CUNEIFORM TABLETS.—Prof. Sayce while in Egypt spent several days at Tel el-Amarna with Mr. Petrie, and examined the fragments of cuneiform tablets which he has discovered there. Among them are portions of letters from the governors of Musikhuna, in Palestine, and Gebal, in Phornicia. The most interesting were some lexical fragments. One or two of these formed part of a sort of comparative dictionary of three (or perhaps five) different languages, one of them of course being Babylonian, in which the words of the other languages are explained at length. The work seems to have been compiled by "order of the King of Egypt." Another work was a dictionary of Sumerian and Babylonian, in which the pronunciation of the Sumerian is given as well as their ideographic representation. Thus the Babylonian rispu and di kate are stated to be the equivalents not only of the ideographic gaz-gaz, but also of the phonetically written ga-az-ga-az. This confirms the Page 110 views of Professors Sayce and Oppert, expressed long ago, as to the comparatively late date at which Accado-Sumerian ceased to be a spoken language.—Academy, May 14.

TOMB OF KHUENATEN OR AMENOPHIS IV.—Prof. Sayce writes to the Academy of Feb. 27. I have been spending a few days at Tel el-Amarna. Mr. Flinders Petrie is excavating the ruins of the old city of Khuenaten, while M. Alexandre, on behalf of the Gizeh Museum, has spent the summer and autumn among the tombs of Tel el-Amarna, and his labours have been rewarded by some important discoveries. At the entrance to one of the tombs, for instance, he has found stelae of the usual tombstone shape let into the wall like the dedication tablets of Greek and Roman times. The removal of the sand from the foot of the great stela of Khuenaten, first discovered by Prisse d'Avennes, has brought to light a most interesting text. This describes the distance of the stelae erected by the Pharaoh one from the other, and thus defines the limits of the territory belonging to the city which he built.

But M. Alexandre's crowning discovery—a discovery which is one of the most important made in Egypt in recent years—did not take place until December 30. It was nothing less than the discovery of the tomb of Khuenaten himself. The tomb is well concealed, and is at a great distance from the river and the ruins of the old city. Midway between the northern and the southern tombs of Tel el-Amarna, in the amphitheatre of cliffs to the east of the ancient town, are two ravines, more than three miles from the mouth of one of them, towards the head of a small valley is the tomb. It resembles the famous "Tombs of the Kings" at Thebes, being in the form of a subterranean passage cut in the rock, and sloping downwards at an acute angle to a distance of more than 100 metres. In front of the entrance is a double flight to steps also cut out of the rock, with a slide for the mummy between them. After entering the passage of the tomb, which is broad and lofty, we pass on the right another long passage, probably intended for the queen, but never finished. Soon afterwards we come to a chamber, also on the right, which serves as an antechamber to another within. The walls of both chambers have been covered with stucco, and embellished with hieroglyphs and sculptures. Among the latter are figures of prisoners from Ethiopia and Syria, of the solar disk, and of female mourners who weep and throw dust on their heads. From the inscriptions we learn that the two chambers were the burial-place of Khuenaten's daughter Aten-mert, who must consequently have died before him. It further follows that Ra-si-aa-ka, Aten-mert's husband, who received the titles of royalty in consequence of his marriage, must have been coregent with Khuenaten. Page 111 Khuenaten himself was buried in a large square-columned hall at the extreme end of the tomb. Fragments of his granite sarcophagus have been found there by M. Alexandre, as well as pieces of the exquisitely fine mummy cloth in which his body was wrapped. At the entrance to the tomb M. Alexandre also picked up broken ushebtis, upon which the cartouches of Khuenaten are inscribed. Before the Pharaoh had been properly entombed it would seem that his enemies broke into his last resting-place, destroyed his sarcophagus, tore the wrappings of his mummy to shreds, and effaced the name and image of his god wherever it was engraved upon the wall. The only finished portions of the tomb are the chambers in which his daughter was buried. Elsewhere the tomb is in the same condition as the majority of the tombs of his adherents. The walls have never been covered with stucco, much less painted or sculptured, and even the columns of the magnificent hall in which his sarcophagus was placed remains rough-hewn. It is clear that the king died suddenly, and that he was buried in haste on the morning of a revolution. His followers may have made a stand against their enemies for a few months, but it is difficult to believe from the state in which the tomb has been found that they can have done so for a longer time. Very shortly after Khuen-Aten's death his city must have been destoyed, never to be inhabited again.

Mr. Petrie in a letter to the Academy says: "It has long been known that the Arabs had obtained access to the tomb of the remarkable founder of Tel el-Amarna; the heart scarab of Khuenaten was sold two or three years ago at Luxor, and the jewellery of Neferti-iti, his queen, a year or two before that."

The entrance is like that of the tomb of Seti I at Thebes; but the sloping passage is about half the length of that.—Academy, Feb. 6.

COLLECTION IN LONDON.—The collections of sculpture, painting, faience, &c., which Mr. Flinders Petrie brought back from his excavations last winter at Tel el-Amarna have been placed on view at 4 Oxford-mansion, Oxford-circus, W. Their special interest is that they reveal an hitherto unknown form of art, remarkable both for its originality and for its spirited rendering of natural objects. The resemblance to some of the finest objects of Mycenaean work is very striking. The exhibition remained open until October 15.—Academy, Sept. 24.

ETHIOPIA.

NORTHERN ETBAI.—EXPEDITION TO THE NORTHERN ETBAI.—A recent scientific expedition to northern Etbai or northern Aethiopia, Page 112 by the order of the Khedive, is the subject of a very interesting paper by Ernest A. Floyer, in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for October.

The chief investigation of the expedition was devoted to the remains of certain large mining stations which proved to be doubly interesting, as giving evidence of two distinct periods of the mining industry.

Mines have been opened over almost the entire surface, and the remains of numerous towns mark the dwelling places of the miners.

Not only in the mines is found evidence of two methods, one very ancient and another less ancient; but in the settlements above were discovered remains of Ptolemaic construction, together with the stone huts of a race probably aboriginal, and preceding or contemporaneous with but not unknown to the ancient Egyptians.

The Ptolemaic miner seem to have employed the ancient methods to a great extent, so that it would seem that there could never have been any complete cessation of mining for a very long period.

The miners of Rameses' time, too, used methods of great antiquity. In the Wadi Abba stands a rock temple with hieroglyphic inscriptions stating that Sethos, father of Rameses the Great, had discovered gold mines in this region. Golenischeff believes this temple to have been erected by the Ptolemies. At the mines of Sighait is an hieroglyphic inscription recording the visit of a royal scribe and a mine inspector. This is faintly inscribed on the face of a steep rock. At the emerald mines of Sikait may be seen a number of Greek dedications over rock-cut temples. Near the Wadi Khashat, where topazes are found, there stands a square enclosure, the platform of a temple, and numerous ruined structures of apparent Greek origin. It would appear from these remains that the Ptolemies examined all of the ancient mines and reopened a certain number—here they erected their temples, houses and barracks for slaves, here they constructed high roads for their carts and oxen, with caravan service, and post houses built at intervals.

Beside these Ptolemaic ruins are found some traces of the prehistoric miners, and in a few cases as at the mines of the Um Roos these exist alone. The most important traces are the stone huts built of large stones in two lines, and of uniform irregularity. In connection with these huts there is not a single mark or inscription of any kind which might lead to a solution of the problem with regard to their origin.

Their implements, quantities of which are found at Um Roos were as crude as their abodes, in fact the use of some of them cannot be determined. The mines, though extensive, are little more than burrows, and in a few cases it is not known for what Page 113 mineral they were excavated. The writer, after dismissing the thiopians, the Kushites and the ancient Egyptians, as the probable pre-Ptolemaic miners, suggests that the Etbai was peopled by a negroid tribe of natural miners, the possible ancestors of the copper miners in the mountains north of Kordofan.

Near the Wadi Sikait, not far from the temples with Greek inscriptions already referred to, is a fine building of apparently later date, and supposed by the writer to have been a church from its construction, for the mines were worked steadily during the third and fourth centuries of the Christian era. The structure has no roof over the main portion, but what was apparently an apse still retains its roof of long slabs of schist. The body is filled with fallen slabs. The walls show a side window and several niches, which features suggested a Christian church.

ALGERIA AND TUNISIA.

M. Ren de la Blanchre in making, to the Acad. des Inscriptions, his report on the excavations and discoveries in Tunisia and Algeria during 1891, calls attention to the new organization of the archological administration of this region. Up to the present time Tunisia and Algeria had separate organizations, but the following arrangement has now gone into effect: M. de la Blanchre is delegate of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, in Algeria and Tunisia, and the mission under him is at present composed of M. M. Doublet, inspector of antiquities in the Regency; Pradre, conservator of the Museum of Bardo; Wood, attach at the same museum; Gauckler, historical student, and Marye: it is quite distinct from the local administrations. Although it supplies the greater number of the agents of the Bey's service of antiquities, which it created, it has no connection with its administration any more than with that of similar organizations in Algeria, such as that of historical monuments. Its object is: (1) to keep the Committee of Historic works (of Algeria and Tunisia) informed of all that happens in Africa in the domain of archology, to transmit to it any documents and to make researches regarding necessary work; (2) to carry on three important publications, two of which have already been partly published; the Collections du Muse Alaoui, the Muses et collections archologiques de l'Algrie, and the Catalogue gnral des muses de l'Afrique franaise; (3) to hold itself at the disposal of the French ministry and the local authorities for any work deemed necessary, excavations, organization of museums, enterprises of learned societies, explorations, etc. The head of the mission, being a delegate of the ministry, has Page 114 the right to oversee the Tunisian service of antiquities, and has also for both Algeria and Tunisia the permanent inspection of libraries and museums.

By means of this central organization, all the desiderata for African archology are obtained, and the best methods are put in practice for excavations, the organization of museums, and the publication of antiquities.

TUNISIA.

M. de la Blanchre reports that in 1891 the most urgent need in Tunisia was the classification of monuments that should be preserved. The operation is being carried on under the direction of M. Doublet; enquiry was opened in regard to about 150 monuments, nearly all of great importance, of which 27 are already classified. No excavations were undertaken by the service of antiquities, its funds being all employed on finishing the Bardo museum. It has, however, overseen or authorized the following enterprises, the most important of which will be found described in their alphabetical order: Sfaks; Sousse; Henchir Maatria; Dougga; Teboursouk; Henchir Tinah; Maktar.

