Laurel outlook., 1949-04-06
Hageman Elected
Rotary President


having firmly established archae-
ology as a science when in
1870 he found and excavated the
site of the ancient city of Troy,
covered by the hill of Hissarlik
in Asia Minor.
Schliemann's search for Troy
began nearly 100 years ago.
Through 16 suerimposed layers
of successive cities on the same
site he dug to virgin soil. Eighth
from the bottom was that of
Troy.
Although Schliemann contribut-
ed much to making archaeology
a respected and valuable science,
an imortant major contribution
in more recent times was that
by Howard Carter, an American
Psychologist, and Lord Carnar-
Won of England. In November
1922 they discovered in the VAL
ley of the Kings near Luxor the
undespoiled tomb of the ancient
Egyptian emperor, Tutankhamen
of the fourteenth century B. c.,
which is regarded as one of the
most remarkable discoveries in
the history of archaeological re-
search. 1t was the first tomb of
any monarch of the Egyptian
empire period to be found in
tact, virtually as it was left
after the entombment of the en-
peror. Of supreme Importance
was the number, variety and ex-
cellence of the works of art with
which the several chambers were
filled. The value in money ran
into millions, the seaker said;
in scientific value it was not to
be estimated.
Another important discovery
was the now famous Rosetta
Stone, discovered in 1798-99.
which uncorked the meaning Of
hitherto undecipherable hierogly-
phics used by the priests for in
scriptions; the hieratic, used in
writing manuscripts; and the
popular demotic script. A Sec
ton of the stone in known Greek
characters was the key to the
unraveling of the others.
Later, when a building was be-
ing RACED in Cairo, a stone was
found that referred to the exc
dus of the Israelites from Egypt.
Rameses II had caused to be
written, 81 made Israel like a
window" by destroying so many
during the captivity.
Rameses II, Prof. Smith said,
may have been history's first
chiseler-he chiseled out names
on monuments erected to others
and caused his to be inscribed in
their places.
Over in Mesopotamia, now
Iraq, some fantastic things have
been found. Smith seemed to be
particularly delighted with them
and told of having held cunei- /!
form-written clay manuscripts in
his hand-ranging from tax re-
to forcasting the future by
examining the liverS of birds. A
5,000-year-old manuscript or tab
let showed the years income
from provinces, with the grand
total for the kingdom at the
end.
There, the theorem now at
tributed to Pythagoras the Greek
had been forgotten a thousand
years. Moderns are pleased with
their decimal system, using tens;
the old ones had a duo-decimal
method of twelves. "All we
think we do quite we'll is thous-
ands of years old in tradition"
the speaker remarked.
There was the instance of
meticulously and beauti-
fully carved as rolling signets
Or seals, by craftsmen who used
a bronze stylus and powdered grit
IN the much harder agate or
material. A seal took
line to make, and when finished
t was thereafter the personal
of the owner.
Smith once held in his hand
| letter 1000 years old that had
'een written in the, to him, ia
niliar wedge-shaped cuneiform.
Many of the manuscripts still
'ore their unbroken seals, which Il
he archaeologists cracked with
heir light hammers, uncovered
nd read. One was a complaint !
O the chief of police about the I
heft of a pig. The story of !
ienesis and the creation of the I
is almost identical with !
he Christians Old Testament I
ersion. The old hymns are al !
nost identical with the Psalms.
Everything we do is part and !
arcel of the past" Smith con-
luded. !
Visitors at the meeting were
VOrthinptOn Smith and Aubrey !