavation,
dealing in antiquities, and exportation are forbidden unless under
authorization. Destruction of and damage to antiquities is punishable
by fine and imprisonment. Applications for leave to export or to
excavate should be made to the Director-General of Service of
Antiquities. A tax of 1 1/2 per cent. is levied on the declared value
of objects passed for export. Leave to excavate is granted only to
savants recommended by Governments or learned societies, or to
private persons presenting proper guarantees. The excavator pays the
cost of guarding the site. The Government takes half the portable
objects found.
General Principles of a Model Law of Antiquities for the Near and
Middle East.
The following statement of Principles which should form the
foundation of the Laws of Antiquities to be enacted for the various
Provinces formerly under Turkish rule was drawn up by an
International Committee in Paris and recommended to the Commission
for regulating the Mandates under the League of Nations. It follows
closely the Recommendations of the Archaeological Joint Committee on
the same subject. It was proposed at the same time that the Treaty
with Turkey should enjoin the adoption by that Power of a Law of
Antiquities on the same lines:
Principes du reglement devant etre adopte par chacune des Puissances
mandataires.
1. 'ANTIQUITY' signifie toute construction, tout produit de
l'activite humaine, anterieur a l'annee 1700.
2, Toute personne qui, ayant decouvert une antiquite, la signalera a
un employe du Departement des Antiquites du pays, sera recompensee
suivant la valeur de l'objet, le principe a adopter devant etre
d'agir par encouragement plutot que par menace.
3. Aucun objet antique ne pourra etre vendu sauf au Departement des
Antiquites du pays, mais si ce Departement renonce a l'acquerir la
vente en deviendra libre. Aucune antiquite ne pourra sortir du pays
sans un permis d'exportation dudit Departement.
4. Toute personne qui, expres ou par negligence, detruira ou
deteriorera un objet ou une construction antique, devra etre passible
d'une peine a fixer par l'autorite du pays.
5. Aucun deblaiement ni aucune fouille ayant pour objet la recherche
d'antiquites ne seront permis sous peine d'amendc, sauf aux personnes
autorisees par le Departement des Antiquites du pays.
6. Des conditions equitables devront etre fixees par chaque Puissance
mandataire pour l'expropriation temporaire ou permanente des terrains
qui pourraient offrir un interet historique ou archeologique.
7. Les autorisations pour les fouilles ne devront etre accordees
qu'aux personnes qui offrent des garanties suffisantes d'experience
archeologique. Aucune des Puissances mandataires ne devra, en
accordant ces autorisations, agir de facon a ecarter, sans motif
valable, les savants des autres nations.
8. Les produits des fouilles pourront etre divises entre le
fouilleur et le Departement des Antiquites de chaque pays dans une
proportion fixee par ce Departement. Si, pour des raisons
scientifiques, la division ne semble pas possible, le fouilleur devra
recevoir, au lieu d'une partie de la trouvaille, une juste indemnite.
INDEX
Abu Shahrein, 85, 88, 90.
Achaemenian period in Mesopotamia, 93.
Aegean, prehistoric age in the 36 f: pottery in Palestine, 73.
Aeneolithic; see Chalcolithic.
Akkadian period, 90.
Alphabets: see Inscriptions.
Aramaic inscriptions, 62, 66; in Mesopotamia, 93.
Archaeological Joint Committee, 38.
Arches, corbelled, 40.
Arcosolium tombs, 71 f.
Asia Minor, 47 ff.
Assyrian period, 91.
Attic pottery, 44 f.
Babylon. 85, 90, 92 f.
Babylonian period, 91.
Bandar Bushir, 85.
Barometer, 10, 33.
Bavian, 83.
Beads: Cypriote, 56: Egyptian, 78 f.; Greek, 41; Hittite, 60;
Mesopotamian, 88 ff.; Syrian, 64.
Belt Jibrin, 73.
Bitumen in Mesopotamia, 84, 88.
Black-figured Greek pottery, 44.
Bricks, 14 f.; in Egypt, 82; in Mesopotamia, 84-93.