CARTHAGE.—M. do Vog has communicated to the Acad. des Ins. (March 18) a report on the continuation of Father Delattre's excavations at Carthage, which go on giving interesting results which will be fully described in a publication by the explorer himself. At another point a funerary inscription was found of an iron caster. This is the first time the profession is mentioned in Carthaginian texts, which had hitherto mentioned only gold and bronze casters. Of course there was no casting of iron at that time, but only working of the metal.—Revue arch. 1892, II, p. 254.

TERRACOTTA MOULDS.—M. Hron de Villefosse communicated to the Acad. des Inscr. (Nov. 11,) the photographs of seventy-two moulds for intaglios, in terracotta, selected from a collection of over three hundred which were found in the lower part of Carthage, between the hill of St. Louis and the sea. They were all executed in antiquity. There are coin, types, a head of Herakles, similar to that of some silver coins attributed to Jugurtha, the fronting head of Silenus of the coins of Kyzikos, the galley of the coins of Sidon, etc., all of the purest Greek style. There are also some female heads, recalling Greek Sicilian coins; standing figures; an Athena, a Pan, a Hermes fastening his heel-pieces, a Marsyas, an amazon, a nude woman fastening her sandal, recalling coins of Larissa in Thessaly; some of groups, a man overthrown by a lion, a lion devouring a horse, a man standing and killing a kneeling woman, an episode Page 115 of the contest of Achilles and Penthesilea; finally some purely Egyptian types, such as scarabs with royal cartouches. This collection of moulds was probably made by a manufacturer with the purpose of reproducing them.—Rev. Critique, 1892, No. 47.

CHEMTOU-SIMITHU.—Excavations have been carried on at this site by M. Toutain: they were continued, thanks to a subvention from the Acad. des Inscriptions. In a letter to the Academy dated June 16, M. Geffroy gives an account of what had been discovered up to date. Nearly the whole of the ancient theatre was discovered in a few weeks. In the space occupied by the orchestra was a mosaic, with all the shades of Numidian marble, nine metres in diameter. These are interesting peculiarities in the construction and arrangement of the theatre. It is neither adossed to a hill nor completely isolated: the lower part of the hemicycle of steps which was completely buried, is well preserved. M. Toutain had commenced researches in two necropoli of the city hoping to find tombs and epitaphs of the freedmen and slaves employed in the neighbouring quarries. He had begun the excavation of a large building, perhaps a basilica or a curia, which appears to be about 40 metres long.

In a letter to the Acadmie, dated October 16, M. Toutain gives information of further discoveries, principally in the theatre and forum. A square was discovered 20 met. wide by 25 met. long, paved with large slabs of granite of greenish blue schist. It is situated in the midst of the ruins of several important monuments, notably a temple and a basilica, and is certainly the forum of Simithu. It is bounded on the south by a monumental exdra whose substructions of cut stone are still in place, and whose architectural decoration can be reconstructed by means of the bases, fragments, columns, capitals, and pieces of cornice which have come to light. Toward the north the forum is bounded by two structures separated by a narrow paved street.

A mile-stone found is important, as containing the name of Emperor Galerius, and dating from the short period when, after the abdication of Diocletian and Maximianus, Hercules, Constantius Chlorus, and Galerius were Augusti (May 1, 305, to July 25, 306). It has also a topographic interest as belonging to the cross-road from Thuburbo majus to Tunis or Carthage, passing by Onellana and Uthina. M. Toutain has traced a system of bars, basins and cisterns, to supply with rain water a small Roman city, whose ruins are now called Bab-Khaled. It would appear as if the public buildings of the city were inhabited and made over at the Byzantine period.—Revue critique 1892, No. 44; Revue arch., 1892, II, pp. 260, 266-7; Chron. des arts 1892, No. 34. Page 116

CHERCHELL.—M. Victor Waille has communicated to the Acad. des Insc. the first results of excavations on the field of manoruvres at Cherchell. Captain Htet and lieutenant Perrin conducted them. Three mosaic pavements were copied: there was found a dedicatory inscription to the governor C. Octavius Pudens Csius Honoratus, and some bronzes, among which were the base of a candelabrum and the handle of a chiseled vase, decorated with a helmeted bust of Roma, of the Byzantine period. The excavations are especially fruitful in small objects, pottery, bronzes, coins, etc.—Chron. des arts, 1892, No. 31; Ami des mon. 1892, p. 250.

DOUGGA.—The excavations carried on by MM. Denis and Carton, resulted in the clearing of the temple of Saturn; the discovery of the dedicatory inscription showing it to have been erected for the safety of Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus; the finding of a large number of native steles; and the clearing of the theatre.

HADRUMETUM.—A small lead tablet covered on both sides with inscriptions, has been found in the Roman necropolis. It is a tabella devotionis, to be compared with others found at Hadrumetum, at Carthage and in Gaul. On one side is a series of magic names, accompanied by the figure of a genius with a rooster's head, standing in a boat and holding a torch, on the other side is an adjuration addressed to a certain deus pelagicus rius: infernal maledictions are called down on the horses and drivers of the green and white factions of the circus. There was a god or genius named Taraxippos, "the scarer of horses," as M. Heuzey remarks.—Rev. arch. 1892, II, p. 267.

MAKTAR.—M. Border exhumed from the mines of the basilica, next to the amphitheatre, four fragments of an imperial dedicatory inscription, and a most interesting altar bearing a dedication in eighteen lines on the occasion of the sacrifice of a bull and a ram for the safety of an Emperor, whose name is hammered out; M. Doublet conjectures him to have been Elagabalus.—A.d.M. 1892, p. 109.

SOUSSE.-In the neo-punic necropolis, on which the camp is situated, two entire vases and 28 fragments of vases were found, decorated with painted inscriptions. In the Roman necropolis, along the Kairwan road, several interesting discoveries were made, among them a hypogeum containing several frescoes in fair preservation, containing curious figures and inscriptions, and also some inscriptions on marble or stucco.—A.d.M. 1892, p. 109.

TEBOURSOUK.—MM. Denis and Carton have excavated the megalithic necropolis of Teboursouk, whose tombs are stone circles, with one or more small dolmens in the centre.—A.d.M. 1892, p. 109. Page 117

TUNIS.—Hans von Behrs has contributed to the Vossische Zeitung a report on the museum of the Bardo near Tunis. A summary of it is given in the Berlin Philologische Wochenschrift, November 19.

ALGERIA.

M. de la Blanchre reports that in Algeria M. Gauckler investigated in 1891 the provinces of Algiers and Constantine, and spent some time at Cherchell whose antiquities he studied and partly published alone or in collaboration with M. de Waille. He planned at the same time an excavation. M. Marye was charged with the plan for organizing, for the first time, a collection of mussulman art, of native industrial art, and of Turkish and Arabic monuments.

The work regarded as most pressing by M. de la Blanchre in 1891 was the publication of African museums. The first series of the collections du muse Alaoui was almost completed: the muses d'Oran and de Constantine were in the press, following the muse d'Alger published in the preceding year. The general catalogue will be drawn up as each establishment is definitively organized. The first place belongs to the Bardo museum whose catalogue had already been partly compiled by M. de la Blanchre. The museum of Oran, under its conservator, Demaeght, has been finally organized, and occupies a fine building given by the city. It has been enriched by several additions, notably the famous inscription of king Masuna. The museum of Constantine has received among other things, the results of an interesting excavation made at Collo, especially some curious vases with female silhouettes. The museum of the Bardo can, however, never be rivalled by any of the museums of Algeria. The immense palace is already nearly full, although the museum in 1891 was but four years old. The large hall is full, with its nine large cases; there are about 500 square metres of mosaics, 50 statues of large fragments, about 1200 inscriptions, and a multitude of small objects.

TIPASA.—The local curate, M. l'Abb Saint-Grand, has made some important excavations in an early Christian church. He found that the altar was placed at the end opposite the apse on a kind of platform or bma attached to the wall. Several inscriptions were found set into the mosaic pavement. One is the epitaph of Alexander, a bishop of Tipasa, another the dedication of the construction by him. To this bishop is attributed the merit of grouping about the altar the tombs of certain "righteous ancients," justi priores, by whom are undoubtedly meant his predecessors in the Episcopacy.—Chron. des arts, 1892, No. 14. Page 118 Professor Gsell assisted in the excavations above described and further details in a communication to the Acadmie des Inscriptions. The building mentioned was a funerary chapel built to the east of Tipasa by Bishop Alexander to contain the tombs of his predecessors. Near by a Christian sarcophagus was found with reliefs of Christ giving the law, Moses striking the rock and other subjects.

In the same locality is the basilica of Saint Salsa erected over her tomb. Built in the fourth century, it was decorated in the middle of the fifth by Potentius, probably a bishop; and enlarged in the second half of the sixth. It was still an object of veneration in the seventh century.—Chron. des arts, 1892, No. 28.



ASIA.

HINDUSTAN.

MUHAMMADAN COINS.—Mr. S. Lane-Poole has completed his "Catalogue of the Coins of the Mogul Emperors of Hindustan in the British Museum," dating from 1525, the invasion of Buber, to the establishment of British currency in 1835.

It describes over 1400 coins, chiefly gold and silver, of this splendid coinage. "In his introduction Mr. Lane-Poole deals with various historical, geographical, and other problems suggested by the coinage, and with difficulties of classification presented by the early imitative issues of the East India company and the French compagnie des Indes." This volume, the fourteenth, completes the cataloguing of all the Muhammadan coins in the museum.—Journal Royal Asiatic Society 1892, p. 425.

INDIAN NUMISMATICS.—Mr. Rodgers, Honorary Numismatist to the government of India, has finished his "Catalogue of the Coins with Persian or Arabic inscriptions in the Lahore museum," and practically finished his "Catalogue of the Coins in the Calcutta museum." His own immense collection has now been purchased by the Punjb government, and he has nearly completed his catalogue of that.

These catalogues will be of very great importance alike for the numismatic and for the modern history of India.—Journ. Royal Asiatic Society, 1892, p. 425.

