EXPLORE BY YEAR
— 1930s —
1932
AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
INCORPORATED IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1921
CONTINUING THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL
RESEARCH IN JERUSALEM, FOUNDED IN 1900
January 4, 1932
Professor Nelson Glueck
Hebrew Union College
Cincinnati, Ohio
Dear Dr. Glueck:
It gives me great pleasure to announce to you that the Executive Committee has unanimously elected you as Director of the School in Jerusalem for the year 1932-33. We are all extremely pleased that there appears to be the likelihood, with the kind consent to your College, that you can accept our call.
You know enough of the School to be acquainted with this work and the duties of the Director, on all which I hope we may have further conference to any extent you may desire. The salary for the year is $5000, along with the right of occupation of the Director’s wing of the School, and a definite sum is also put at his command for hospitality and other necessary expenses falling upon the Director. I will ask the Treasurer to inform you of these terms more precisely.
Your selection gives great satisfaction to Dr. Albright, who, we trust, may become permanent Director in 1933, as you have long been acquainted with his archaeological plans and worked in cooperation with him.
I think I can assure you and Mrs. Glueck of a very happy year in the School, where you must already feel very much at home.
Trusting that you can accept our appointment, and with best wishes for a very happy New Year to you and Mrs. Glueck, I am
Very sincerely yours,
James A. Montgomery
PRESIDENT
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AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
30th April, 1932
Professor Nelson Glueck
Hebrew Union College
Cincinnati, Ohio
Dear Professor Glueck:-
I am glad to report that I have persuaded the Provident Trust Company to issue a letter of credit, as you wished. Perhaps it would be better to have two letters of credit, one for your salary and one for your expense account. This would perhaps help them in charging up the drafts at this end. We can, however, take that up with them later.
In order that there may be no misunderstanding and to satisfy the Trust Company, I am enclosing three copies of a letter to which I shall be glad to have you add your signature. One of these copies is for you, the second is to be returned to me, and the third is to be filed with the Provident Trust Company.
Will you be passing through Philadelphia before June 10th? If so, we can have the arrangements completed before I go to Weston.
With kindest regards,
In haste,
Very sincerely yours,
George A. Barton
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AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
10th May, 1932
Professor Nelson Glueck
Hebrew Union College
Cincinnati, Ohio
Dear Professor Glueck:-
I am happy to say that the Provident Trust Company have arranged to send letters of credit to you at Hebrew Union College for the necessary signatures. This will obviate the necessity of your leaving home a day earlier than you had intended. The only regret that I have in the matter is that we shall not get a glimpse of you in Philadelphia on your way to the steam-ship.
We send you all good wishes for a pleasant voyage and a happy and profitable year in Palestine for both Mrs. Glueck and yourself.
Very sincerely yours,
George A. Barton
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AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
10th May, 1932
Professor Nelson Glueck
Hebrew Union College
Cincinnati, Ohio
Dear Dr. Glueck:-
In view of letters that have recently reached me, and in order to preclude a misunderstanding, I am writing to say that the appropriation of $5000, in our Budget for 1932-33 for the excavation of Jerash will not be available until the spring of 1933. The excavation should, therefore, not be planned for this autumn but for next spring. It is our desire that Dr. Fisher should be given leisure, after his work at Antioch is completed, to work upon his corpus of pottery, and, if possible, complete it before his work at Jerash is resumed.
I am writing this to you because in a recent letter received from Dr. Burrows there is the assumption that the dig at Jerash will be resumed this autumn, and it is not possible, when our funds come from the Rockefeller Foundation in quarterly installments to supply everybody at the same moment with all the appropriations of the year. As you will be in charge at Jerusalem during the next year, it seems to me wise to supply you well in advance with this information.
With all good wishes, I am,
In haste,
Very sincerely yours,
George A. Barton
[Handwritten note: Dear Dr. Burrows: I enclose copy of [?] I have just [?] to Dr. Fisher. Will you hand it on to Dr. Glueck for his information – I let Dr. Albright see it. -James A. Montgomery]
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May 10, 1932.
My dear Professor Fisher,
I have learned from Professor Barton, the Treasurer, that money will not be in hand to finance the excavation at Jerash in a campaign his fall. This is due to the fact that the budget payments are now coming to us only quarterly and that certain obligations of considerable size have to be met first. It is due to my own delay that I have not earlier advised you.
