Archaeology Magazine - March 1958 - 58

East, and its developmentfrom earlier
"rusticated" masonry. Frederick E.
Winter, in a paper on the fortifications
of Side in Pamphylia, argued that the
Hellenistic portions show remarkable
technicaldevelopmentand bear out descriptions by Hellenistic military writers. Slot ceilings, although not so
widely used as coffer ceilingsin Classical Greek buildings, were quite frequent, according to A. Trevor Hodge,
and deserve more attention. Examples
were cited from Olympia, Athens, Sunium and elsewhere. William McDonald's paper on the plan and construction of the Circusof Maxentiusshowed
that this best preserved of Roman circuses may, becauseof its date, be taken
as typical of a large group of important structures. Djemila (ancient Cuicul), in North Africa, was the subject
of Raymond V. Schoder's paper; he
described the various stages of the
city's development.M. Katherine Donaldson, the final speaker, discussedinterpretations offered by various early
travelers of Hadrian's Arch, the Monument of Lysicratesand the Parthenon.
Although this year's program included no symposium,there was a session on Mycenaeanstudies, under APA
auspices,which contained much of interest for archaeologists.Becauseof its
importance we present a separate report below.
At the joint AIA-APA dinner the
speaker was Professor William F. Albright, whose subject was "Recent ArchaeologicalDevelopmentsin Palestine
and Syria." After brief mention of
Syria and Lebanon, he enumerated the
expeditions now active in Jordan and
emphasizedthe unusual interest in archaeology which prevails in Israel.
Among outstanding developments of
recent years Prof. Albright noted the
discoveryof a Neolithicpre-potteryculture at Jericho, and predicted that
other pre-pottery sites will be found. A
good many, he said, may be below the
present water table and thus difficult
to locate and excavate. Prof. Albright
also mentioned a recent study of Carmel man, which results in dating the
Mousterian era at 35,000-40,000years
ago. Coming down to historical times.,
Prof. Albright gave a resumé of the recently revised Babylonian chronology.
He discussedat some length the ProtoSinaitic inscriptionsof Palestine, dated
ca. 1650-1550b.c., which are now the
object of study by various scholars.
58

The language of these inscriptionshas
been determinedto be South Canaanite.
Twenty-one or twenty-two characters
have been decipheredand work on the
inscriptionsis going forward. Prof. Albright concluded by discussing the
Dead Sea Scrolls,the status of research
concerningthem, and the great importance of the Scrolls for New Testament studies.
Among the many exhibitionsopen to
those attending the meetings,we must
mention the beautifully arranged exhibit of the Ray Winfield Smith Collection of ancient glass, at the Smithsonian Institution. There was a special
showing for Institute members.
The 1958 Annual Meeting is to take
place in Cincinnati, Ohio.

African Ivory a Minneapolis
A magnificent piece of Bini ivory
sculpture, an elephant tusk six feet
eight inches in length, is among the recent accessionsto the African collections of the Minneapolis Institute of
Arts. It is carved with portraits of
kings and symbolic and mythological
animals, as well as other signs which
held solemn traditional meaning for
the Bini tribe which created it. The
Bini, a Nigerian tribe, were a great
African power from the twelfth to the
nineteenth century, and during this
time developed a splendid capital at
Benin. A pair of carved tusks custom-

arily flanked the royal throne or were
placed on altars of the king's ancestors.
A tusk was supported by being set into
a specially cut hole in the top of a
bronze head representing a Bini king.
1958 Summer School in Britain
The British Summer School of Archaeologymeets each year for a week,
and each time is held in a different
center. A specifictopic or problem on
some aspect of the archaeology and
early history of Britain is chosen as
the theme of a series of lectures, discussions and excursions. The 1958
School, the seventh held to date, will
meet in Durham during the week of
August 9-16. Its theme will be "The
Golden Age of Northumbria." The
lectures will cover the great and
varied achievements of Northumbria
in the period A.D.650-800: art and
manuscripts, architecture and sculpture, letters and learning, poetry, metalwork and religion. Excursions have
been aranged to Lindisfarne, Hexham,
Jarrow and all the famous sites and
monumentsof the Anglo-Saxonperiod
within a hundred miles of Durham,
including the fine collections in Durham Cathedral itself.
The School offers a forum where all
students of British archaeology, professional scholars and amateurs, veterans and beginners,can meet for the
discussion of problems and the interchange of views. Lectures are popular
in form but authoritative in content.
All who are interested should regard
themselves as eligible to participate.
The School welcomesAmerican members. Full details can be obtained by
writing to the Honorary Director, Prof.
F. T. Wainwright, Department of Anglo-Saxon Studies, University of St.
Andrews, St. Andrews,Scotland.
Bibliographical Digest
The Cultural Center of the French
Embassy announces the publication of
two more issues of its useful bibliography of French archaeologicalstudies.
Both Part II, The Near East, and
Part III, Greece, were prepared by
Pierre Amandry, Professor of Classical
Archaeology,University of Strasbourg.
These two issues of the French Bibliographical Digest may be obtained
free of charge by writing to the Cultural Center, French Embassy, 972
Fifth Avenue, New York 21, N. Y.

Archaeology Magazine - March 1958

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - March 1958