NEW VARIETY OF MAURYA INSCRIPTIONS.—Prof. Buhler has made a very careful study of impressions of nine votive inscriptions from the relic-caskets discovered by Mr. Rea in the ruined stupa of Bhattiprolu in the Kistna District (Madras). He has made out their contents, and has arrived at the conclusion that they are written in a new variety of the Southern Maurya or Lt Page 119 alphabet. Twenty-three letters of these inscriptions agree exactly with those ordinarily used in the edicts of Asoka which have long been held to belong to the first attempts of the Hindus in the art of writing. Four letters are entirely unusual, while the lingual l is introduced, which does not occur in Asoka's inscriptions. Further peculiarities are presented in the notation of the medial and final vowels. The appearance of the letters would indicate that the Bhattiprolu inscriptions probably belong to a period only a few decades later than that of Asoka's edicts. By a comparison of these incriptions with Asoka's edicts, and with the inscriptions of Nuglet, Hathegumplia, Bharhut and Triana, it becomes evident that they hold an intermediate position between the two sets, but are much more nearly related to those of the third century B.C. than those of the second. If this be true, the date of the Bhattiprolu inscription cannot be placed later than 200 B.C., and the inscriptions themselves prove that several distinct varieties of the Southern Maurya alphabet existed during the third century, B.C.

This fact would remove one of the strongest arguments in favor of the theory that writing was introduced into India during the rule of the Maurya dynasty—i.e., the absence of local sorts of letters in which the edicts of Asoka were written in places widely separated, for this may be explained by a desire to imitate as closely as possible the character of the original edict.

If then the Bhattiprolu inscriptions show a system of characters radically different from those of Asoka's edicts and at the same time in all probability coeval with them a strong point is gained for the side of those who are of the opinion that the introduction of writing into India took place centuries before the accession of the Maurya Dynasty. It is a curious fact that of all the anomalous letters in the Bhattiprolu alphabet not one bears any trace to the later alphabets of India, all the characters of which are derived from those of Southern Maurya. The language of these inscriptions is a Prakrit dialect and is closely connected with the literary Pali.—Journ. Royal Asiatic Society, 1892, p. 602.

THE INDIAN HELL.—In a number of the Journal Asiatique (Sept., Oct., '92), M. Lon Feer publishes an article entitled "L'Enfer Indien," in which he confines himself to the Buddhist hells, leaving the Brahmanic hells for another study. He avails himself of all previously printed matter and adds new material. His object is to group together and classify all the ideas on infernal punishments, on the crimes for which they are inflicted and their duration. There are separate chapters on: Page 120 (1) the name and number of hells; (2) the eight large hot hells; (3) the attribution of the hells to distinct crimes; (4) the small hells. There are many questions in connection with them which he leaves unsolved. Then come the cold hells: (1) the Chinese hells; (2) Southern hells; (3) the number and names of the cold hells (of both north and south); (4) the duration of one's dwelling in the various hells; (5) on the non-existence of the cold hells; (6) on the period of time spent in all the hells, etc. The main conclusions are, that: All Buddhists recognize eight burning hells, with ascending intensity, surrounded by secondary hells of numbers varying from four to sixteen. Beside those there are eight cold hells, but only in the North, their names being considered in the South as expressing merely the different periods of sojourn in the eighth hell. The number of hells is at least 12, at most 32.

ARCHOLOGICAL SURVEY.—The second volume of the new series of the Archaological Survey of India is devoted to a catalogue of the antiquities and inscriptions in the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, compiled by Dr. A. Fuhrer. No part of India, not even the Panjab, is so crowded with historic spots, associated not only with the life and teaching of Buddha, and with the Hindu theogony, but also with the Muhammadan conquest. Most of the ground has already been worked over by Sir A. Cunningham and his assistants; but there are square miles of ruined mounds still almost untouched. We continually hear of finds of ancient coins made by peasants during the rainy season; but the author is careful to point out that what is now wanted is systematic exploration, like that of Mr. Petrie in Egypt. The present volume is based rather upon printed documents than upon original research, though it shows everywhere the traces of personal knowledge. Its object is to carry out the orders of the Government, by placing on record a catalogue of the existing monuments, classified according to their archological importance, their state of repair, and their custody. It is arranged in the order of administrative divisions and districts; but copious indices enable the student to bring together any particular line of investigation.—Academy, September.

A HISTORICAL DOCUMENT.—Dr. M. Aurel Stein, principal of the Oriental College at Lahore, has now ready for publication the first volume of his critical edition of the Rajatarangini, or Chronicles of the Kings of Kashmir, upon which he has been engaged for some years. This work, which was written by the poet Kalhana in the middle of the twelfth century, is of special interest as being almost the sole example of historical literature in Sanskrit. Hitherto it has only been known

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Page 123 Near the stpa is the site of the ancient village and fort; long ridges of earth, in form of a square, mark the position of the walls; within these, various articles have been turned up, large bricks, broken sepulchral urns and grain jars, together with beads of various material and Buddhist lead coins, both round and square; they bear the lion and the dugoba, emblems of the Andhra dynasty. The inscriptions of some are preserved.

II. GHANTASALA.—At Ghantasala is a mound 112 feet in diameter and 23 feet in height; the excavations here disclosed the remains of a stpa from which the complete plan was determined. In the centre is a solid cube of brick work 10 feet square, enclosed in a chamber 19 feet square with walls over 3 feet in thickness; outside this is a circular wall 3 ft. 6 inches thick, 55 feet 10 inches in diameter, this is enclosed in another circular brick wall 18 feet 3 inches thick, with a diameter of 111 feet; this was the main outer wall of the structure, the exterior surface bore a chunam facing. About the base is a raised procession path 5 feet 7 in. broad, and 4 feet 6 in. high, a projection is found at each of the cardinal points. The inmost squares are connected by walls 2 feet 4 in. thick, running parallel to these sides from the centre and corners, the cells formed by the intersections of these walls are packed with mud.

The fact that the main walls, i.e., those of the squares and circles, are thicker than the others may indicate that they were carried up to form stories, or they may have been simply to strengthen the dome, if the exterior wall was carried up in that form. Further excavations in the mound discovered a marble slab carved with the Supada, a piece of a carved top rail panel and a number of carved slabs.

When the brick work was excavated a well 6 inches square filled with earth was found under 3 feet of solid brick work. Among the debris, at the top, were found pieces of a broken chatti, and a number of small articles, beads and a coin, which it had probably contained. Just below these was a chatti of red earthenware, 4-1/2 in. in diameter, with a semi-circular lid, filled with black earth. Within this was a glazed chatti 2-1/4 in. in diameter, and 1-3/4 in. in height. It contained numerous leads, bits of bone, small pearls, bits of gold leaf and small pieces of mineral.

A number of marble sculptures have been removed from the stpa of Ghantasala, and are now in the village. Among them are several pieces carved with lotus flowers, and other ornaments and inscriptions, square and circular moulded vases, a circular base carved with horses, elephants and other animals, an umbrella, a panel with rail and figures, and two carved slabs. Page 124 Other remains found in and near Ghantasala are an "ancient brass dipa, with a Telugu inscription and a small brass image of Siva" now in the temple, a "small chakra and a trisula, each with pillar base." Brick walls and brick debris are found all about the neighborhood, but so demolished as to make it impossible to determine what the buildings were.

III. BHATTIPROLU.—On the report in the stpa of Bhattiprolu, a former letter is referred to in which an account is given of certain inscribed caskets, and other relics found in the centre of the dome some time before. The reports continue with the account of further excavations by means of trenches. Those about the exterior discovered an unbroken procession path at the small east quadrant, the face of the dome too at this point is intact to a height of over 5 ft. In the trenches at the north side there was found two pieces of a marble umbrella, having a curve of a radius of 1 foot 6 in., a small piece of a pilaster base from a slab, a pilaster capital with horses and riders, and the half of what had been a large slab carved with the lower portion of a draped figure.

At some distance from the basement, or procession path, the remains of six marble bases of the rail were found standing in position—they are 1 ft. 11., by 12 in., by 1 ft. 10 in., in height, spaced by a distance of 1 ft. 7 in. in each, they are sunk 1 ft. 6 in. below the brick floor, and rest on a broad marble slab.

A large number of ancient sites and mounds were examined in the neighborhood of Repalle. At Anantaiarum, Buddhn, Chandavlu and Puapu. Considerable surface has been excavated for various purposes; the earth, a kind of black mud, is found to be thickly mixed with broken pottery and bones of animals; occasionally a pillar or other building stone is turned up. At Mrakru, copper, lead and rarely gold and silver coins are found mixed with the broken pottery.

At Krudarnudi, Maudura, Mlprn and Periarli, mounds were examined, the earth was found to consist of black mud mixed with pottery and ashes. The mounds differ only in extent, and portions of several have been removed.

BHATTIPROLU.—A BUDDHIST STUPA.—Mr. Rea during last season examined the remains of a stpa at Bhattiprolu in the Kistna district, the marble casing of which had been used by the Canal engineers; and in it he has made discoveries of very considerable interest.

He found the stpa had been a solid brick building 132 feet in diameter, surrounded by a procession path about eight feet wide. It must thus have been of very nearly the dimensions of the Amaravati stpa. Fragments or chips only of the outer Page 125 casing of marble were found in the area he excavated. When the dome and portions of the drum had been previously demolished for the materials, inside the dome there was found "a casket made of six small slabs of stone dove-tailed into one another, measuring about 2-1/2 feet by 1-1/2 by 1 foot; inside this was a clay chatti containing a neat soap-stone casket, which enclosed a crystal phial. In this latter was a pearl, a few little bits of gold leaf, and some ashes." Mr. Rea considered that there might still be another deposit of relics; and having discovered the centre of the original brickwork, he found there a shaft or well 9-1/2 inches in diameter filled with earth, which went down about 15 feet. Following this he found at one side near the bottom a stone box about 11 inches by 8 and 5 inches deep, with an inscription round the upper lip. Inside was a small globular blackstone relic casket, two small hemipsherical metal cups a little over an inch in diameter, with a gold bead on the apex of one, and the bead (fallen out) of the other; another small bead, two double pearls, also four gold lotus flowers 1.2 inch in diameter, two trisulas in thin plates 1.2 by 1 inch, seven triangular bits of gold, a single and a double gold bead—the weight of these gold articles being about 148 grains. There was also a hexagonal crystal 2.56 inches long by 0.88 inch in diameter, pierced along the axis, and with an inscription lightly traced on the sides. The stone relic casket measures 4-1/2 inches each way, the lid fitting on with a groove, and it contained a cylindric crystal phial 2-1/2 inches in diameter and 1-1/4 inches high, moulded on the sides and flat on top and bottom; the lid fitted in the same way as that of the casket. Inside was a flattish piece of bone—possibly of the skull—and under the phial were nine small lotus flowers in gold leaf; six gold beads and eight small ones; four small lotus flowers of thin copper; nineteen small pierced pearls; one bluish crystal bead; and twenty-four small coins in a light coloured metal, possibly brass, smooth on one side and with lotus flowers, trisulas, feet, &c., on the obverse. These had been arranged on the bottom and attached in the form of a svastika.

