The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-07-26
FOUND PALACE
BUILT BY AHAB
Prof. IReisner Tells Of Discovery Of
Houses Erected for Kings
Of Israel.

George A. Reisner, an Indianapolis boy,
who was graduated from the high
school here In 1886, and has since
made fame as an Egyptologist, Ii In
the city on a visit Of two weeks with
] his sister. He n now Professor OF
Egyptology ut Harvard and curator or
the Egyptian department OF the Bos-
ton Museum OF Fine Arts.
81 went to Egypt In 81" said DR..
Reisner, "as a member Of the inter-
national catalogue commission. be-
gan excavating work In 1899 for Mrs.
Hearst, who gave me the work OF or
ganizing the first Egyptian expedition
Of the University OF California. That
work continued for six years. exca.
waiting number Of sites In Egypt, put
ting In two years ut the royal cemetery
Of Cheops at Gizeh.
The work was then taken over by
the joint expedition of Harvard Uni
versity and the Boston Museum OF
Fine Arts. The result OF this contin-
ued endeavor was 10 build up the most
/ perfect excayating machine In the
field. When the Egyptian government
undertook the task OF excavating the
country above Assuan 1t selected the
Harvard Boston expedition to do that
work. The dam In the Nile at that
point has been raised Il feet and In q
year or so the reservoir will be filled
to that extra height, Then about lbs
miles will be laid under water.
To Recover historic Evidence.
I'VE were set to the task Of guaran-
lteeing to the government that every
scrap OF historic evidence Of any Inn
portance should be recovered. In the
| first elk months we excavated forty
miles OF desert, Sc cemeteries and
| over $4,000 tombs. We recovered q
history of Nubia, which heretofore
was undreamed of. and have published
It In four volumes. which the Egyp-
tian government issued in English last
December. wrote two OF these vol
umes myself.
The second great piece OF work
4 has been the excavation of Samaria.
the capital OF the Northern Kingdom
Of Israel There we uncovered the
magnificent city OF Sebaste. which Is
Greek for Augustus, the Roman EN-
peror, and that name clings to the
| town OF the present day. This was
1.-THE great city OF Herod, and under
meath Herod's city was the Greek town
destroyed by John the Maccabean, 10s
b. c. Underneath that were remnants
luf number OF cities, down TO the
remains OF the city built by the Baby
lonian colonists, settled In the reign
OF Esarhaddon, somewhere about 700
B. G.
( Palace Of the Kings.
Underneath this we made the most
important discovery. Here we found
the palace Of the kings OF Israel The
central part was built by Omri and
4 additions to t. by Ahab, the husband
OF Jezebel, and also by Jereboam me
second. On the floor OF the courtyard
OF the AhAb palace were found frag-
ments Of the royal present sent by
i Osorkon the second Of Egypt to Ahab,
q large alabaster wine Jar. with the
names and titles Of Osorkon and the
i note 20 the cubic contents OF the Jar,
! 81 hin, or about 80 quarts.
y There were scarabs, an ivory han.
die OF mirror. an ivory handle Of a
I dagger, a gold finger ring, with a gold
en- scaal as set, and numerous other
j small articles. On the floor OF the
Icourtyards we also got memoranda that
thad been sent up from the villages
a WIN the uhCDoChkCEb dhu
II wine to the palace. These were writ
ten on odd fragments of postcards and
these memoranda of delivery had been
thrown aside In the courtyard.
j These inscriptions OF the time OF
Ahab are the oldest Hebrew inscrip-
tions known. A very important thing
they showed us--that, contrary to the
usual belief, writing was used In the
villages OF Palestine for the common.
est purposes OF life. They had a
cheap and available writing material.
the ink being OF carbon mixed with
water, and the writer used reed pen.
"The third great piece Of work we
did was the excavation OF the two tenn
pies OF the three pyramids at Gizeh.
This Giseh work has led 90 the reooy-
cry OF eight Of the greatest master
pieces OF Egyptian statuary. all Of the
fourth dynasty--that Is, about $500
B. @. They are portraits, and we now
have the face OF Mycerinus, who built
three pyramids the face OF his wife,
the queen, and of his Inflated son,
Shepses KAT. who was the last OF the
dynasty and appears to have been
murdered by rival claimants to the
Il shall return to Egypt to resume
work next February, and will then
!, probably remain abroad about three
years"