But this interval which must take place in the work at Jerash can, I trust, be occupied with another lab which has long been in my mind and which I have long wished to urge upon you. This is the matter of the Corpus which you have prospected in the name of the Oriental Institute. I recently wrote to Professor Breasted to ask if original proposition was still in force – namely that the Oriental Institute would publish your Corpus upon its completion. I have just received a reply that the original proposition stands and that he hopes you will soon complete the work. He was very glad that the American Schools were interested in this matter and appreciated our urging it. I told him that we were very interested in the completion of this important work.
I have from time to time spoken to you and to the Director of the School inquiring whether you were making any advance in the completion of the Corpus but the reply has been that you were too occupied with the work of the School and other Institutions which have made use of your services. Now may I ask whether you cannot devote the next half year to this work, resuming again after the spring campaign. Or if you will regard it as necessary, we shall have to consider if you shall not have to devote just a solid year to the work. We should wish to know, however, the definite extent of time which you think you would require in order to accomplish it. Can you inform me on this point? You will recognize how great is our interest in this matter which will be of so great credit to your name and that of the Oriental Institute, although it is not a work of our own School.
It will be necessary, of course, to inform Mr. Horsfield of the lapsing of the work next fall and to obtain his consent to it. No doubt that he will recognize our financial exigencies as he knows Yale at present is not giving anything, and he will permit us to let the work lie over for a year. Of course, a clear understanding should be had with him in this matter.
I am also sending a copy of this letter to Director Burrows and the incoming Director Professor Glueck.
In the meantime, before we again resume work at Jerash, it will be well for both parties at home and abroad to come to some clear understanding in regards to money and staff. Probably you need more expert assistance than you now have. All such matters will have to be considered in advance in connection with our future budgets. It has occurred to me that a competent young man in Hellenistic architecture might be obtained from the School at Athens. There is also Mr. Beidler who has proved himself very capable in our work in northern Iraq and who will be free again next summer, as there will be no campaign there in 1933-34, we understand.
Sincerely yours,
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AMERICAN SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
May 24, 1932
Dear. Dr. Glueck,
At the suggestion of Dr. Montgomery I am sending you a transcription of part of a letter which I received from Professor Hussey under date of April 10. You understand that the officers have done nothing in reference to the suggestions brought further in the letter, as these are the personal suggestions of Dr. Hussey which we are bringing to your attention for your consideration.
Sincerely yours,
George A. Barton
P.S. Bon voyage! And good wishes.
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Professor James A. Montgomery
6806 Greene Street
Germantown, Philadelphia
U.S.A.
August 8, 1932
Dear Dr. Montgomery:
I arrived in Jerusalem June 13, my boat having landed at Jaffa the same day. The voyage over was pleasant and uneventful. At the School I found Dr. and Mrs. Burrows, who were getting ready to leave. Dr. Albright was also here. The first couple of days I spent in extended conversations with Dr. Burrows about the affairs of the School. The excavations at Tell Beit-Mirsim beginning, I joined Dr. Albright there, and spent a month with him and Dr. Kyle. I came up to Jerusalem about once a week to put further questions to Dr. Burrows, and to see if my presence was necessary. With the exception of the Burrows, no one was resident in the School, except members of the Tell Beit-Mirsim staff, who came up occasionally for a day or two. The Burrows left June 29, and as the Summer School was not to arrive till July 23, I spend most of the intervening time at Tell Beit-Mirsim. This is my third campaign with Dr. Albright, and I felt that I wanted to get as much experience as possible working with him, in addition to my natural interest in the excavations at Tell Beit Mirsim. Dr. Albright will undoubtedly have written you about the progress of the excavations.
Before leaving, Dr. Burrows had engaged a new housekeeper, on a half-time basis, and had agreed to pay her ten pounds a month. She is Mrs. Beaumont, formerly of the American Colony, who now runs a Pension of her own. She has been in the country for years and is an experienced housekeeper. In as much however as she does not care to keep the hostel accounts, and is here only half a day, I think that I shall reduce her salary to six or seven pounds a month. The former housekeeper stayed here all day long, -which is much more preferable-, and kept the hostel accounts, and received ten pounds a month.
