Archaeology Magazine - March 1958 - 70

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ATHENS, GREECE
announcesthe publicationof
THE

PROTOATTIC

AMPHORA

ELEUSIS

By George E. Mylonas

In Greek with a summary in-English (8 pages). Format: that of the
EPHEMERIS, large quarto. Pages 15 + 136+ 16 plates + 2 color
reproductions. 39 Illustrations in the text. Orders should be sent to:
John Pandelides Bookshop, OMIROU Str. No. 4, Athens, Greece.
Price, including postage, $ 10.00

pire, have of course been carefully investigated and discussed by scholars.
Their work has helped to make it
plain that the Germans, even though
referred to by the Romans as barbarians, were not savages. They had a
taste for fine things, and it was possible to trade with them on reasonable
terms. In this book we find a careful
review of the goods which were traded
(we know little about what the Germans offered the Romans), of the
main trade routes, the places and circumstances in which discoveries have
been made, and the possibilitiesof accurate dating.
If a historian might make a suggestion, it would be that we ought to remember that there were invisible exports from the Empire, in the cultural
sense. The Germans learned constantly
from the Romans; the historians tell
us of their borrowings in the military
and governmental spheres. We must
also remember that they refused to
borrow some things from the Romans.
Although they had cities, of a sort,
they never cared for *city life in the
highest Graeco-Roman sense, nor for
the high intellectual tradition, nor for
the Graeco-Roman loyalty to an impersonal government and an impersonal systemof law.
The African frontier has yielded
less of interest, partly because of the
scarcity of population there and partly
because of the scarcity of investigations along the coast of East Africa.
Here Sir Mortimer offers us results of
70-

his own work in a new field of tremendousinterest. Ivory, incense,pepper
and silk were the chief articles of
trade. Part of the trade seems to have
been highly organized and part rather
casual. Systematicinvestigationof this
great area is. only in its infancy compared with that of areas in the West;
we may hope that continuing work
will yield a rich harvest.
Richard M. Haywood
UniversityCollege
New York University
NINEVEH
ANDTHEOLDTESTAMENT,
by
André Parrot. Translated by B. E.
Hooke. 96 pages, 20 figures, 5 platesPhilosophicalLibrary, New York 1955
(Studies in Biblical Archaeology,No.
3) $2.75
In this book the distinguishedFrench
archaeologist, M. Parrot, employs his
unusual talents in non-technical writing to one of ancient history's most
fascinating stories, that of Nineveh,
capital of the Assyrian empire. After
an introductory chapter on the history of the excavationsat Nineveh, the
major part of the small volume is
given over to the story of the relations
between the Assyrian kings and Palestine, employing not only the well
known sources of information in the
Bible and old Assyrianannals, but also
new data recently unearthed in Assyria
by British expeditions.The result is an
excellent archaeological and historical
narrative that is not only up to date

but a pleasure to read. One regrets
that space did not permit the author
to provide a more detailed summary
of the architecture, libraries and small
finds in the city.
G. Ernest Wright
McCormickTheologicalSeminary
ANANDROMAN
OF GREEK
CATALOGUE
OAKSCOLIN THEDUMBARTON
TIQUITIES
LECTION,
by Gisela M. A. Richter. 77
pages, 27 plates. Harvard University
Press, Cambridge1956 $5.00
A series of catalogues of the collections at Dumbarton Oaks begins auspiciously with the presentation of Classical material and a few miscellaneous
pieces which belong more logically
with this group than with other categories. The forty-sevenobjects,most of
them small in scale, form a diverse
company. Variety in periods represented is multiplied by variety in medium and doubled by the presence of
the "major" and "minor" arts; the result is an interesting if interrupted
sweep over more than a millenniumof
artistic expression.The collection,however, is not presented historically,
but categoricallyby the materials employed. Through this arbitrary order
each piece assumes greater individuality than it would through a scheme
which implies subordination of parts
to a whole. But individuality would be
present whatever the approach. Some
of the pieces are old and familiar
friends, some have been the subject of
extensive publication, some have been
hitherto little known, and still others
are here making their formal debut.
For those who have not been able to
visit the collection in its pleasant surroundings in Washington, D. C, here
is the opportunity to browse among the
antiquities with the best of guidance.
For those acquaintedwith the museum,
here is the chance to refresh the memory. Achaemenianreliefs, mosaicsfrom
Antioch, bronze statuettes, metal utensils, sculpture, cameos and gems invite contemplation and perusal. Miss
Richter gives a detailed description of
each piece and a thorough discussion.
In certain cases the discussionbecomes
an admirable précis of variant theories.
The pages written on the portrait head
of "Menander" type are the outstanding example of a useful summary
weighingthe pros and cons of a thorny
problem of identification. (Here the

Archaeology Magazine - March 1958

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