Two and a half feet below this was a second deposit on the opposite or north side of the shaft. The central area of the cover, in this case, has an inscription in nineteen lines with two lines round it—the letters being filled in with white. In the lower stone was a receptacle 6-1/4 inches deep, by 7-1/2 in diameter, having a raised rim 1-1/2 inches broad, bearing another inscription of two lines on the upper surface—the letters also filled in with lime. The cavity was nearly filled with earth, and contained a phial 1-5/8 inches in diameter and 2-3/4 inches high, with a lid moulded like a dagoba. The Page 126 phial and lid were lying separate, and there was no sign of a relic. Mixed with the earth were 164 lotus leaves and buds, two circular flowers, a trisula and a three-armed figure like a svastika, all in gold leaf, two gold stems for lotus flowers, six gold beads, and a small gold ring—weighing, collectively, about 310 grains; also two pearls, a garnet, six coral beads, a bluish, flat, oval bead, a white crystal bead, two greenish, flat, six-sided crystal drops, a number of bits of corroded copper leaf in the shape of lotus flowers, a minute umbrella, and some folded pieces about 2 inches by 1-3/8, showing traces of letters or symbols pricked upon them with a metal point, but too corroded to permit of unfolding or decipherment.

Next, at a slightly lower level on the east side of the shaft, he came upon a third black stone cover, with an inscription of eight lines cut on the under surface in a sunk, circular area in the centre. The lower stone again bears an inscription round the rim of the cavity in one line—the letters being whitened. The receptacle was 5-3/4 inches deep, 7-1/2 wide at the top, and 5 at the bottom. It was also nearly filled with earth, and contained a crystal phial similar to that in the second, the lid lying apart; but close to it was the relic casket, perhaps of chrysolite, less than half an inch each way by three-eighths, in which is drilled a circular hole 0.28 inch in diameter, closed by a small, white crystal stopper with hexagonal top. The neck is covered with gold leaf, and a sheet of the same was fixed outside to the bottom. This unique casket contains three small pieces of bone. With it were found a bluish bead 5/8 inch long, a smaller one, and one of yellow crystal, a small hexagonal crystal drop, slightly yellowish in colour, a flat one of white crystal, a bone bead, six pearls, thirty-two seed pearls—all pierced, thirty lotus flowers, a quatrefoil, and a small figure of gold leaf.

The alphabet of the inscriptions presents features of peculiar interest, which I leave to be discussed by Prof. Bhler.—Jas. Burgess in Acad. May 21.

N.B.—Further details are given under the headings "New variety of Maurya inscriptions", and also under "Buddhist Stupas in the Kistna district."

GAUHATI.—ASSAM.—Mr. Joseph Chunder Dutt has reprinted from the Indian Nation (Calcutta) an account of an archgeological visit to Gauhati, the ancient capital of Assam. The temples, &c., he describes mostly date only from the eighteenth century, as is shown by the inscriptions which he is careful to quote. There are, however, many ruins of older buildings and fragments of sculpture, which would perhaps repay more detailed examination. The destruction of some of these is due to the misdirected activity of British engineers.—Academy, Feb. 6. Page 127

PANJAB.—REMAINS OF ANCIENT BUDDHIST TEMPLES.—The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for October, 1892, contains a note in "Ancient remains of Temples on the Bannu Frontier," an unfrequented part of the Panjab. The ruins of two temples stand on a hillock rising from the Indus. The tradition with regard to them is that the Paridwas retired here to spend twelve years of exile after being defeated by the Kerw. A short distance from these ruins is the site of a third temple now completely demolished. This temple was completely demolished. This temple was built of bricks of light pressed (?) clay about 12x9x3 inches in size. On breaking some of the bricks they were found to bear distinctly the impression of tree leaves, and brought under the influence of a petrifying spring which exists not far from the spot.

The remains are undoubtedly of great antiquity, and appears to have been Buddhist temples of the tall, conical kind. Their Buddhistic origin is made certain by the eight-leafed lotus ornaments which characterize the carvings.

THIBET.

Mr. Rockhill, who made himself so well-known by his first expedition to Thibet, is at present engaged in a second journey, in the hope of this time reaching the capital Lhassa.

The Duke of Orleans and his companion have already published the results of their journey undertaken shortly after Mr. Rockhill's first.

CHINA.

THE GAME OF WEI-CHI.—At a meeting in Shanghai of the Chinese Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, M. Volpicelli read a paper on "The Game of Wei-Chi," the greatest game of the Chinese, especially with the literary class and ranked by them superior to chess. Like chess, this game is of a general military and mathematical character, but is on a much more extensive scale, the board containing 361 places and employing nearly 200 men on a side. All of the men, however, have the same value and powers.

The object is to command as many places on the board as possible—this may be done by enclosing empty spaces or by surrounding the enemy's men. Very close calculation is always essential in order that a loss in one region may be met by gains in another, thus employing skillful strategy when the contestants are evenly matched. The game has come down from great antiquity, being first mentioned in Chinese writings Page 128 about B.C. 625. It was in all probability introduced by the Babylonian astronomers who were at that time the instructors of all the East.—Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1892, p. 421.

CENTRAL ASIA.

EXPEDITION OF M. DUTREUIL DE RHINS.—The Acadmie des Inscriptions sent M. Dutreuil de Rhins some time since on an archological expedition to Further Asia. Beside the income of the Gamier fund previously accorded to him for the purpose, it has accorded him a grant of 30,000 francs. The last news from him was a report.—Chron. des Arts, 1892, No. 22.

THE ORKHON INSCRIPTIONS.—We quote from the Times the following report of two papers read before the Oriental Congress, in the section of China and the Far East:

"A paper was contributed by Mr. E. Delmar Morgan on 'The Results of the Russian Archological Researches in the Basin of the Orkhon in Mongolia.' Mr. Morgan drew attention to a splendid atlas of plates presented to the Congress by Dr. Radlof, of St. Petersburg, containing photographs and facsimiles of inscriptions copied by the members of the archological expedition sent by the Imperial Academy of Sciences to investigate the ruins on the Orkhon. These ruins comprise (1) the remains of an ancient Uighur town west of the Orkhon, (2) the ruins of a Mongol palace to the east of that river, and a large granite monument shattered into pieces. Excavations were also made of the burial places of the Khans of the Tukiu or Turks inhabiting this part of Asia previously to the Uighurs, who drove them out. The earliest inscription dates from 732 A.D.., and refers to a brother of the Khan of the Tukiu mentioned in Chinese history. Additional interest attaches to these inscriptions owing to the fact that some of the characters are identical with those discovered on the Yenissei. The expedition to which the paper referred visited the monastery of Erdenitsu, and found there a number of stones with inscriptions in Mongol, Tibetan, and Persian, brought from the ruins of a town not far off. These ruins have been identified with Karakoram, the capital city of the first Khans of the dynasty of Jenghiz Khan.

"Prof. Donner wished to present to the Congress a publication by the Socit Finno-Ougrienne at Helsingfors, containing inscriptions from the valley of the Orkhon, brought home by the Finnish Expedition in 1890. There are three large monuments, the first erected 732 A.D.., by the order of the Chinese Emperor in honour of Kiuh-Jeghin, younger brother of the Khan Page 129 of the Tukiu (Turks). On the west side it has an inscription in Chinese, speaking of the relations between the Tukiu and Chinese. The Tartar historian, Ye-lu-chi, of the thirteenth century, saw it and gave some phrases from the front of it. On all the other sides is a long inscription of 70 lines in runic characters, which cannot be a mere translation of the Chinese because it numbers about 1400 words, while the Chinese inscription contains only about 800. The other monument has also a Chinese inscription on one side, but greatly effaced. On the other sides are runic inscriptions in 77 lines at least. This monument was erected, by order of the Chinese Emperor, in honour of Mekilikn (Moguilen), Khan of the Tukiu, who died 733 A.D.. About two-thirds of its runic inscription nearly line for line contains the same as the first monument, a circumstance of importance for the true reading of the text. The third monument, which has been the largest one, was destroyed by lightning and shattered into about fifty fragments. It is trilingual—viz., Chinese, Uighur, and runic or Yenissei characters. On comparing the texts they are found to contain many identical words and forms, proving that the languages were nearly identical. M. Devria thinks that this is the memorial stone which the Uighur Khan, 784 A.D.., placed at the gateway of his palace to record the benefits the Uighurs had done to the Chinese Empire. Concerning the characters of these inscriptions they show small modifications. The tomb inscriptions at Yenissei seem to be the more original; some characters have been altered in the Tukiu alphabet and also in the third monument, representing in that way the three several nations—the Tukiu, the Uighurs, who followed them, and the Hakas, or Khirgiz, at Yenissei. A comparison of the characters themselves with the alphabets in Asia Minor shows that about three-fourths of them are identical with the characters of the Ionian, Phrygian, and Syrian [?]. The other part has resemblances with the graphic systems of India and Central Asia. We can now expect that the deciphering of these interesting inscriptions will soon give us reliable specimens of the oldest Turk dialects."—Academy, Sept. 17.

SIMFEROPOL.—At Simferopol Prof. Messelowski has made the most interesting discovery of a Scythian warrior's grave, dating probably from about the second or third century. The skeleton lay on its back facing the east, on the head was a cap with gold ornaments, and little gold plates were also fixed to portions of the dress. Near the head stood two amphor and a leathern quiver containing copper-headed arrows. At the feet were the bones of an ox, an iron knife, four amphora and some lances—these were in a very rusty condition. The quiver had a Page 130 fine gold-chased ornament upon it representing a flying eagle gripping in its talons a small animal. It is admirably worked. The skeleton itself fell to pieces immediately.—Biblia, Oct., 1892.