I found that a number of things had to be done immediately for the buildings here. The dormitory-rooms had to be whitewashed. That has been done, and as soon as the summer-school is over, all the dressers and tables will have to be gone over. They haven’t had any treatment for years, and are beginning to look shoddy. I am also having two barred-doors put in the Director’s house. I am continuing the lining of the sides of our road-way with stones, which Dr. Burrows started. The stones for this purpose are being taken from the interesting excavations, which Dr. Burrows conducted in our back-yard. Something is wrong with our cess-pool. It should be emptied at the most once a year, but as a matter of fact, we find that it has to be emptied once a year, but as a matter of fact, we find that it has to be emptied once every few months, at the cost of seven pounds each time. I have consulted Dr. Albright, and as soon as I can get the necessary advice of the Public Health Department here, I shall have an addition to the cess-pool made, or a second one dug. The stones for the construction of the cess-pool can also be taken from the excavations.
July 23 the Summer School arrived led by Dr. Jackson. There are twenty students. They are all ministers and teachers of religious education or Bible. The group this year is a very serious, studious one, and according to Dr. Jackson, the finest he has ever brought over here. They leave here Wednesday morning, and are going to Egypt for a few days. I shall have lectured to them for twenty two hours on the cultural history and archaeology of Palestine down throughout the Maccabean period. Dr. Robinson, at my invitation, gave one lecture on Petra. I am enclosing a list of names of the Summer-School participants. I should like to suggest that an effort be made to have the various institutions which they represent become affiliated with the American Schools of Oriental Research. Several of the members of the Summer School have already made enquiries with regard to the possibility of their institutions becoming supporting members of our School, as the result of my explaining one morning to the members of the Summer School the purpose and needs of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Not only have I lectured to the Summer School but I have accompanied them on trips to Tell Beit-Mirsim, Jerash, etc..
You may have herd that there is a serious water shortage in Jerusalem. We get city-water pumped into our tanks only once a week. Our cistern supply is also quite low. I was compelled therefore, although I hated to do it, to lock up the shower-and bath-rooms here after the advent of the Summer-School party. We frequently have to send Arabs away, who come here begging for water. I should love to give it to them, but our cistern supply would be exhausted in a jiffy, and our city-water supply lasts us only a couple of days anyway. The members of the Summer School have been good sports about the matter. They are furnished with sufficient water to sponge off with. A couple of weeks ago, I found that Arabs were coming into the back corridors of our buildings, where there are some unenclosed faucets, and stealing water. The gardener used to draw water from these faucets, and stealing water. The gardener used to draw water from these faucets for the garden. I had little metal boxes made, which could be locked over these faucets. I have also had to instruct the gardener not to use good clean water for the garden, with the result that the grass which the McCowns raised with great effort is dying. We have one cistern filled with dirty water, which is being devoted to the garden.
I have been trying to find out what the average costs for food, and other items were last year, to serve as a check for me this year; but it seems to be an impossible task. The housekeeper last year was perfectly honest, but didn’t keep accurate accounts. However, I am going to find out, even if I have to call in an expert accountant to do so. You will remember that I had spoken to you about whether or not the Director’s family pays its own board bill. I find that Dr. Burrows and I discussed the matter, and agreed that that was a fair procedure, and should be continued. When I find out what the average costs for food, service, everything, respectively, were last year, it may be necessary to raise or lower that figure. It is undoubtedly, however, approximately correct. The figure was obtained by Miss Einsler’s figuring out what she thought the correct amount should be.
We secured permission from the Department of Railways for the Summer-School members to travel on the Palestinian railways for the half-fare. A considerable saving will be affected therefore for them when they leave for Cairo the day after tomorrow. That probably means that hereafter students of the American School can travel on the Palestinian railways at half-fare.
I am going to protest to the Transjordan Government, about the recent ruling, which forces even the members of our School to pay a twenty-five piaster entrance-fee for Jerash. It is particularly annoying in as much as our School is excavating there, and we pay three pounds a month for the Ghaffir, who is supposed to guard the expedition’s houses and property inside them. Mr. Horsfield, the Director of Antiquities of Transjordania, is as much irritated by the new ruling as I, but is powerless to change it.
Dr. McCown and Dr. Burrows have established the precedent of not charging the wives of the members of the Summer School the tuition fee. After Dr. Jackson had told me that he had informed the members of the Summer School that such was the practice, I could not very well demand that the three wives who accompanied their husbands here pay the tuition fee. However, I told him that next year I thought it would be necessary for every member of the Summer School to pay the tuition fee. I discussed the matter later with Dr. Albright, and he too could see no reason why such exemptions should be made.
The permission for exporting, tax-free, the Jerash mosaics to Yale University arrived, so I have been able finally to get them out of the country. They are being shipped through the Joseph P. Albina Agency on the steamer “Excambion”. The Excambion left Jaffa on July 30 and is due to arrive in New York City on August 20. The boxes are being sent collect directly to Yale.