Bronze Age: in Asia Minor, 48; in Cyprus, 56; in Greece, 36 f.; in
Mesopotamia, 88; in Syria, 60.
Bronze, forgeries in, 24.
Brooches (fibulae): Greek, 40, 44; in Syria, 61 f.
Bubastites, 79.
Buildings, recording of, 14.
Burials: see Tombs.
Buying, advice about. 24 f.
Calah, 92.
Camera, 10 f.
Casting in plaster, 19.
Caves, 15, 72.
Cemeteries, 15, 55, 70, 78: see also Tombs.
Chalcolithic period: in Mesopotamia, 85: in Syria, 59 f.
Cisterns in Palestine, 77.
Coins; in Cyprus, 58; in Egypt, 79; in Mesopotamia, 84, 92 ff.;
forgeries of, 24; making impressions of, 19 f; recording finds of, 9.
Combs, Egyptian, 78.
Committee, Archaeological Joint, 28.
Compass, prismatic, 10.
Copper: in Mesopotamia, 88 f.; in Syria, 60.
Copying, 17 ff.
Corbelled arches, 40.
'Corinthian' pottery, 41.
Crete, 36; pottery from, in Palestine, 73.
Crusaders' churches in Palestine, 76.
Ctesiphon, 84, 94.
Cuneiform inscriptions: in Asia Minor, 51; in Mesopotamia, 90 ff.
Cup-markings in Palestine, 77.
Cyclopean walls, 40
Cylinders and cylinder-sealings: in Cyprus, 56; in Egypt, 78;
Hittite, 60, 62, 64; in Mesopotamia, 89 ff.
Cyprus, 54 ff.; Law of Antiquities, 97; pottery from, in Palestine,
73.
Dipylon period, 40.
Dolmens in Palestine, 77.
Drawing and copying, 17 f.
Egypt, 78-82; Law of Antiquities, 98.
Egyptian hieroglyphics, 20; pottery in Palestine, 73; scarabs
imitated in Syria, 62; stone bowls, Mesopotamian pottery types
resembling, 88.
Eridu, 85, 88.
Excavations: laws controlling, 95 ff.; unauthorized, 7.
Fara, 85, 88 f.
Fibulae: see Brooches.
Figurines: Cypriote, 55; Greek, 35, 40 f., 44 f.; Syrian, 60, 62, 64.
Finds, importance of not breaking up, 9.
Flint implements, 29 ff.: see also Stone Age.
Forgeries, 24 f.
Geometric bronze age ware in Greece, 36; period, 40.
Glass; in Cyprus, 57; in Egypt, 78 ff.; in Mesopotamia, 91; in
Syria, 64.
Glaze, Egyptian, 78 f.; imitated in Babylonia, 91.
Greece, 35 ff., Law of Antiquities, 95.
Hatra, 84.
Hebrew alphabets, 66.
Hieroglyphics, copying of, 17, 20; Hittite, 51, 62.
Hill sanctuaries in Palestine, 76.
Hittite antiquities: in Asia Minor, 51; in Syria, 59 ff.
Inscriptions: copying of, 17, 20 f.; Aramaic, 63, 66, 93; cuneiform,
51, 87, in Cyprus, 57, Greek, 44, 51 f; Hittite, 51, 62; Latin, 53;
Lycian,51; Lydian, 51; in Palestinian tombs, 71; Semitic, 62, 66 f.,
87.
Institutions, archaeological, 26 f.
Iron Age: in Asia Minor, 50; in Cyprus, 56; in Greece, 40; in
Mesopotamia, 91-93; in Syria, 60, 62.
Itinerary, recording of, 13 f.
Jewellery, forged, 24.
Kassite period, 91.
Khirbet (khirbah), 68 ff.
Khorsabad, 92.
Kohl-pots, 62,78 f.
Kok tombs, 71 f.
Kuyunjik, 85, 92.
Laconian pottery, 45.
Lagash, 88.
Lamps, Aegean, 37.
Latin inscriptions in Asia Minor, 53.