SEMITIC EPIGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES.—M. Clermont-Ganneau has published in the Journal Asiatique for 1892, No. 1, a series of the discoveries and investigations made in Semitic epigraphy and antiquities during the year 1891. It is the address by which he opened his course at the Collge de France. He commences with Phornicia and notices besides such discoveries as are reported in the Journal, such books as Goblet d'Aviella's La migration des symboles, which is a comparative study of Oriental art symbols, and Ph. Berger's Histoire de l'criture dans l'antiquit, which treats especially of the development of the Phornician alphabet. As an original supplement he describes some antiquities recently sent to him, which had been found in the necropolis of Sidon, e.g., a terracotta head of Egyptian style; a smaller head of Cypriote style; a statuette of Bes; two gold ear-rings; bottom of a Greek vase with a Phornician inscription; piece of a diorite scarcophagus cover of Egyptian origin, probably that of a king of Sidon. Another complete anthropoid sarcophagus from the same site at Sidon has been sent to Constantinople. Still another sarcophagus of this type has been found in Spain, at Cadiz, the ancient Gades. Its importance is incalculable, as it proves for the first time the passing of the Phornicians to Spain. Mr. Clermont-Ganneau then takes up Aramean antiquities and inscriptions, especially those of Palmyra. Among them are a number secured by the writer himself; they are three fine monumental funerary inscriptions and six funerary busts of men and women, two of which are finely executed and remarkably well preserved; all are inscribed and several are dated. He notices the publication of the valuable Journal d'un voyage en Arabie (1883-1884) by Charles Huber, in which the five note-books of the traveller are reproduced. It will be remembered that he was treacherously murdered during his journey. Dr. Euting in his Sinatische Inschriften publishes 67 inscriptions copied by him in the Sinaitic peninsula. His readings are very careful and accurate. Three of the texts are dated and are important in view of the controversy as to the age of all these inscriptions.

Palestine and Hebrew antiquities are very fully treated. M. Clement-Ganneau reads the famous Lachish inscription [Hebrew: jons] = ad libandum; he calls attention to hematite weight with an early inscription found at Sebaste; mentions the vandalism perpetrated in cutting away the famous Pool of Siloam inscription, etc. He notes the importance of the discovery by MM. Lees and Hanauer in the subterranean structures at Page 131 Jerusalem called "Solomon's Stables," of the spring of an immense ancient arch, analogous to Robinson's arch. It introduces quite a new element in the complicated problem of the Jewish Temple. Mr. Wrightson, an English engineer, concludes that the two arches or bridges formed part of a continuous system of parallel arches which occupied, between the two east and west walls, the sub-structure of the entire southern part of the esplanade of the temple. Mr. Schick's investigations are carefully noticed. Finally praise is given to the new publication of the Abb Vigouroux, Dictionnaire de la Bible.

ARABIA.

A HISTORY OF YEMEN.—The British Museum acquired in 1886 the MS. of Omrah's 'History of Yemen,' a work of which it was long feared that no copy was at the present day in existence. Omrah's 'History' extends over a period of about three hundred and fifty years. It commences with the foundation of the city and principality of Zabid in the ninth century, and extends down to the eve of the conquest by the Ayybites in the twelfth. Mr. Henry C. Kay, a member of the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society, has prepared the MS. for publication, together with an English translation, notes and indices. The volume also contains, besides other similar matter, an account and genealogical list of the Imams of Yemen, down to the thirteenth century, derived from the Zeydite MSS. recently added to the British Museum library.—Athenum.

COINS OF THE BENU RASOOL DYNASTY OF SULTANS.—Out of the fourteen sovereigns who composed the Benu Rasool dynasty, we are in possession of the coins of only eight, and these the first eight; their inscriptions are in Arabic, and it is by no means easy to decipher all of them. The mints of these are: Aden, Zebd, El-Mahdjm, Thabat, Sana and Taiz, and each is characterized by a particular figure, a fish for Aden, a bird for Zebd, a lion for El-Mahdjm, and other symbols. There are also noticed several coins struck by rebels under the Benu Rasool dynasty.—Revue Numismatique, III s. tom. 10, III trim. 1892, p. 350.

BABYLONIA.

A BAS-RELIEF OF NARAM-SIN.—At a meeting of the Acad. des Inscriptions M. Maspero exhibited a photograph of a Chaldean bas-relief from Constantinople. It was erected by, and bears the name of King Naram-sin, who reigned over Babylonia about 3800 B.C. Though much mutilated, what remains shows workmanship of a refined kind. It represents a human figure standing, Page 132 clothed (as on the most ancient cylinders) with a robe that passes under one arm and over the shoulder, and wearing a conical head-piece flanked with horns. The general appearance strikingly recalls Egyptian monuments of the same date. The relief is extremely low, the lines clear, but not stiff. There is no muscular exaggeration as is often the case in the cylinders. Naram-sin, like his father, Sargon I, has left the reputation (perhaps legendary) of a great conqueror; a campaign against Magan is attributed to him. M. Maspero was disposed to explain the style of the bas-relief by the Egyptian influence. It differs widely from the sculptures of Telloh, which are less refined and artistically advanced. But these, though of later date, come from a provincial town, not from a capital. M. Menant mentioned that the collection of M. de Clerq contains a cylinder, also of remarkable workmanahip, with an inscription with characters of the same style as those on the bas-relief in question; but it bears the name of Sargani, king of Agyadi, who is several generations earlier than Sargon I. Both of these are examples of an art which was never surpassed in Chaldea.—Academy, Oct. 15; Chron. des Arts, 1892, No. 33.

TELLOH.—BABYLONIAN SCULPTURE—The later excavations of M. de Sarzec at Telloh, in so far as they concern sculpture, are treated by M. Heuzey in some communications to the Acad. des Inscriptions. M. de Sarzec has reconstructed from some fragments a series of reliefs relating to King Ur-Nina, the ancestor of King E-anna-du, who is commemorated in the stele of the vultures. The sculptures of Ur-Nina are of rude and primitive workmanship and belong to the earliest period of Babylonian sculpture. The king is represented more than once, either carrying on his head the sacred basket, or seated and raising in his hand the drinking-horn. Around him are ranged his children and servants, all with their names inscribed upon the drapery. Among them is A-kur-gal, who is to succeed his father, replacing another prince, his older brother. The reunion of these fragments has given us an historic and archological document of the highest antiquity.—Revue Critique, 1892, No. 44.

At a meeting of the Acad. des Inscr. M. Heuzey read a paper upon the "Stle des Vautours." M. de Sarzec has been able to find and piece together several additional fragments, from which it appears that the name of the person who set up the pillar was E-anna-du, king of Sirpula, son of A-kur-gal, and grandson of King of Ur-Nina. He is represented in front of his warriors, beating down his enemies, sometimes on foot, sometimes in a chariot, of which only a trace remains. The Page 133 details of the armor resemble in some respects that of the Assyrians of a much later date. From what can be read of the inscription, it seems that the conquered enemies belonged to the country of Is-ban-ki. There is also mention of a city of Ur, allied with Sirpula. The pillar was sculptured on both faces. On the reverse is a royal or divine figure, of large size, holding in one hand the heraldic design of Sirpula (an eagle with the head of a lion), while the other brandishes a war-club over a crowd of prisoners, who are tumbling one over another in a sort of net or cage. In illustration of this scene, M. Heuzey quoted the passage from Habakkuk (i. 15), describing the vengeance of the Chaldeans: "They catch them in their net and gather them in their drag."—Academy, Sept. 3.

THE BABYLONIAN STANDARD WEIGHT.—Prof. Sayce writes: "Mr. Greville Chester has become the possessor of a very remarkable relic of antiquity, discovered in Babylonia, probably on the site of Babylon. It is a large weight of hard green stone, highly polished, and of a cone-like form. The picture of an altar has been engraved upon it, and down one side runs a cuneiform inscription of ten lines. They read as follows:

"One maneh standard weight, the property of Merodach-sar-ilani, a duplicate of the weight which Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, the son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, made in exact accordance with the weight prescribed by the deified Dungi, a former king."

The historical importance of the inscription is obvious at the first glance. Dungi was the son and successor of Ur-Bagas, and his date may be roughly assigned to about 3000 B.C. It would appear that he had fixed the standard of weight in Babylonia; and the actual weight made by him in accordance with this standard seems to have been preserved down to the time of Nebuchadrezzar, who caused a duplicate of it to be made. The duplicate again became the standard by which all other weights in the country had to be tested.

The fact that Dungi is called "the deified" is not surprising. We know of other early kings of Chaldaea who were similarly raised to the rank of gods. One of them prefixes the title of "divine" to his own bricks; another, Naram-Sin, the son of Sargon, of Accad, is called "a god" on the seal of an individual who describes himself as his "worshipper. It is possible that in this cult of certain Babylonian kings we have an evidence of early intercourse with Egypt."—Academy, Dec. 19.

CATALOGUE OF BRITISH MUSEUM TABLETS.—Stored in the British Museum are some 50,000 inscribed pieces of terracotta or clay-tablets, forming the libraries of Assyria and Babylonia. Page 134 The great impetus given to cuneiform studies has made it necessary that the tablets should be catalogued, and the trustees have now issued a descriptive catalogue of some 8,000 inscribed tablets. The inscriptions in question come from the Kuyuryik Mound, at Nineveh. The tablets embrace every class of literature, historical documents, hymns, prayers and educational works, such as syllabaries or spelling-books, and dictionaries. The catalogues, of which the second is just issued, are prepared by Dr. Bezold.—Biblia, Sept., 1892.

ASHNUNNAK.—M. Pognon, French Consul at Bagdad, has announced to the Acad. des Inscriptions that he has discovered the exact location of the region called anciently the land of Ashnunnak. He declares that he is not yet ready to announce his discovery more exactly, but publishes several bricks with the names and titles of several princes of Ashnunnak hitherto unknown. These are Ibalpil, Amil and Nulaku.

PERSIA.

