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BRITISH SCHOOL of ARCHAEOLOGY in IRAQ (Gertrude Bell Memorial)

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BRITISH SCHOOL of ARCHAEOLOGY in IRAQ (Gertrude Bell Memorial) BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN IRAQ (Gertrude Bell Memorial) REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30th JUNE Printed by 1938 Cheltenham Press Ltd., Cheltenham and London. THE SIXTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE SCHOOL WILL BE HELD IN THE HALL OF THE ROYAL SOCrETY, BURLI NGTON HOUSE, ON WEDNESDAY, 1 OCTOBER 19TH, 1938, AT 5.30 O'CLOCK, TO CONSIDER THE ACCOUNTS, BALANCE SHEET AND REPORTS OF THE COUNCIL AND AUDITOR ; TO ELECT MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL ; TO APPOINT AN AUDITOR ; AND FOR ANY OTHER BUSINESS WHICH MAY PROPERLY BE TRANSACTED. PRESIDENT COUNCIL RIGHT HON. L. S. AMERY, M.P. LIFE M E M BERS SIR CHARLES HYDE, DART., LL.D. WILLIA.\\1 RUSHTON PARKER, M.D. MRS. W I LLIAM H . MOORE *LADY RICHMOND VICE- PRESIDENTS GEORGE LOWTHIAN T REVELYAN HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY SIR MAURICE PETERSON , K.C.M.G. NOMI NATED MEMBERS REPRESENTING : P l!OFESSOR VERE GORDON CHILDE, F .S.A. Edinburgh Unive rsity MISS A. M . DALE Lad y Margaret Hall, Oxford FOUNDERS *G. R. DRIVER, M.G. Magdalen College, Oxford SIR CHARLES HYDE, BART., LL.D. *PROFESSOR S. R. K . GLA:"!V!LLE, F .S.A. Bo,ilrd of Studie s in Archaeol ogy, London Universi ty MRS. WILLIAM H. MOORE ADMIRAL SIR WILLIAM GOODENOUGH , G.C.B ., M .V.O., Royal Geographical Society *SIR GEORGE F . H ILL , K.C.B., D.C.L., LITT.D., LL.D., F .B.A., F .S.A., British Academy CHAIRMAN OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SIR FREDERIC G. KENYON, G .B.E., K.C.B., T.D. , D.UTf. , LITT.D., F.B.A. , P.S.A. S ociety of Antiquar ies SIR EDGAR BONHAM- CARTER, K.C.M.G., C.I.E., 17 Radnor place, W .2 PROFESSOR D. S. MARGOLIOUTH, D.LITf., F .B.A. Oriental B oard, Oxford University PROFES~O R ELLIS MINNS, LITT.D., F.R.A., F.S.A. EDITOR OF IRAQ Cambri dge Univ ersity Museum o f Archaeology *SIR E. D P-KIS0N ROSS, c.I.E. , PH.D. R oyal Asiatic Society R. CAMPBELL THOMPSON, D.LITT., F.B .A., F. S.A., Boars Hill, Oxford SI DNEY SM •. -" • ,.- ~ • , British Museum PROFESSOR r- . v(Ja, .1 h C.viAS Durham University HONORARY TREASURER "\FESSOR n.' lJ.e TURNER, M.C., LITT.D.. School of Onental Stud1es, London Umver s 1ty BRIGADIER- GENERAL SIR H . OSBORNE MANCE, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. j. W ILSON, A.R.I.R.A. Roy al C entral Asian Society C. P . T. WINCKWORTH Facult y Board of Oriental Languages, Cambridg e Univer sity HONORARY AUDITOR HAROLD LAKEMAN, F.C.A., 33 Lawrence lane, E.C.2 E LEC TED M EMBERS *SI R EDGAR BON HAM - CARTER, J. S . HASKELL K.C.M.G., C .I.E . *E. H . KEELING, M .C., M.P. BANKERS LADY BONHAM- CARTER 1\1, E . L. MALLOWAN, F.S.A. OTTOMAN BANK, 26 Throgmorton street, E.C.2 AIR CHIEF MARSHAL STH ROBERT * BRIGADIER-GENERAL SIR H. OSBORNE BROOKE-POPHAM, G .C.V.O., K.C.B., MANCE, K.B.E. , G.B. , C.M.G., D.S.O. C.M.G., D.S.O., A.F .C . SIR CHARLES MARSTON, F .S.A. HONORARY SOLICITORS THE VI SCOUNTESS BRYCE H. ERIC MILLER L. E . BURY, C .B.E. MRS. PATRICK NESS HOLMES, SON & POTT, Capel House, New Broad street, E.C.2 *SIR KINAHAN CORNWALLIS, K.C.M.G., ADMIRAL SIR HERBERT RICHMOND, C.B.E . , D.S.O. K.C .B. *SIR NIGEL DAVIDSON, C.B.E. OWEN HUGH SMITH TRUSTEES OF THE ENDOWMENT FUND *C. J. EDMONDS, C.B.E. *SIR ALBERT STERN, K.B.E., C .M .G. THE OFFICIAL TRUSTEES OF CHARITABLE FUNDS GEORGE EU:v.!ORFOPOULOS, F.S.A. *R. CAMPBEL L THOMPSON, D.LITT . , *MISS JOAN EVANS F.B.A., F .S.A. *SIR J OHN FORSDYKE, K.C.B., F.S.A. LADY VANSITTAllT HONORARY SECRETARY *c. J . GADD, F .S.A. SIR LEONARD WOOLLEY, LITT.D., F .S.A. E. H. KEELING, M.C., M.P. , 20 Wilton street, Grosvenor place, S .W.I *Member of Exewtive Committee. a house floor. The contents included a string of gold filigree pendants, gold, silver and carnelian beads, an alabaster bobbin, haematite weights and silver and copper bangles. A similar treasure trove from a house of 2300 B.c. produced a rock­ REPORT OF THE COUNCIL crystal pendant encased in gold, a hoard of copper and silver for the year ended 30th June, 1938 ear-rings and a lapis-lazuli bull amulet with double bearded heads. Two complete cuneiform tablets and a number of fragments, together with a mass of clay seal impressions, may Sir Maurice Peterson, K.c.M.G., who was appointed be expected to give us precise dating evidence and possibly the British Ambassador to Iraq last year, has accepted the office