New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-03-19
ATTACK ON HILPRECHT.
Imagination ViUid, Says DR.. Peters
IN AsSyrian Dispute.

Declaring that the publication Of tablets alleged
- have come from so-called Temple Library
found 1t N1ppur had become q public scandal, ths
Rev. Dr. John P. Peters. formerly OF Philadelphia
but now Of Columbia University, the rector Of St
Michaei's Church in his controversy with Pho
lessor Hilprecbt. Of The University Of Pennsyl-
vania, made a statement yesterday. He said that
as his name had been connected with the subject
he thought best. for the sake Of accuracy give
TO the public the facts OF which he had cogniZance.
DR.. Peters asserted that Professor Hilprecht had
made statements at variance with known and re-
corded facts. which might be diagnosed case
Of remembrance stimulated by too vivid magma
ton. The doctor said that of the eight specimens
Of every description given by Professor HipTecht
as coming from that library four were positively
identified as found elsewhere. three Of them ten or
eleven years before the library was discovered and
Two Of them not at Nippur at all OF five inscribed
objects. three certainly did not from the
Temple Library and Of the three specimens Of
inscribed tablets given IN the official publications
two were certainly identified not found In the
Temple Library"
Or. Peters asserted that in his publication pro-
Tossing 70 describe the contents of this Temple
Library" Professor HlFprecht has given to the
public, under the name and impress Of the Depart
ment Of archaeology Of the University Of Pennsyl-
vania, specimens falsely labelled and described.
This, Of necessity. declared the doctor. left the
scholarly world in doubt 10 any statement made
by the professor with regard TO this library" and
raised very serious questions as to the efficiency
and honesty of the control of the objects found at
Nippur
Dr.. Peters said, IN part:
The alleged library was discovered five years
ago. Up TO this date no list OF its contents has
peen published, no translations decipherneuts of
any or the tablets found In It have been given to the
P4blc, nor have any students, except Professor
recent hlmselr, been allowed to examine the
labets SAID to have from this so-caled library
IN view of the statements that have been pub
lcy made, and III view Of the examples that have
Deen given OF false publication of tablets alleged
70 have come from the Temple Library" in the in
terests OF science It seems to be absolute
slty that careful investigation of the whole mat
ter of this Temple Library" should be made
Almost equally serious is the matter of the archi-
IecIuTa1 plans and the publication Of these plans.
Inc last expedition was provided with archi-
tects. IN Hilprechts official publications much
emphasis Is laid the work done by those archi-
tects. He himself has presented in his book
building To determine the date Of this latter
building he made use. among other things, Of
alleged coin Of Parthian king found in one of the
br1cks OF the building He does not state precisely
where II was found, and he does not give any cut
OF the coin or any exact statement Of the name
OK the King. No one else seems to have this
Recently one Of the architects OF the expedition
has published in scientific Journal fuller plans
or this building and of the excavations, proving
conclusively that the building must have been in
existence thousand years before the Parthan
period The architect who with Dr. Hilprecht
on the mounds knows nothing of the coin or the
temple In his ofic1al publica tons do not agree
with the text of the same work and do not fit one
with another. The architectural results, far
there stated, seem absolutely impossible.