M. de MORGAN'S RESEARCHES IN PERSIA AND LURISTAN.—In a communication to the Acad. des Inscr. M. de Morgan gives a report upon his mission in Persia and Luristan, of which the following are a few extracts. "In the valley of the Lar, I made a study of the subterranean habitations excavated in the rock and made a plan of the very ancient castle, Molla-Klo, which once defended the pass of Vahn. Finally, in the ravine called Ab—pardma, I discovered in the alluvion some stone instruments presenting very ancient paleolithic characters. At Amol, I studied the ruins of the ancient city and gathered some interesting collections containing quite a number of pieces of pottery and some bronzes of the xiv century."..... "Near Asterabad there is a mound called Khaighruch-tp. I attempted to make some excavations of this point; unfortunately my work here was arrested by order of the Persian government just when, after twenty days of working with sixty laborers, I had reached a depth of 11 meters. In this excavation I found some human bones, some pottery, some whorls and some thin objects composed of bronze much decomposed; all in the midst of ashes and cooking-debris. At the bottom was a skeleton stretched upon a very regular bed of pebbles, and I am of the opinion that Khaighruch-tp was primitively raised as a tomb and afterwards served for the construction of a village, the successive ruins of which coming to increase the importance of the mound. At a depth of 11 meters I found more cinders and debris, indicating that I had not yet come to the level of the earliest works.".... "The tps are near together in the Page 135 eastern part of the Mazanderan and in the Turkoman steppe; but in the Lenkoran, the Ghilan and the western Mazanderan they are entirely wanting. It is concluded from this observation that the people who built here were not aborigines of the north of Persia, but that their migration moreover has left traces on the right and on the left of the Caspian. The Scythians of Herodotus present a very satisfactory solution for the problem of the Caspian tps".... "From an archaeological point of view the Lenkoran was absolutely virgin soil and the finding of the first tomb was not an easy task. Finally, after long and minute research in the forests, I discovered the necropolis of Kravelady, composed of dolmens almost completely despoiled, but in sufficiently good condition to permit me to organize the natives in research for burial places of the same sort. I at first encountered much repugnance on the part of the inhabitants to excavate the tombs; finally, with some money and very long explanations, I brought them to terms and, thanks to my tomb-hunters, I found and excavated the necropoli of Horil, Beri, Djon, Tl, Mistal, Hiveri, etc. These tombs present, according to their age, very different characteristics; the most ancient and at the same time the largest, contain rude arms of bronze. Those of the period following show the bronze well worked, iron, gold and silver being employed as jewels. Although we saw iron in very small quantities in the tombs of the second period, it is not until the third that it appears as the material of arms; at the same time, the jewels take the forms of animals, which change, as I have shown in the case of Russian Armenia in my preceding mission, indicates the appearance of a strange tribe possessed of special arts. During the last epoch all the arms are of iron. The pottery found in the tombs is glazed.

"As to the form of the monuments, it is very variable at different ages; there are some covered passages or chambers completely closed, some dolmens with openings like those of India. At the very time when my excavations were attaining their greatest importance I was compelled to discontinue them by order of the Russian administration and was obliged to leave the country, having only made a beginning in archaeology. An ukase of the Czar reserves the excavations in all his great empire for the Archological Society of St. Petersburg. But this interdict did not arrive until after I had excavated about two hundred and twenty tombs, so that we now possess more than fifteen hundred objects, vases, arms, trinkets of gold, bronze, silver, etc.

"At Moukri, thanks to the kindness of a Kurd chief, I was enabled to excavate a tomb which, although it held no objects Page 136 of value, still contained some interesting relics. I have not yet been able to assign a date to any of them." .... "During my stay at Moukri I set up a map on the scale of 1/250000, and marked upon it all the ruins, mounds and ancient tombs....

"Although blockaded by snow at Hamadan I was able to visit the ancient Ecbatana and there acquired a small collection of Greek jewels and Chaldean cylinders. I found no trace whatever of the ancient palace; they told me that the last debris had been reduced to lime and that houses had been built over the rest. On the other hand, the trilingual inscription of the Elvend, the Ghendj-nmh, is still admirably preserved, but the cold prevented me from taking a squeeze. After having visited and photographed the ruins of Dinver, Kinghrer, Bisoutoun and several remains encountered on the route, I visited Tagh—Bostan, near Kirmanshahan; I took numerous photographs and squeezes of the more interesting fragments, like the pahlavi inscriptions of the smallest monument. At Zohab, I took the inscriptions of Ler—poul and of Hourin-chekh-khan, made plans of the ruins of Ler—poul, those of the Sassanian palace of Kasr—Chiron and of Haoueh-Ruri; drew up a map on a scale of 1/250000 of the gates of the Zagros, and of the country around." ..... "Having arrived at Houleilan,..... I found the remains of a large number of towns and castles of the Sassanian epoch, besides some very ancient tps. At Chirvan, near the fort of the Poncht—Kouh, are the ruins of a Sassanian town. I made a plan of it. Near it is a great tell of unburnt brick...... In the valleys, situated near the plain, in the passes are some tells, and it is near one of them that I had the good fortune to find more than eight hundred objects carved in flint. Beyond these tells which guard the frontier of the Semite border, the Poncht—Kouh does not contain a single ruin. In antiquity, as to-day, it was inhabited by nomads. On leaving the Poncht—Kouh, I entered the valley of the Kukha, where I encountered numerous ruins. I then advanced into Louristan, continually finding tells, of which the principal ones are those of Zakha and of Khorrembd. ..... Finally arriving at Susiana, we again found civilization, but also a country well known and that does not form a part of my mission."—Journal Asiatique, No. 2, 1892, pp. 189-200.

COINS OF THE SATRAPS.—1. Money had been invented and was in circulation in the Greek cities of Asia Minor almost two hundred years, when Darius I introduced the daric. The Greek coins in circulation along the coast had not penetrated far from the Mediterranean, even the new Persian coinage was used chiefly in the commerce with the Greeks on the frontier, and Page 137 for the payment of Greek mercenaries, enrolled in the armies of the Great King. The interior of the empire, during the whole period of the Achmenid, continued to employ wedges of precious metals in exchange. The coinage of the Persian empire divides into four clearly defined groups, according to the direct authority of its issue. (1) The coinage of the Great King; (2) The coinage of the tributary Greek towns; (3) The coinage of the tributary dynasties; (4) The coinage occasionally struck for the satraps, chiefs of the Persian army. It is the last category that is described in the paper here summarized. The towns then, and the tributary dynasties, and, under some circumstances, the satraps enjoyed the right to coin money but only in electrum, silver and bronze; the great King reserved the exclusive right to issue coins in gold; and this principle became universally acknowledged, so that gold effectually became the unique standard of the Persian empire. The few departures from this rule are not worthy of consideration. The towns of Asia Minor paying tribute to the great King continued to issue money, just as they had during their independence, retaining their own types, and betraying in no way their subjection. The tributary kings placed under the surveillance of satraps were allowed various degrees of liberty in issuing coinage, according to their countries and to their varying relations to the persian monarch; the dynasties of Caria, of Cyprus, of Gebal and of Tyre, like the tributary cities mentioned above, continued their old coinage, while those of Sidon and of Cilicia placed upon their coins, the figure of the Achmenidean prince.

Besides the coinage already mentioned there exists a number of coins bearing the names of satraps, and the questions are raised, under what circumstances were these issued, and with what extraordinary powers was a satrap invested, who was permitted to issue money in his own name? The theory is advanced, that the satraps of the Persian empire never held the right to coin money in their capacity as satraps. All the instances we have of satrapal coins were issued by satraps invested with the command of armies. Fr. Lenormant says: "All the pieces known, which bear the names of high functionaries of Persia, mentioned in history, particularly those of Cilicia, should be ranged in the class of military coins; that is, coins issued by generals placed at the head of armies, on a campaign, and not as satraps exercising their regular powers." The only satrapies in which money was coined, before Alexander, are the following. The sixth satrapy, which comprised Egypt and Cyrenaica. The fifth satrapy or that of Syria, comprising Arabia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Phornicia, Palestine and the island of Cyprus. The fourth satrapy or that of Cilicia, which Page 138 acquired in the V century the states north of the Taurus. The first satrapy or that of Ionia, comprising Pamphilia, Lycia, Caria, Pisidia, Ionia and Eolis. The twelfth satrapy, known as the satrapy of Sardis, or of Lydia. The thirteenth satrapy, known also as the satrapy of Phrygia, which comprised, besides the coast of the Hellespont, all the central region of Asia Minor between the Taurus and the Black Sea. This huge province was divided in the fifth century into the satrapies of Greater Phrygia, Lesser Phrygia, and Cappadocia.

2. The coinage in circulation in Egypt, during the Achmenidean supremacy was all of foreign origin, the staters of the Kings of Tyre and Sidon and the tetradrachmas of Athens. The commerce with Greece, and especially the incessant wars in which Greek mercenaries were largely employed, tended to make Athenian silver popular in the eastern countries. For the pay of these mercenaries, the Persians and Egyptians had recourse to silver money, and especially to those types with which the Greeks were acquainted. Thus the prevalence of Athenian coins in the Orient is accounted for by these circumstances. The generals of the Persian and Egyptian armies made use of the Athenian coins which had long been in circulation in the country. They merely imprinted upon the coin of Attic origin a counter-mark to officially authorize the circulation, and when the original Athenian coins in the country were insufficient to pay the troops, they struck off others as nearly like them as possible—these, however, are easily recognized by the defects of workmanship and altered inscriptions. One sort has in place of the Greek lettering an Aramean inscription. On a certain number of these we find the name Mazaios, the famous satrap of Cilicia, who undertook to subdue the insurgent king of Sidon.

The imitation of Athenian coins and the coins of Alexander was continued in Arabia down to the first century of our era. The Athenian coins were not the only ones copied in Egypt, Palestine, and Arabia. The coinage of the kings of Sidon were frequently imitated by the Aramean chiefs, of whom Bagoas was one. Then, too, the kings of Sidon had supreme command of the imperial fleet and had the paying of the naval army. Later, Mazaios, placed at the head of the Persian army, for a time imitated the Sidonian coins, substituting his name for that of the Sidonian dynasty. Bagoas, in turn, did likewise.

3. In Phornicia and northern Syria, which formed the greater part of the fifth satrapy, a great quantity of coins were struck off by the tributary dynasties. The kings of Tyre, Sidon, Gebal, and Aradus had their own coinage, but there seems to have been no satrapal coinage struck off in Phornicia. In Page 139 northern Syria, when Mazaios added this satrapy to his own, he levied and assembled troops from that entire region; this accounts for the numerous issues of coins in northern Syria at that time.

