New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-06-24
TO EXPLORE AsIATIC RUINS.
SCIENTIFIC MEN OFF FOR BABYLoNIA


A PHILADELPHIA PATTY or EXPERTS START Ton
THE oRIrNT-rHE ENTERPRISE.
The second American expedition for scientific ~
search among the ruins Of the ancient world sSred
from this city yesterday morning by the steamship
Fulda, for Babyonia, in portion Of which region
the explorers expect begin making excavations In
November. The first expedition of this kind from this
country was the Wolfe Of I5e4's5, which did noe
meet with success. The present expedition goes OUT
under the direction Of the Babylonisn Explorations
| Fund OF Philadelphia, with the Rev. John p. Peters
In command. DR.. Peters is a OF the Rev. DR.. p
NJ Peters, rector Of ST. Michaels Church in this city.
He Is a graduate of Yale College, and ordained
priest of the Protestant Episcopal Church by bishop
Horatio Potter After having taken orders he chose
the profession Of teacher instead Of going into tho
pulpit, and was for three years member Of the Yale
faculty. He is Professor of Old Testament Lat
erature and Languages in the Divinity school Of HE
church at Philadelphia, and holds the chair Of Hebrew
In the University OF Pennsylvania lie has been for
many years an enthusiastic student Of the semitic
languages, and pursued Of study in them ss
the Universities of Berlin and Lelpsic.
DR.. Peters's first lieutenant will be j. d. Prince,
who was graduated from Columbia College this year.
Tho other members of the party DR. Hilprecht Of
the University Of Pennsylvania, and DR.. Harper, OF
YALE Assyrioogst j. H. Haynes who was ph0tog-
rapher of the Wolfe expedition and accompanied Dr.
J. sterritt to Asia Minor, and p H. Field, of Brook
Ign, architect Mr.. Field is at present studying at
the party at Aleppo, SYRIA at which point they viii
meet about the end of september, after making some
needful investigations among the Assyrian manu-
scripts stored in the British Museum. From Aleppo
they will travel by caravan Bagdad. The exact
point at which they will begin operations Dr.. Peters
does not feel at liberty To tell, 1t will depend cir
cumstances and 1t IS not desirable TO let the Arabs
get any definite Information on the subject
Though he was busy Friday night, Or. Peters
gave Tribune reporter the following information
about the expedition The Fund" he said, " Is COM
posed of subscribers In Philadelphia who interested
IN the undertaking, and started last fall tho
house OF Dr. Pepper, provost Of the university and
president of the executive committee. The treasurer
IS E. W. Clark, Philadelphia banker; and the
ecutve committee are the names OF Joseph d. Potts,
W. ". Frazier c. II. Clark, stuart Wood, DR.. H. Clay
Trumba, all of Philadelphia Mr. Langley, secretary
OF the Smithsonian Institution. and Professor Allen
Maryland, of Princeton Among the liberal sub
scribers to the Fund Henry c. Lee and George W.
Cnilds and all the money far given come from
citizens OF Philadelphia. In prosecuting our work
we shall dig into the mounds to unearth the ancient
lecture, and will take such inscriptions We
clay tablets. The country from the Persian Gulf
northward TO point sane forty fifty miles above
Bagdad between the rivers Tigrs and EGphrates,
in ancient times the seat of teeming civilization,
civilization far ancient than that OF Greece OF
China, and probably of all others except Egypt. Oh
the ancient cities which Got the level plains IN
the shape of barren mounds few have been partly
eXcavatcd and have yielded Of the most curious
and valuable specimens OF antique ait. The most
work Of any importance was that done by tho
French ConsulCeneral, dc sarzee, who explored q
BabyIonla The antiquities he found are I'm in tho
LOUVRE and are regarded Of the highest importance
:. Or. Peters added that the party had one years
leave of absence from professional duties at home,
and that upon the of the first years results
would derend further prosecution Of the work