ancient name of Brak. of Vice-President of the School. "3. The Akkadian Palace. The expedition recovered the complete ground-plan 6f a vast palace, with overall dimensions MR. MALLOWAN'S FOURTH EXPEDITION TO of about 90 x 90 metres, centring about a great courtyard 40 NORTHERN SYRIA metres square. Inscribed mud bricks found in the walls give The expedition to the Habur region, under the auspices of the name of the founder of the Palace, which was built by the British Museum and the School, has completed its fourth N aram Sin, fourth King of the Sargonid Dynasty of Akkad, B.c. It consecutive season of excavations, having worked from March about 2500 is possible that this building was a strong­ 14th to May 31st. The staff comprised Mr. and Mrs. M. E. J_ hold of the Sargonid dynasty for the control of the Habur, and that from this base the Akkadians were able to penetrate into Mallowan, Col. A. H. Burn c.r.E., O.B.E.• · • ... G. l?t". F Eastern Anatolia. The Palace was destroyed by fire and looted, (architec9! Mr. R. I T hrdfall, and 1\t; .. , -:. Chri§t perhaps as the result of a local revolt at the end of the Sargonid '~'hey "" -t-ved remarkable results, as "· ue s . fro l"' following report by Mr. Mallowan :- period, but it was rebuilt with a few alterations very soon afterwards, under the third dynasty of Ur. The most interest­ "The expedition excavated four different areas, which \>etween ing finds from the Palace are a complete cuneiform tablet, them covered the period 3100-1500 B.C. numerous fragments of an inlaid bone gaming-board, with " 1. The Hurrian Houses. There were three successive representations of bearded Akkadians, a royal mace-head of levels of mud-brick houses, of dates between about 18oo and basalt, and a number of finely engraved cylinder seals with 1500 B.C., when Brak was finally abandoned. The houses pro­ heraldic designs of lions, stags and heroes. duced a quantity of 'Hurrian' pottery, with designs in white "4. The Jamdat Nasr Ziggurat. The south-west corner of paint on a black ground, consisting of geometric floral designs the Akkadian Palace was found to rest on the ruins of a great .and birds. This pottery is related to th e ceramic of Atshana mud-brick tower which had been built about 3100 B. c., some in the West, the designers of which were obviously influenced soo years before the foundation of the Palace. The ziggurrat by Cretan art, and to the Tigris ware of Billa and Ashur in or tower has maximum dimensions of about 6o x 6o metres and the East. still stands about 10 metres high, with an upper stage consisting of a small shrine, the outer walls of which are buttressed with "2. Private Houses of the Third Dynasty of Ur and the Sargonid Period. T hese mud-brick houses were Mesopotamian great basalt blocks. The base of the ziggurrat was found to in plan, the rooms centring about a courtyard. The houses of rest on a specially prepared clay platform, about one metre the Sargonid period were the more spacious, and one of them thick, and was packed with thousands of votive offerings which contained a bath-room with a cement bath. The richest find appear to have been cast 4:lto the soil during some ceremony commemorating the foundation of the building. was of hidden treasure contained in a clay vase buried beneath 5 4 ' ~'"I:h is remarkable deposit produced about 40,ooo beads, SIR LEONARD WOOLLEY'S EXPEDITION TO Iil9.stly in faience but many in gold, carnelian, rock-crystal and NORTHERN SYRIA steatite. In addition we recovered from the ziggurrat a collec­ Sir Leonard Woolley received a grant* from the School for tion of about 200 stamp seals and amulets, many of them beautiful specimens of animal carving, including models of his expedition to excavate the mound at Atchana, which is lions, gazelles, bears, hedgehogs, ibex, pigs, hares, frogs, eagles, now shown by the written records found there to have been ducks, fish, sheep and cows. Some of these, but not all, are the site of the ancient city Alalakh. He writes :- paralleled at Ur and Uruk. The material used includes ser­ "The Palace, of which the columned entrance was discovered pentine alabaster, lapis lazuli, variegated marble, steatite, lime­ in 1937, was entirely cleared, an annexe lying to the west of stone, carnelian, shell, bone and faience. Most interesting was it' was dug to the same level, and there work was carried down a rich collection of about 200 complete alabaster idols, with deeper, with the result that the city gate of about the eighteenth some thousands of fragments.
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