There is only one other matter which I should like to write about. That is the possibility nd desirability of the American School excavating at El Hamme, the sire of the marvelous hot springs next to the Yarmuk, a few miles above where it empties into the Jordan. Dr. Fisher and I have looked the sire over, and are both enthusiastic about it. We went up there at the invitation of the owner, Suleiman Nassif Bey, a very wealthy and cultured Arab, who has bought up the sire. There is a small tell there, on the top of which a remarkable mosaic floor of a synagogue was discovered recently, while soundings were being made to build a police-hut. The Hebrew University has secured the permit to excavate the synagogue. They have no funds, but want me to cooperate, and help raise the money. Nassif Bey does not want the Hebrew University to excavate the rest of the tell or to excavate elsewhere on the premises. The Hebrew University is, however, interested only in the synagogue remains. The tell itself would make a wonderful site for an excavation. It was undoubtedly inhabited from earliest times on. People must have come from far and wide, thousands of years ago already, to bathe in the hot springs. According to Dr. Albright, the tell was occupied in Early Bronze times, to judge from pottery he found there on previous occasions. The site could be excavated down to rock-bottom in a season. The owner would assist us in every way, and the whole excavation I am certain could be done for about 1500-2000 dollars. If Nassif Bey is willing, and I am awaiting a letter from him now, I think ti is a marvelous opportunity, which the American School should seize. I have discussed the matter with Dr. Albright, and he is of the same opinion. He suggested that perhaps the American Schools of Oriental Research could allocate whatever funds are unallocated at present to the excavating of this site. Personally I am most anxious to undertake the excavation.
Dr. Fisher is at Ramallah working on his Corpus. He ought to get it finished this year certainly. He does need considerable secretarial help, and it seems to me that the American Schools might provide him a special fund for the purpose. It also seems just that Dr. Fisher should be given an annual vacation, a month at least, to be taken when his duties and inclinations best permit. I have read with interest the copy of your letter to Professor Fisher, and before the campaign in Jerash that we work out a clear understanding for both parties at home and abroad in regards to money and staff. I have also noted the contents of Miss Hussey’s letter, and will comment on it in my next letter.
It occurs to me that it might have been a good thing for the School here to have had a copy of the slides, which Dr. Burrows had made for the use of the American Schools of Oriental Research back home. In addition it seems to me that we might get a set of slides from each expedition with which we cooperate. They would be splendid for illustrative teaching purposes, and would be useful as a record.
My wife came July 18. She is delighted with the accommodations here, and is fitting in very well into the local life. The Director’s house is almost too grand. It is a magnificent, large, well-built structure, with four bed-rooms and two bath rooms upstairs, and three rooms downstairs. But then you probably know all about the details of the building. It needs more furniture, selver-ware, etc., but those are things which should be gradually acquired, and feeling that next year’s permanent director should be permitted to fit the house according to his fancy, I am disposed to purchase for the house-furnishings only that which is pressingly necessary.
These first couple of weeks at the School have kept me very busy, but soon the rush of callers will subside, and the affairs of the School will be adjusted to an easily manageable routine, and I can devote time to study, particularly after the close of the Summer School. My wife and I are very happy that we can be here this year.
With best thanks for your good wishes,
Sincerely yours,
NG
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Aug 15 1932
Professor James Montgomery
6806 Greene St.,
Germantown, Philadelphia.
Dear Prof. Montgomery,
I had delayed answering your letter about Jerash and the Corpus until I got back to Ramallah and went over the notes and drawings so as to make an approximate estimate of the time required to complete the Corpus. Of course, in a work of this nature which involves so much detailed drawing and the collection of data from various publications, no absolute limits can be set. I am now waiting for the publication of Dr. Albright on Tell Beit Mirsim so as to include his wholly new and valuable pottery material. We shall have to stop with this publication and include any future material in supplements.
After considering the work to be done, I think the work can be completed by the end of April 1933 but this can be done only having assistance on drawing and typing. I am at present making use of Mr. Adib Ishak as typist. He was the secretary of the expedition at Jerash and Antioch. Labib Serial who has always been connected with the expeditions of the School, has been helping me on drawing. Unless other arrangements are made I will have to bear the expense of such assistance. Labib Eff. will, I understand, not be free after the end of this month, no I will have to manage without him. On the other hand there is the possibility of getting Mr Detweiler without salary but at the expense of his living. As I understand the arrangements, he is to receive lodging at the School free in exchange for certain administrative work and is to pay his board out of the money he is to receive as salary next spring when he goes to Jerash.
