Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1900-12-21
THE EXPEDITION TO UR
Funds Now Provided to Defray
Its Expenses.
COST ESTIMATED AT $l2,500.

AssyriOlOgists Expect to BE ON the
Ground In January, and . Starr
Will soon Be Made-Two Years
Work Anticipated-Quarterly Re-
ports VIII Be Issued.
Funds have at last been provided,
chiefly through a gift of $1,000 by John
D. Rockefeller, to insure the starting
of the proposed expedition to the
orient for an excavation of the ruins
Of Mugheir, or the Ur of the Chaldees,
the great Babylonian city frequently
mentioned in Old Testament history as
the birthplace of Abraham and Sarah,
says the New York Post. The expedi-
ton will be in charge of DR.. James
Edgar Banks, a graduate of Harvard
and until recently United States con.
sui at Bagdad. Up to a few weeks ago
1t was thought that the plans which
had been partially made would neces-
sarily be abandoned, as sufficient mon!
ey was not in hand to start the work.
The money came in, however, and this
made speedy work necessary. AS DR..
Banks thought it advisable to be on
the ground by Jan. 1 or soon after that
date he has arranged to sail from New
York in a few days and will go to Con-
stantinople and from there to the scene
of the ruins.
The expedition has received the ap-
prevail Of the state department in
| Washington, which has even rendered
some assistance by requesting the
Turkish government to permit these
expeditions to be made. Owing to the
| price at which Arab workmen can be
employed, DR.. Banks estimates that
the cost Of the work, employing a force
of 100 natives, will not exceed $12,50O.
From no source has there been SO
much light thrown upon the Bible or
ancient history as from the excava-
tons which have taken place in the
the success of the expedition sent out
by the University Of Pennsylvania I'M
der the direction of Professor Hill
precht gives some idea of the general
class of knowledge which is to be
gained. In all Professor Hilprecht spent
II years in the work at Nippur, but
DR.. Banks is of the opinion that with
in two years he can take from Ur of
the Chaldees all Of the objects which
would be Of interest, and these are to
be placed In the Smithsonian institu-
ton at Washington.
With the expedition will be at least
three Americans. DIR. Banks will act
as the Assyriologist, another will be
employed as a craftsman and phooog-
rapher, and the work of the third will
consist in collecting natural history
specimens Of all kinds in the vicinity.
Quarterly reports telling of the work
as it progresses will be issued.
Ur is important as the center of the
worship of Sin, the zoe god. which
continued for more than $500 years
and through all Of it's political his
tory down to the end of the Babylonian
empire. It. will be a part of DR.. Banks
plan to make his headquarters at Nasa-
rich. which is the most modern town in
Babylonia and located only a couple of
miles distant from Ur. This will make
camp life unnecessary. At the present
time the Arabic tribes near this loca-
ton are under the control of the Turks.
and because Of the English and Ameri-
can commercial interests the fanati-
cism which was formerly directed
against foreign people has been very
largely overcome.