The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 1901-08-12
GERMANS EXPLORE ARMENIA.
Important Archaeological Discover
les said to HIVE Been Mnde.

LONDON, Aug. 1.-THE interest of the
German Government in the Bagdad Rail
way has led them to despatch important
missions to Armenia for the purpose Of
making archaeological explorations. The
first of these expeditions was entrusted to
DIR. w. Beick alone, and IN 1898 and 1899
he was accompanied by the AssyrioloSist,
DIR. c. F. Lehman. The report Of these
expeditions has just been issued. and the
results to science are most important.
The first indications of civilization In
the mountain lands bordering on Lake
Van were made known by the French
traveller. DR.. Schultz, who copied num-
Der of inscriptions on the rocky walls Of
the fortress Of the city of Van. Schultz,
unfortunately, was killed by the kurds,
but his diaries and copies of Inscriptions
were recovered and published by the
French Government in the journal Ash
atique" L2yard, who visited Armenia
in 1873, copied a number of inscriptions,
and Rassam, VINO made several visits to
the country and excavated at Toprak
Kaleh, the ancient palace of the Nannic
kings. copied or took casts OF several
more; but the work of the German ex-
petitions has greatly increased our
knowledge of the country.
The members collated all inscriptions
previously copied and increased the ma
terial for the study of ancient Armenian
history by nearly 1000 lines-including the
discovery of a most important and fairly
lengthy bilingual inscription in Assyrian
and Vannic.
The most important result of the eXpe-
dition has been to define clearly the eX
tent OF this empire which had almost en-
81 IiGanrlsaFgd
tory The capital city was Van on the
lake OF that name, called Dhuspas-The
Tosps of the clasSics-but the royal resi-
dcnce seems to have been 1t IOprak
Kaleh called at a later period "Rusas
town" The northern boundaries Of the
empire are uncertain, but several inscrip-
tiuns we're found in Russian Armenia.
On this east the inscriptions were found
as far as Lake Urumiyeh and one on the
rocky heights near Rowdndiz, on the sum-
NIT Of the Pass of keli-shin, l2OOJ feet
above sea level This inscription was FIRST
discovered by Sir Henry RawiinSon, ana
was set up during the joint reigns of the
Kings lspunis and Menuas, about B. c.
800 Westward, on the rocks at Paiu, on
the Euphrates, near Malatiyeh. the in
scriptions of Meuu9s are also found.
The recovered inscriptions record wars
against the Hittites, the Assyrians. and
later against the Barsuas, who appear
not to be the PcrSiaus, but possibly some
of the Aryan vanguard! The earliest in
scriptions are those of Sardur and Ispun-
IL. and are written in Assyrian. the Van
mic scribes not having adapted the cunei
form syllabary. which they borrowed. to
their own language. This. however, they
soon accomplished, and during the Joint
reign of Menuas and his father. the in
scriptiOns are all in the Afarodian Ian
glfage. One of the most important results
OF these researches has Deen to settle the
name of the people. They are called
Khaldians. from the name of the nation
al god. khaldi, and are to be Identified
with the Chadaioi of the Greek writers,
who figure prominently in Xenophon
Among the objects Of art obtained, and
now in the museum at Berlin. are several
bronze bulls, shields, etc, from Toprak
Kaleh. The museum also possesses some
inscribed with The names of Argistis and
Rusas kings. who were contemporary
with Sargon Of Assyria Oh. c. I'D These
monuments show the source from which
the Persians derived the artistic forms
with which they decorated the palaces at
Persepois The resemblance OF the Per
sian sculptures to those of Nineveh Is in
for this, since the Assyrian palaces had
been destroyed long before the time of
Darius. The Armenian artists got their
art Inspirations as they had their writing,
from Assyria: but they reproduced the
bulls, etc, In malpi oportioned form.
The throne Of the god khaldi found at
Iaprak Kaleh is evidently copied from
ore of Sargon of Sennacherib and in the
work of the Persian s~tist We all those
forms exactly reproduced and the throne
Of Darius is exact copy OF that Of
Ehaldi and 30 Of the Assyrian original.
These few notes VIII show how impor-
tant have been the results of these two
expeditions which have been working
quietly among the mountains of Armenia.