You may be quite sure I am only too anxious to see the Corpus off my hands, as it has been a very heavy burden on me in every way.
In connection with Jerash we all were very much disappointed at having the work there postponed. We had already made some tentative plans for net season’s excavations, as we understood that the necessary funds had ben appropriated at the last annual meeting. The long cessation of work may entail out losing the trained staff which we had built up, but thus far other expeditions have been making use of them. I think Mr. Horsfield thoroughly understands the financial situation and will stretch the law in our favor.
As regards our staff for next year I strongly recommend having the same group which we had last season, adding Mr. Detweiler as architect. It the budget for Jerash will permit and extra architect like Mr. Beidler will be a very welcome addition to the staff.
Dr. Burrows and Glueck agree with my suggestion that the next seasons work at Jerash should be mainly a collection of drawings and notes on the various buildings exposed. There are many fine buildings waiting for full recording and these would make excellent publications. So long as we have new excavations in progress we have little time to work on these buildings, such as the Zeus Temple, the South Theatre, the walls and gates and many other buildings. If we reduce the local force to one small gang of about 15 laborers, merely to clear out angles of these buildings so that accurate measurements can be taken, we would make out appropriation last much longer and secure much finer results. So long as Yale is not cooperating this next season, there need be no question of objects for division.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) Clarence S. Fisher
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Comments by J.A. Montgomery on Dr. Fisher’s letter of Aug. 15 1932
In the Spring I wrote to Dr. Fisher announcing that there was no money for an Autumn campaign at Jerash and pressing upon him that he apply himself to the completion of his Corpus on Pottery- which as I had learned upon inquiry form Dr. Breasted the Oriental Institute has long been expecting and still is ready to publish. This letter from Dr. Fisher is my first direct information that he has so applied himself to the Corpus.
With regard to his request for assistance on the Corpus I have written to Dr. Breasted was asking whether the Institute will not pay for such extra help, as this cost should hardly fall upon us.
As for the work at Jerash I have long felt that there should be more supervision of it on our part, and especially more long planning ahead. It is impossible at present to know just what is being done and what is going to be done. I have realized that Dr. Fisher should have some competent technical help, for which we should provide. My trouble has been that Dr. Fisher has never presented any itemized statements in the matter. At present we have no budget item for such extra expense.
I do not know of the arrangements made with Mr. Detweiler at the School in Jerusalem. I haven’t gained a high opinion of Mr. Detweiler. On the other hand Mr. Beicler has distinguished himself at our Tell Billah excavations, and he will probably be free in 1933-34.
However I believe that in the matter of such technical assistants the home administration should be consulted. The Thayer Fellowship might be used in this way next year, an architect to be chosen by us- Mr. Detweiler, Mr. Beidler, or whoever it may be, after due inquiry about the candidates. It is most important that we select first-rate men who are prospecting a career, not merely take odd volunteers.
I am sending copies of Dr. Fisher’s letter and of those Comments to Drs. Barton, Burrows, Director Glueck, and to Dr. Kraeling as representing Yale, which is equally responsible with us for the Jerash expedition. We can confer with Dr. Albright upon his return home.
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AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
INCORPORATED IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1921
CONTINUING THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL
RESEARCH IN JERUSALEM, FOUNDED IN 1900
August. 31 1932
Dear Dr. Glueck,
Your letter of the 8th has just come to hand.
In the first place I wish to congratulate and thank you for your very business-like report of conditions- which but corroborates my opinion that we made the right choice in you.
I note your various items. All matters of internal economy we must leave to the Director’s judgment. Some affairs will always contain trouble, e.g. the housekeeper. I trust you can obtain a comfortable arrangement. Also water and cesspools, etc., will give continual concern. Of course our guests cannot expect all the comforts of home.
With regard to our tariffs the question cropped up last year whether with the fall of the pound our costs should not be lowered. But they should not be lowered to any of our own Fellows etc., unless with corresponding lowering of our payments to them.
Your attitude to wives of the Summer School was perfectly correct. I am glad there was such a serious group in the Summer School. I would like to know in what ways it may be improved and be an increasing credit to the School. I think that Dr. Jackson is a capable and right-thinking man. So far he has run it on his own hook and quite successfully. I am afraid that it is somewhat of a burden to the Director, and I would not wish him to be imposed upon.