4. The dynasties of Cilicia coined money under the same conditions as did the cities of Phornicia, Caria and Lydia. The chief mint of Cilicia was at Tarsus, but money was also coined at Soli and at Mallus. About the end of the fifth century a coinage was issued from these mints which is ascribed to uncertain satraps. The distinguishing mark of these coins, according to Mr. Waddington, is the use of the neuter adjective in [Greek: ikon], but this theory is not conclusive. Besides these anonymous coins there were others coined in Cilicia bearing the names of satraps, who were the envoys of the great king to raise armies and equip fleets. The satrap Tiribazus employed the mints at Issus, at Soli and Mallus; the satrap Pharnabazus established his mints in various cities in Cilicia, particularly at Nagidus; Datamus also issued coinage in Cilicia. M. Six holds that Mazaios coined money, not only in Cilicia, but also in Syria and Mesopotamia, and preserved the right to a coinage under Alexander, but always in a military capacity.

5. After the conquest of Alexander, his generals issued coinage under his name in their satrapal authority. These were the coins of Alexander, bearing on one side the particular symbol of the generals who had issued them; there were the eagle of Ptolemy, the demi-lion of Lysimachus or the horned horse of Seleucus. Those of the generals who became kings, in 306, issued coins in their own name, preserving on them the personal emblems which they had employed in their satrapal authority. The generals who did not become kings never issued a coinage in their own names.

6. On the island of Cyprus are found numerous coins which present all the distinctive signs of satrapal money; they are believed to have been struck by Evagoras II, the successor of Nicocles I; but the question arises, Were these satrapal pieces of Evagoras coined on the island? It has been held that they were issued from a mint on the continent, in Caria, because the army of Evagoras was recruited in Asia Minor, and because their weights are Rhodian, but the form of the letters is Phornician, as upon all Cypriote corns; while, on the other hand, in Asia Minor the Semitic money is inscribed with Aramean characters. Moreover, all symbols and types which figure on these coins are essentially Cypriote.—E. BABELON in Revue Numismatique, 1892, p. 277.

SASSANIAN COINS.—The Museum of the Hermitage has just come into possession of the collection of coins of General Komarof, Page 140 once governor of Russian Turkistan. It consists of more than two thousand pieces, of which sixty are of gold. The most remarkable coins of this rich collection are: Four Sassanian pieces in gold, unpublished, (one of Hormuzd II and three of Sapor II), a dinar of Nasr I, a dinar of Kharmezi of Tamerlan, a dinar of Abdallah-ben-Khazim, and about fifty unpublished Sassanian silver coins.—Revue Numismatique, 1892, p. 348.

PERSEPOLIS.—CASTS OF SCULPTURES.—The English archologist Mr. Cecil Smith has lately returned from an expedition to Persia. He had with him two Italian makers of casts, and by their means has obtained a valuable series of casts of the sculptures of Persepolis from moulds of a fibrous Spanish paper. Among the casts are those of a long frieze (perron) which decorated the stairway of the main hall or "apadna," erected by Xerxes; it represents a procession of figures presenting to the king the reports of his governors and the offerings of his subjects. Another cast is that of the famous monolith of Cyrus.—Chron. des Arts, 1892, No. 31. We understand that the collection of casts of the Metropolitan Museum is to receive a copy of all these casts.

SYRIA.

EDESSA.—HISTORICAL SKETCH.—M. Rubens Duval, the eminent Syriac scholar, has been publishing in the Journal Asiatique a history of the city of Edessa under the title: "Histoire religieuse et litteraire d'Edesse jusqu' la premire Croisade", (Jour. As. t. 18, No. 1 to t. 19, No. 1). This monograph has been crowned by the French Academy. It includes a considerable amount of information concerning the monuments of the city, especially those belonging to the early Christian period, and some idea can be gained of them by the following abridged note. As Edessa was one of the principal cities of the Christian East, the information is of interest. Edessa was from its position a fortress of the first rank and reputed impregnable. The citadel rose on a peak on the southwest angle of the rampart. At the west end there still remain two columns with Corinthian capitals, one of which bears an inscription with the name of Queen Shalmat, daughter of Ma'nu, probably the wife of King Abgar Ukhama. Within the citadel, on the great square called Beith-Tebhara, King Abgar VII built, after the inundation of 202, a winter palace, safe from the river floods, and the nobles followed his example. In the city itself were the porticoes or forum near the river, the Antiphoros or town-hall, restored by Justinian. In 497, the governor of the city, Alexander, built a covered gallery near the Grotto Gate Page 141 and Public Baths, near the public storehouse; both the summer and winter baths were surrounded by a double colonnade. To the south, near the Great Gate, were other baths, and near them the theatre. Within the Beth Shemesh Gate was a hospital and outside it a refuge for old men. North of the city, near the wall, was the hippodrome, built by Abgarus IX on his return from Rome. The city had six gates which still exist under different names.

Edessa is one of the few cities that are known to have had a Christian church as early as the second century. This church was destroyed by the inundation of 201, was then rebuilt, being the only church in the city, suffered from the inundation of 303 and was rebuilt from its foundations in 313 by Cona, bishop of Edessa, and his successor Sa'd. It was called the Ancient Church, "the cathedral," also sometimes the Church of St. Thomas, because in 394 it received the relics of the apostle Thomas. The Frankish pilgrim woman who visited it at the close of the fourth century, or later, speaks of its size, beauty and the novelty of its arrangement. Duval believes her words to relate to Justinian's building, believing in a later date than is usually assigned to the above document. In 525 the church was overthrown by an inundation and then rebuilt by Justinian in such splendor as to be regarded as one of the wonders of the world. It was overthrown by earthquakes in 679 and 718.

The other churches were as follows:

370. The Baptistery is built. 379. Church of S. Daniel or S. Domitius, built by Bishop Vologese. 409. Church of S. Barlaha, built by Bishop Diogenes. 412. Church of S. Stephen, formerly a Jewish synagogue, built by Bishop Rabbula. 435. The New Church, called later the Church of the Holy Apostles, built by Bishop Hibhas. " Church of S. John the Baptist and S. Addasus, built by Bishop Nonnus (died 471), successor of Hibhas. " Church of S. Mar Cona. 489. Church of the Virgin Mother of God, built on the site of the School of the Persians after its destruction in 489. c.505. Martyrium of the Virgin, built by Bishop Peter early in VI century.

Outside the walls were the following churches:

Towards the N. Chapel of SS. Cosmas and Damian, built by Nonnus (middle V century).

E. Church of SS. Sergius and Simeon, which was burned in 503 by the Persian King Kawad. Page 142 W. Church of Confessors, built in 346 by Bishop Abraham, and burned by Kawad in 503. Church of the Monks, near the citadel.

The cliffs to the west had been from early times excavated for burial purposes. In the midst of the tombs rose the mausoleums of the family of the Abgars, especially that of Abshelama, son of Abgarus. They were also honeycombed with anchorites' cells. This mountain received the name of the Holy Mountain and was covered with monasteries, among which were the following: Eastern Monks; S. Thomas; S. David; S. John; S. Barbara; S. Cyriacus; Phesilta; Mary Deipara; of the Towers; of Severus; of Sanin; of Kuba; of S. James. Arab writers mention over 300 monasteries around Edessa. Two aqueducts, starting from the villages of Tell-Zema and Maudad to the north, brought spring-water to the city; they were restored in 505 by Governor Eulogius.

Bishop Rabbulas (412-435) built a hospital for women from the stones of four pagan temples which were destroyed. He destroyed the church of the sect of Bardesanes and the church of the Arians, erecting other structures with their materials. After the Persian wars (505) Eulogius, governor of Edessa, rebuilt many of the damaged public monuments. He repaired the outer ramparts and the two aqueducts; rebuilt the public baths, the prtorium, and other structures. The bishop, Peter, restored the cathedral and built the Martyrium of the Virgin, and also covered with bronze one of the cathedral doors. Justinian restored and rebuilt many buildings after the inundation of 524-25. Even under the early period of Muhammadan rule the Christian structures were cared for. Under the Khalif Abd-el-Malik (685-705) the Edessene Christian Athanasius, who enjoyed great political influence, rebuilt the Church of the Virgin, which was on the site of the School of the Persians; rebuilt also the Baptistery in which he placed the portrait of Christ sent to Abgarus and placed in it fountains like those of the Ancient Church, decorating it also with gold, silver and bronze revetments. He also built two large basilicas at Fostat in Egypt. There is an interesting account of an artistic treasure of great value discovered in a house belonging to a noble family of the Goumaus in 797 and belonging to the Roman and Byzantine period; it is supposed to have been hidden in 609. The churches were often destroyed and rebuilt according to the tolerance or intolerance of the Muhammadan governors. At one period of persecution, c. 825, a mosque was built in the tetrapylum in front of the Ancient Church. It is not important to trace the vicissitudes of the building of Edessa any further. Page 143

COINS OF THE KINGS OF EDESSA.—Marquis de Vogu sends to M.E. Babelon a description of a bronze coin brought from Syria, found either in the province of Alep or of Damas. It bears the name of Abgarus, the name of several of the kings of Edessa. The type is that of the small bronze pieces attributed to Mannou VIII; the character and inscriptions are the same. It must then be attributed to a king Abgarus whose reign approaches as nearly as possible that of Mannou VIII. Mr. Rubens Duval, in his history of Edessa, mentions two kings of this name, Abgarus VIII, whose reign cut into that of Mannou VIII, and Abgarus IX, who succeeded him. It is to one of these two princes that this coin must be assigned. It is possible that this monument may shed some light upon a portion of Oriental chronology, hitherto very dark. Two other coins are described from M. Vogu's collection, one of which, it seems, should be attributed to the same king Abgarus as the preceding; the other bears a name which M. Duval assigns to Abgarus XI, who reigned for two years during a short restoration of the government of Edessa.—Revue Numismatique, 1892, p. 209.

SINJIRLI.—SEMITIC INSCRIPTIONS.—The German Oriental Committee discovered, as is well known, an ancient city buried under a number of mounds at a place called Sinjirli in the Amanus Mountains. Here were found a number of statues bearing cuniform inscriptions, Hittite inscriptions and two long Aramean inscriptions of the VIII or IX century B.C.

M. Helvy, the well-known French Orientalist, was sent by the Paris Institute to the Museum of Berlin, where these statues are placed, to report upon the inscriptions. M. Helvy finds that the two kings were rulers of Yadi and that their reigns were a century apart. The first statue is that of Panmon, founder of his dynasty—a 40 line inscription relates the events of his reign, the protection of the Jews, etc. The second is a king who was a vassal of Tiglath-Pilezer, king of Assyria. The inscription describes wars of his father, his own relations with Assyria, his defeats and victories. It gives an account of his own reign and terminates by invoking the protection of the gods.