Laws of Antiquities, 7, 95 ff.
Levelling, 33.
Licences for acquiring antiquities, 9.
Lycian inscriptions and monuments, 51.
Lydian inscriptions, 51.
Ma'abed, Tell el-, 85.
Mastabas, 78.
Mapping, 13.
Mesopotamia, 83 ff.
Minoan Age. 36; pottery in Palestine, 73.
'Minyan' ware, 37.
Mortar, bitumen, 84, 90, 92.
Mosaic, 77, 79.
Mounds, 14: see also Tell.
Muqayyar, Tell, 85.
Museums, use of, 7 f.
'Mycenaean' Age, 37; pottery in Palestine, 73.
Naksh-i-Rustam, 94.
Neolithic Age: see Stone Age.
Niffer, 90.
Nimrud, 92.
Nineveh, 85, 92.
Numerals, West Semitic, 67.
'Obeid, Tell el-, 85, 88 f.
Obsidian: Aegean, 37; Mesopotamian, 85, 88.
Olive-presses in Palestine, 77.
Orientalizing Greek antiquities, 41, 44.
Outfit, 10 f.
Packing of antiquities, 22 f.
Palestine, 65 ff.
Papyri, forged, 24.
Paraffin-wax, 22 f.
Parthian period in Mesopotamia, 93.
Pehlevi script, 93 f.
Persian period: in Mesopotamia, 92; in Syria, 62.
Photography, 10 f., 21 f.
Phrygian inscriptions, 55.
Pins: Greek, 40, 44; Hittite, 60, 62; Mesopotamian, 91.
Place-names, Eastern, 68 f., 83.
Planning, 14, 16 f.
Plaster casting, 19 f.
Pottery, _passim_; hand-made and wheel-made, 29, 49 f; importance of,
29. 84; packing of, 23.
Preservation of antiquities, 22 f.
'Proto-Corinthian' pottery, 41.
Ptolemaic period, 79.
Red-figured Greek pottery, 44.
Rhodian jar-handles: in Egypt, 79; in Palestine, 73.
Rock-cut tombs, 70 f.
Rock-sculptures in Mesopotamia, 83.
Saites, 79.
Samarra, 94.
Sanctuaries: in Cyprus, 54 f.; in Palestine, 76.
Sargonid period, 90.
Sassanian period, 93 f.
Scarabs: in Cyprus, 56; in Egypt, 78; in Syria, 62, 64; forged, 24.
Schools of archaeology, 8, 26 f.
Sculpture, squeezing of, 18.
Seals: Aegean, 37; Hittite, 62; Mesopotamian, 86, 89, 91; Sassanian,
93; Syrian, of Persian period, 64: see also Cylinders, Scarabs.
Semitic inscriptions, 62, 65-7, 87.
Shahrein, Tell Abu, 85, 88, 90.
Shuruppak, 88.
Sinjerli, 59, 62.
Sites, identification of, 68.
Societies, archaeological, 8, 26 f.
Squeezing, 17 ff.
Stone Age, 29 ff.; in Asia Minor, 48; in Cyprus, 56; in Greece, 35
f.; in Mesopotamia, 84 f., 88; in Palestine, 76; in Syria, 59 f.
Sumerian period, 88 ff.
Susa, 85.
Syria, Central and North, 59ff.
Tak-i-Bostan, 94.
Tall: see Tell.
Telephotography, 12.
Tell (mound), 68 f., 83.
Telloh, 88 ff.
Tepe Musyan, 85.
Terra-cottas; see Figurines.
Trees, sacred, 77.
Tombs and burials: in Cyprus, 55; in Mesopotamia. 89-94; 'of the
Kings', at Jerusalem, 71; rockcut, in Palestine, 70 f.; in Syria, 59
f: see also Cemeteries.
Turkish Law of Antiquities, 96.
Ukheidir, 84.
Ur, 85, 90.
'Urfirnis' ware, 37.
Ushabtis, 78 f.
Warka, 85, 93 f.
Wine-presses in Palestine, 77.
Zurghul, 85, 89.