I trust you and Dr. Albright will pursue the eligibility of el-Hamme as a site for excavation. One objection is that it is in Trans-Jordan, where working conditions are not altogether happy. That Government will have to treat us better is we go farther into its preserves. Also the site is not historically identifiable at present, a point against its commanding initial interest. But we would wish to follow the opinion of the experts. Also we must not too lightly take up new fields until we are through with the old- a mistake too many institutions are doing. Will Dr. Albright hold that he is now through with Tell Beit Mirsim! I would wish to see that job completed before we go to another.
I remind you that our Budget is presented ay the Christmas meeting to go into effect the July following. Will you therefore let us have as early as possible all statements of items which In your judgment should be provided for. Any large think like an excavation must be considered long ahead.
I think I have not written you on two points.
We have Visitor’s Book at the School. The object was that we might follow up our visitors and secure their interest when they return home. But your predecessors have failed to report such names and addresses. It would be well to send home such reports, regularly, say every half-year. Perhaps you could report the names for some time past. We have taken on an Exec.Secretary. Mr. Moon, whose business it will be to follow up all these leads.
Also I have not received from your predecessors, since Dr. Albright’s time, duplicate cards of accessions to the Library. I wish to have the omitted accessions and then the new ones transmitted regularly, so that we may know how the Library stands.
I know what you say about Dr. Fisher. Entre nous he is a very difficult man to conduct business with, and if he finds he has not what he wants it is his own fault. In the Spring I wrote him that we should not work at Jerash in the Autumn and suggested (I could not command) that he take up and finish the Corpus- this I did after conferring with Dr. Breasted and learning that Chicago still stood by their promise to pay for its publication. I have had no answer from Fisher, and your word is the first that he is engaged on the Corpus. I am glad to hear it.
I cannot understand his need for a holiday. He is a man who has his time at his own command. We make actual use of him only for two brief campaigns in the year, and his reports come as he will. In the Spring upon his own wish we “lent” him to Princeton at Antioch, an altruistic act on our part, as he was able to earn more money. We have him the same privilege a year ago in connection with Seffuriyeh. I think he is in a position to take vacation when he wants it.
With regard to assistance for him I have also written him asking him what he needs, but have no reply from him. I have long recognized that he needs more technical assistance at Jerash. In this connection I take up a matter with you. We are planning to change the conditions of our award of the Thayer Fellowship so that it may be given to a scholar who can propose some line of operation be wishes to work out. For instance the Fellowship could be given to an architect or engineer, not necessarily a philologian. If Fisher needs technical assistance next year, we might send out some selected architect. You can advise me about this or any other needs for requirements of the Fellowship, so that we can advertise the conditions of the Fellowship well in advance.
We have to regard as Fisher as a man who cant take care of himself altho he expects other to are for him. And it will be the Director’s task to look after him, jerk him up, and report on his needs to us.
I trust that Mrs. Glueck is entering on her new life with happy auspices. Please give me kindest remembrances to Chancellor Magnes, for whom I have great admiration. I have just received a good letter from Cyrus Gordon. And we have had several short letters from Dr. Albright. – I might say that Dr. Morgenstern and I have been especially interested in reforming the conditions of the Fellowship. He and I feel that that that gift has not resulted in much. It should have produced more “career” men.
I am sending copies of your letter to members of our Boards, and will often do so with your correspondence. Of course I should reserve anything that is in confidence.
With best wishes, Faithfully yours
James A. Montgomery
I had a pleasant visit to Dr. Morgenstern last week at Atlantic City
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AMERICAN SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
Sept. 3 1932
Dear Dr. Glueck,
I enclose copy of letter from Dr. Fisher and of my Comments thereto.
This is the first word I have had from Dr. Fisher since my recommendation to him in the Spring that he take up the Corpus and finish it.
I do not know what arrangements have been made for Detwiler at the School. While Dr. Fisher can choose his local staff, all American members of it should have the approval of the administration here. We shall have to regularize our appointments more carefully. Detwiler should not be given any promises of future employment as yet.
Will you say this to Dr. Fisher (I have only briefly acknowledged his letter): That I have taken up with Dr. Breasted the matter of subsidy for work on his Corpus, which concerns the Institute not us; and that his other propositions will be fully considered by those concerned here. There is no fund at present in our budget for his items. And we should have full information by our Christmas meeting of all plans for Jerash and necessary expenses so that these may be included in the new budget.
