The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-31
INSCRIPTIONS
OF AKCENIS
Or. Peters Tells What PaleS-
tine Gives UO
GEZER AND ITS HISTORY
Was Place Of Worship Before
2,O00B. C.
GEZER AND ITS HISTORY

Jerusalem, says:
From the point of view of the archae-
ologist it must be confessed that up to
the present time Palestine has been very
disappointing. Egypt, BaDylonia, and
Assyria have yielded an almost incredible
amount of archaeological material, in
scribed and uninscribed, which has car
ried back cur knowledge Of civilization to
the seventh millennium, g. c, OF there
abouts 1 do not mean that the inscribed
records go back as far as that, for our
Oldest inscriptions up to the present time
date perhaps, no earlier that the fourth
millennium B. c.. Crere and Cyrus ASIA
Minor northern Syria, and even Ara
bia. have also in the last fifty, and more
especially in the last twenty-five years,
yielded a rich harvest OF inscribed ma
terial not to speak of objects of a value
more strictly ological-pottery'
wall paintings. architectural designs,
weapons. utensils, and the like.
From Palestine. on the other hand. we
have in thr way Of inscriptions but little.
Some forty years ago there was found in
the ruins of the ancient Dibon in the
fields of Moab an inscription of a certain
Mesha. King of Moab, a contemporary of
Ahab Of Israel and his sons in the ninth
century p. c. BY accident in rock-cut
aqueduct in Jerusalem, there was dis
covered twenty years ago Hebrew in
scriptiOn cut on the side of the rock by
the workmen who constructed the tun-
mel. i'm memory Of the completion of the
undertaking. This inscription may date
perhaps from the close of the eighth CEN
tury 3. c. In an old Mussulman grave
yard in the Moslem quarter of Jerusalem,
the French Archaeological. Clermont-Gan-
neau. found. as tombstone on a modern
grave a limestone slab bearing a Greek
inscription which Inscription showed 1t
to have been "A part of the barrier separ-
ating in Herod's Temple the court of the
Gentiles from the court of the Israelites.
The gist of the inscription is that who
ever. not being an Israelite. passes with
in this barrier does so at the risk of his
life In the partial excavation of the
mound of Tel Hesy halfway between
Hebron and GAIA. the ancient Lachish
OF the Bible Dr. Bliss found one tablet
in cuneiform characters 1t was appar-
Gritty "A letter written about 1900 b. c.
by the Egyptian suzerain. Amenophis ",
10 the subject King Of Iachish. in answer
10 letters from the same king which were
found fifteen years ago at Tel el-Amarna
III Egypt Outside of these there have
been found a few Hebrew seals a few
Jar handles marked with the stamp and
name Of a royal pottery. also in Hebrew,
various Itinerary and votive Inscriptions
of the tenth Roman legion which occu-
pied Jerusalem after its capture and de-
truction by Titus, ana late Latin, Greek
and Hebrew and Arabic inscriptions scat
tered. here and there on tombs. mosaics,
synagogues, temples and various build
inss. throughout the country. Just beyond
the borders Of Palestine TO the north
east in the mountains of the Hauran,
have been found two Egyptian stelae of
Sety l. and Ramses H.. and this prac-
ticaIly completes the list Of inscribed
material found in Palestine.
From the architectural and artistic
standpoint the relics of the past are if
anything. less valuable Excavations have
revealed no works of art and no build
ings OF great Importance or beauty. if we
except perhaps the colossal foundations
OF the Herodian Tempe. in Jerusalem and
the varioSu Byzantine Crusading and
Saracenic structures built upon on adj
joining those foundations. Partly this
failure to find archaeological material Of
value Is due to The lack OF systematic
and extensive excavation in Palestine
partly il is due. doubtless. 20 the lack Of
materi5l-thGt is 10 say. II seems evident
that We shall never ind in Palestine such
abundant inscribed material as has been
discovered lin Bahylonia. Assyria. and
Egypt. nor shall We find such valuable
artistic AMI architectural remains IS have
rewarded excavations in Greece. C.ete.
Cyprus. ani Esypt 1t must not be un-
derstood. however. that what has been
discovered is without interest or that
there Il no prospect OF the discovery Of
Important remains i'm Palestine Every
one knows of The Uicturelue rock-cut city
Of Petra ga Edom. outbeastwarj OF Pal
estine. This belongs Of course 10 an
earlier period. ] have already allud = 10
the fascinating remains OF the Crusadinq
rStussies. the picturesque castles which
may be found on the d lis Of Palestine
and which form line east OF the Jordan
from The Sourse Of that stream 1T Banias.
southwark Ia Kerak. The ancient Kir- Kar-
eseth OF Moab at the lower end Of the
Dead Sea. have referred also to the
remarkable and extensive caves in the
chalk hills OF the Sherhelah. between Ju-
dae ana the Philisjine plain might add
that IN Cilead. and still further north
ward. in Bashan. there are even uoro
remarkable rock cuttincS-in one Mace
a whole city cut in the rock. perhaps
Mace Of refuge for the occupants OF
the city above IN case OF sudden attack
East 81 the Jordan thoIe aie a few fas-
chatting remains of the Roman and
Graeco-Roman perio 1s-the rock-ctit the
atre II Amman. the ancient Philadelphia
two theatres. two temples. the Nymphae-
um. the streets Of colounades. and much
more in Gerash, the ancient Gerasa OF
the pecapolis; and other less wen-known
remains OF the same period
The surface Of Palestine has hsa, ~,
the Whole. unusually well explored. The
country Wet OF the Jordan has been map
ped in great detail. and all visible remains
many times measured. described. and de
ricted East of the Jordan only a mart OF
the same minuteness. and. although the
antiquities OF that side OF m Jordan
visible on the surface are more i'm
portant and more interesting than these
west or che river. they have not VET be-,
measured. surveyed AMI described with
the same minuteness and accuracy IS
those in Judea. Sama-:a and GallJee.
These surface surveys and CAREFUL in
Vestigation OF the names Of towns and
localities surviving il the mouths OF the