M. Helvy says that these inscriptions are not in the Aramean language, as was first supposed, but a Phornician dialect very analogous to Hebrew, which was spoken by the people whom the Assyrians named Hatte, that is to say, Hittites or Hetheim. He adds that the current opinion as to their not being of Semitic race is quite erroneous and that the hieroglyphics discovered in various parts of Asia Minor are of Anatolian and not of Assyrian origin, the few texts of this kind found at Hamath and Page 144 Aleppo being due to Anatolian conquerors, whose domination, however, was very temporary in character.—Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1892, Oct., p. 887.

NAMES OF CITIES AT MEDINET HABU.—Prof. Sayce writes: The list of places conquered by Rameses III in Palestine and Syria, which I copied on the pylon of Medinet Habu, turns out to be even more interesting than I had supposed, as a whole row of them belongs to the territory of Judah. Thus we have the "land of Salem," which, like the Salam of Rameses II, is shown by the Tell-el-Amarna tablets to be Jerusalem, arez hadast, or "New Lands," the Hadashah of Joshua (XV. 37), Shimshana or Samson, "the city of the Sun" (Josh. XV. 10), Carmel of Judah, Migdol (Josh. XV. 37), Apaka or Aphekah (Josh. XV. 53), "the Springs of Khibur" or Hebron, Shabuduna, located near Gath, by Thothmes III, and Beth-Anath, the Beth-Anoth of Joshua (XV. 59). The discovery of these names in the records of an Egyptian king, who reigned about 1200 B.C., raises a question of some interest for students of the Old Testament.—Academy, April 2.

JAFFA.—The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund have received through Mr. Bliss a squeeze of a long inscription stated to have been recently discovered at a place not far from Jaffa, which appears to contain about 250 letters in the Phornician character.—Academy, March 5.

JERUSALEM.—A BYZANTINE BRACELET.—Mr. Maxwell Somerville of Philadelphia has added to his collection a large bronze bracelet found near Jerusalem and bearing a Greek inscription. It was communicated to the Acad. des Inscr. by M. le Blant. At one end of the inscription is a lion courant, at the other a serpent rampant. On the left end is soldered a small round plaque on which is engraved a subject identical with that found on some of the amulets published by M. Schlumberger in the Rev. des tudes Grecques (see under Byzantine Amulets in Greek news of this number). A mounted warrior—whom Mr. Schlumberger identifies as Solomon—pierces with his lance a prostrate female figure who apparently represents the devil, a "Fra Diavalo."—Chron. des Arts, 1892, No. 23.

RETHPANA-DEAD SEA.—Prof. Sayce has discovered at Medinet Hab the Egyptian name of the Dead Sea. Between the names of Salem and Yerdano and the Jordan comes "the lake of Rethpana." As the Dead Sea is the only "lake" in that part of the world, the identification of the name is certain. Rethpana could correspond with a Canaanite Reshpn, a derivative from Reshpu, the sun-god, who revealed himself in flames of fire.—Academy, May 14. Page 145

TEL-EL-HESY—LACHISH.—CUNEIFORM TABLET.—We quote from a letter written to the Times by Mr. James Glaisher, chairman of the executive committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund:—

The excavations commenced two years ago by Dr. Flinders Petrie at a mound in Palestine named Tell-el-Hesy have been continued during the last six months by Mr. F.J. Bliss, of Beirt. The Tell has been identified by Major Conder and Dr. Flinders Petrie with the ancient city of Lachish, an identification which is now amply confirmed.

Mr. Bliss has found among the dbris a cuneiform tablet, together with certain Babylonian cylinders and imitations or forgeries of those manufactured in Egypt. A translation of the tablet has been made by Prof. Sayce; it is as follows:—

'To the Governor. [I] O, my father, prostrate myself at thy feet. Verily thou knowest that Baya (?) and Zimrida have received thy orders (?) and Dan-Hadad says to Zimrida, "O, my father, the city of Yarami sends to me, it has given me 3 masar and 3 ... and 3 falchions." Let the country of the King know that I stay, and it has acted against me, but till my death I remain. As for thy commands (?) which I have received, I cease hostilities, and have despatched Bel(?)-banilu, and Rabi-ilu-yi has sent his brother to this country to [strengthen me (?)].'

The letter was written about the year 1400 B.C. It is in the same handwriting as those in the Tell-el-Amarna collection, which were sent to Egypt from the south of Palestine about the same time.

Now, here is a very remarkable coincidence. In the Tell-el-Amarna collection we learn that one Zimrida was governor of Lachish, where he was murdered by some of his own people, and the very first cuneiform tablet discovered at Tell-el-Hesy is a letter written to this Zimrida.

The city Yarami may be the Jarmuth of the Old Testament.

'Even more interesting,' writes Prof. Sayce, 'are the Babylonian cylinders and their imitations. They testify to the long and deep influence and authority of Babylon in Western Asia, and throw light on the prehistoric art of Phornicia and Cyprus. The cylinders of native Babylonian manufacture belong to the period B.C. 2000-1500; the rest are copies made in the West. One of these is of Egyptian porcelain, and must have been manufactured in Egypt, in spite of its close imitation of a Babylonian original. Others are identical with the cylinders found in the prehistoric tombs of Cyprus and Syria, and so fix the date of the latter. On one of them are two centaurs arranged heraldically, the human faces being shaped like those Page 146 of birds. European archologists will be interested in learning that among the minor objects are two amber beads.—Academy, July 9.

The Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund for April contains a detailed report of Mr. F.J. Bliss's excavations at Tell-el-Hesy, the site of Lachish, during last winter, illustrated with several plans and woodcuts. The most interesting objects found were a number of bronze weapons, and fragments of pottery with markings, both from the lowest or Amorite town. Mr. W.M. Flinders Petrie adds a note on the weights discovered, almost all of which belong to the Phornician and Aeginetan systems.

ARMENIA.

SEALS OF KING LEO II AND LEO V.—At a meeting of the Acad. des Inscr. M. Schlumberger communicated three magnificent bulls or gold seals of Leo II, king of Lesser Armenia. These gold bulls, appended to letters from this king to Pope Innocent III, written early in the XIII century, are preserved in the Vatican archives, and are probably the only examples of the king in existence. Leo II, in royal costume, is on one side; the lion of Armenia on the other. Another royal Armenian seal is preserved in the Bibliothque Nationale. It is that of Leo V, the last king of the dynasty, who died, an exile, in Paris.—Chron. des Arts, 1892, No, 6.

CAUCASUS.

THE IRON AGE.—M. Ernest Ghautre has given a statement of his ideas on the iron age in the Caucasus and elsewhere in a pamphlet entitled, Origine et Anciennet du premier age du fer au Caucase, Lyon, 1892. He says: "Necropoli of unequalled richness have been discovered in the Great Caucasus and on several points of Transcaucasia. These necropoli, in which inhumation appears to have been almost exclusively used, should be divided into two large groups. The most ancient corresponds to the Hallstatt period; the later to the Scythian period in the East and the Gallic period in the West. The Hallstatt type or that of the first iron age is met with especially in the most ancient tombs of the necropolis of Kobau, in Ossethia; those of the second iron age are to be found essentially in the necropolis of Kambylte in Digouria and certain localities of Armenia. The first iron age was introduced into the region of the Caucasus between the XX and XV century B.C. by a dolichocephalic population of Mongolo-Semitic or Semito-Kushite and not of Iranian origin. It was transformed toward the VII century by the invasion of a brachycephalic Scythian people of Ural-Altaic origin." Page 147

ANI.—The Russians are excavating at Ani, in Turkish Armenia, the ancient capital. They have found some ecclesiastical and other antiquities.—Athenum, Sept. 3.

ASIA MINOR.

PRIVATE GREEK COINAGE BY REFUGEES.—The Persian kings accorded to certain illustrious Greeks who had sought refuge in Asia Minor on Persian territory the right to coin money. To this they joined the privileges inherent in the title of hereditary despot which was granted to them. The principal coinages are those of Themistokles at Magnesia, of Georgion at Gambrium, and of Euripthenes at Pergamon. M. Babelon read a memoir on the subject before the Soc. des Antiquaires, giving genealogical details regarding those families of exiles.—Chron. des Arts, 1892, No. 16.

COMPARISON OF HITTITE AND MYCENAN SCULPTURES.—M. Heuzey has read before the Acad. des Inscr. (Oct. 14) a comparative study on an engraved gold ring found at Mycen and a relief in the Louvre which belongs to the series of Hittite reliefs and was found at Kharpout, in the Upper Euphrates region on the frontier of Armenia and Cappadocia. The relief is surmounted by two lines of ideographic inscription. The subject on both is a stag-hunt; the stag is hunted in a chariot, as was always done before the horse was used for riding, that is before the VIII century B.C. The relief is a rustic variant of the Assyrian style; certain details prove it to belong to the IX century. The stag is of the variety called hamour by the Arabs, characterized by horns palm-shaped at their extremities. On the ring the attitudes are far more lively and bold, but the identity of the subject is none the less striking.—Revue Critique, 1892, No. 43.

HITTITE INSCRIPTION.—M. Menant has communicated to the Acad. des Inscr. (Aug. 7, 1891,) a new Hittite inscription, noted during the preceding summer, in the pass of Bulgar-Maden, in Asia Minor. It is in perfect preservation and of unusual length, and is therefore of great value for the study of the Hittite language. M. Menant sees at the beginning the genealogy and titles of a prince, some other of whose inscriptions have already been found; then an invocation to the patron divinities of his kingdom; then the main body of the inscription, which will doubtless be the most difficult to decipher; and at the close a re-enumeration of the divinities already invoked.—Revue Critique, 1891, No. 35-6.

THE DECIPHERMENT OF THE HITTITE INSCRIPTIONS.—Prof. Sayce writes: "I have, I believe, at last succeeded in breaking Page 148 through the blank wall of the Hittite decipherment. Twelve years ago, with the help of the bilingual text of Tarkondmos, I advanced a little way, but want of material prevented me from going further. At length, however, the want has been supplied, and new materials have come to hand, chiefly through the discoveries of Messrs. Ramsay, Hogarth, and Headlam in Asia Minor. The conclusions to be derived from the latter are stated in an article of mine which has just been published in the last number of the Recueil de Travaux relatifs la Philogie et l'Archologie gyptiennes et assyriennes. Since that article was written, I have once more gone through the Hittite texts in the light of our newly-acquired facts, and have, I believe, succeeded in making out the larger part of them."