Faithfully yours,
James A. Montgomery
P.S. Again, please believe me, we depend particularly upon your advice. According to our rules you are the ranking officer so far as we are concerned in all field work as well as in the School.
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AMERICAN SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
JERUSALEM, PALESTINE
CABLE ADDRESS: MONUMENTS
Sept. 29, 1932.
Professor James A. Montgomery
President
American Schools of Oriental Research
Germantown, Philadelphia.
Dear Dr. Montgomery:
I was glad to receive your letters of Aug. 31 and Sept. 3.
A number of changes have occurred here since I wrote to you last on Aug. 8. In the first place I have dispensed with the services of the housekeeper. She was receiv-ten pounds a month for half time work, and really spend only about a half an hour a day here on the average. Mrs. Beaumont, the housekeeper, was engaged a few weeks before my coming here. She is an excellent woman, but had too many outside interests for an efficient housekeeper. Her primary interest was her own Pension. She had also stipulated that she was not to keep the accounts of the hostel. I found that there was actually very little which she really did for us. So we parted ways, – quite amicably. The secretary keeps the hostel accounts now, – which, I think, a more satisfactory arrangement anyway. I have impressed my wife into service as housekeeper, and her hospital training is standing her in good stead. She arranges the menus, sees that the buildings are kept clean, and checks the linens and other household supplies periodically. Some permanent arrangement will have to be made next year, when Dr. Albright returns.
The apparatus of running the School has been enlarged more than necessary, and I am proceeding to reduce it to its proper proportions. I know that Dr. Albright approves. I have found that the servants had too much free time in the afternoons, so I have given them all the house laundry to do, and let the washwomen go. The School saves about three pounds a month in this way. In our small budget every little sum counts. I propose to spend on books whatever sums I can save through the more economical running of the School.
I wonder if it would not be advisable to insert a notice in the Bulletin, that the School hostel will be glad to provide quarters and board for visiting archaeologists, and all those who are affiliated with scientific institutions. This promises to be a lean year for the hostel.
Professor Cumming and his son arrived Sept. 13. He is a very delightful man, and I am looking forward to a very pleasant year of work with him. His son is pleasing, alert, well brought up lad, who is going to learn much from his stay in Jerusalem. Two of the new students have arrived. Another is to come in a few days. Dr. Stinespring and Mr. Detweiler complete the list of those who will be with us most of the coming year. When the term starts officially next week, I shall send a roster of the students.
I attended a meeting of the Archaeological Advisory Committee recently. Mr. Starkey was given permission to excavate at Tell Duweir. He had been associated formerly Flinders Petrie. The excavations at Shilo have commenced under the direction of Hans Kjaer and Aage Schmidt. We are cooperating with them and have loaned them a good deal of our
equipment. The Tell Beit Mirsim Expedition had borrowed a good deal of equipment from them, so it is a give and take affair I have been going out to Shilo occasionally. I find that all the pottery they had excavated from the lower level they are now working in belonged to the Middle Bronze period, and corresponded to the E level pottery of Tell Beit Mirsim. I am anxious to find out what Pere Vincent and Dr. Fisher will have to say about this pottery. Now that Dr. Albright has gone, they are the only other real pottery experts we have in Palestine. I am afraid, however, that the Shilo expedition will come to an untimely end this season. Inspektor Kjaer has become very ill again, and is now in the hospital, and Dr. Schmidt is not competent enough to direct an excavation. I am going out there tomorrow to have a conference with Dr. Schmidt.
Dr. Albright left for America Sept. 7. He had been staying with us in the Director’s house, and we were sorry to lose his company. It is splendid that he will be able to return as the permanent director of the School. It was a privilege to be able to work under Dr. Albright again this summer, even if only for the first half of the campaign. Dr. Kyle, with his incurable optimism, is already planning another campaign two years hence. I am now attending to the division of the finds made at Tell Beit Mirsim this summer. Mr. Iliffe of the Department of Antiquities spent the morning with me selecting materials for the Museum, and we are to continue the division two days from now.
