Evening star., 1938-08-22
Science
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found, was rebuilt at least five times,
and each time to last many genera
| tions.
But, he stressed, this early dynastic
period was far from the beginning Of
city life. In the Tigris- -Euphrates
delta recent excavations have shown,
he said it was preceded by two periods.
known respectively as the Jemdet Nasr
and Uruk phases, during which monu-
mental buildings already were being
erected
| Under the remains OF the very an
cient Mesopotamian city OF Erech,
flourishing in the days of Abraham,
German excavators have uncovered
the wall stumps Of gigantic edifice
that had been rebuilt once or twice IN
the Jemdet Nasr period. These walls
in turn rested on the ruins Of just as
imposing building the Red Temple,
veritable cathedral adorned with q
mosaic of clay nails and with friezes
Of stucco beasts.
But Prof Childe said, "the Red
Temple itself was twice remodeled
and was after all only the successor
of still earlier but no less monu-
mental cathedral known. because of
its unusual stone foundations, as the
Limestone Temple. You do not build
!
be built only of mud bricks. This
series Of three prehistoric temples and
their reconstructions must cover sew
eral centuries, during which period
writing was Invented.
so Feet Of Dwellings.
But even in the Limestone Temple
we are dealing with a highly organ
lied urban civilization presupposing
, centuries Of experimentation and de-
velopment. From the floor level Of
this temple the Germans sank a shaft
about so feet deep to virgin soil. 1t
was dug entirely through the debris
of prehistoric dwellings. One can dis
tinguish in the pit wall l8 layers
marked by hearts, floors, stumps of
walls and heaps Of sherds and arti-
facts. I cannot believe that the cuI-
ture represented in the lower levels or
Erech, which has been named the
alUrbaid culture, is later than $500
B. c."
The lower Mesopotamia delta, known
as the fertile crescent" where these
remains are found, is very recent,
geologically, Prof Childe said, and
nobody has suggested that it was the
cradle OF organized food production.
1t is evident. he stressed, that the
alUrbaid farmers who settled on the
freshly emerged land surface there
brought with them from some older
regions a culture which already was
mature.
Clue OF Origin Found.
Only within the past five years. with
excavations in Syria, has there been
any clue as to where they came from,
he said. There at one site have been
found artifacts very similar to those
Of the bottom levels of al'Urbaid cul-
oeAS AZ IA>NAA lNotAiA6 uPoll IuAAo
OF still earlier and highly developed
city culture, known as the Tel Halaf
phase. 1t dates back at least to 5000
B. c. There were monumental cir
cular buildings, cobbled streets, deli
cate and beautifully painted vases.
| ingeniouSly carved stone heads and
stamps already used for sealing prop
erty. The richest house on the site
| appears to have belonged to an artist
| craftsman and there was already for
eign trade as represented by a curious
sea shell, which could have come only
from the far-away Persian Gulf.
The latest excavations have shown,
Prof. Childe said. that this Tel Halaf
culture itself must have flourished for
many generations. Seven successive
building levels have been uncovered
at one site. Buildings in those days
hardly could have been put up for
one or two generations and then torn
down and rebuilt.
Seem to Be Near Bottom.
At the Tel Halaf sites, he pointed
out, the excavators seem to be close
to the bottom of civilization character
lied by living in cities. But at several