I wrote to you about a vacation for Dr. fisher at his suggestion. In the light of what you say it does seem superfluous to set aside a fixed time for his vacation, in as much as his time is largely his own anyway. He is still engaged in working on his Corpus, I am happy to say. I shall visit him on my way back from Shilo tomorrow, and tell him that you have taken up the matter of subsidy for work on his Corpus with Dr. Breasted. I note what you say with regard to my duties as ranking officer so far as the School is concerned in a field work, as well as in the School. I assure you that I shall not hesitate to exert authority in Jerash, whenever necessary, and that I shall keep tight hold of the expedition’s purse strings. I suggest that the money for Jerash be sent to the School, – but then I imagine that such has always been the procedure. With regard to the Jerash expedition, which is to be conducted this coming spring, I feel that the work should be limited to the surveying, drawing, photographing, and studying intensively the ruins which are now above ground. In order to facilitate this procedure, it will be necessary to emply about fifteen laborers for the period of the campaign to clear debris from these ruins, to enable the surveyors and architects to do their work properly. Dr. Fisher has presented a budget to me, which I consider impossible. I shall not transmit it to you, because I cannot O.K. it all. He has made provision for his secretary, Adib consider unnecessary for the kind of work to be done at Jerash this coming spring. I had a number of conferences with Dr. Albright about Jerash before he left, and I have also discussed the matter thoroughly with Dr. Stinespring, who is acting as the representative of Yale. We have worked out a budget, which I herewith present to you.
Dr. Fisher has more or less promised Detwiler the job as architect next spring. In my letter to Dr. Barton, written Aug. 20, I wrote at some length about Detweiler. I know that Dr. Albright has favorably impressed with him, and that impression was gained from close observation this summer at Tell Beit Mirsim. Mt own feeling is that he is an excellent young man, and merits encouragement. I have made arrangements with Mr. Detweiler, whereby in exchange for being the night man here, and doing whatever odd jobs I might occasionally ask him to perform, he was to receive his lodgings free. He is to pay for his board at the normal rate. The supposition was that he would be employed at Jerash this spring. By the time you receive this letter, you will, I am sure, have had an opportunity to discuss this matter with Dr. Albright, with whom I had discussed the entire arrangement. I do not know Mr. Beidler. I do know Mr. Detweiler, and should like warmly to recommend that he be given the Thayer Fellowship next year. At the present time Mr. Detweiler is giving Dr. Fisher two days a week on the Corpus. In case the University of Chicago provides Fisher with funds for help on his work, I think that Detweiler should be payed for his services, – in which case I shall make a different arrangement with him here at the School. Detweiler returns every night of theseveral days a week he spends at Ramallah with Fisher, and is thus able to act as our night man without any interruption.
Mr. Hucklesby was the surveyor of the Jerash Expedition last campaign, and appears to be an excellent man. I have looked at his work, and his plans make an excellent man. I have looked at his work, and his plans make an excellent impression. Several competent people have expressed the opinion after seeing the plans, that they are of the highest order.
So much for the present for Jerash. I am having the names in the Visitors’ Book copied, and will forward them to you. I do not think that it will be of much assistance for the purpose of gathering funds for the School. Most of the visitors are professors of various universities, archaeologists, missionaries, and I am sure that all of them are therefore more or less impecunious. I am also sending you the duplicate cards of accessions to the library, which have been gathering here from previous years. The new duplicate cards will be sent regularly.
I was sorry to hear for Dr. Krealing that the Jerash mosaics had arrived in American in an exceedingly damaged condition. I have already taken steps to facilitate the securing of reimbursements from the insurance company for the work necessary to restore the mosaics. The mosaics were packed some time last year. The division of the small objects found at Jerash last campaign is to take place this November. I shall triple pack the share which is allotted to us before sending it to America.
The local branch of the American University Women’s Association, is, with my consent, going to continue the practice begun last year under Burrows, and hold their meetings here.
I am sorry that there will probably not be sufficient funds for El Hamme. Very little will be required. Perhaps after Dr. Albright explains the situation some funds may be found to undertake a small dig there. You see the reason I want to dig there this year is that the Hebrew University has permission to excavate the synagogue, which has been found on top of the little tell there, and I thought that when they were through it would be an excellent opportunity to investigate parts of the rest of the tell. There was an occupation there from Early Bronze times on. Dr. Albright has suggested that perhaps the rest of the Tell Beit Mirsim funds might be allocated to the prosecution of a small dig at Tell El-Hamme. The Hebrew University has no funds whatsoever to dig the synagogue, which has been found on Tell El-Hamme. They have turned to me and asked me to try and help them raise the necessary funds. I have written to Dr. Morgenstern about the matter, and am waiting to hear from him.
El-Hamme has just recently been transferred fromTransjordan to Palestine. one of the reasons I guess is that it is a valuable piece of territory, and perhaps it makes it easier to cope with the intensive hashish smuggling, which is going on in the vicinity. The borders of Palestine, Transjordan, and Syria touch in the immediate neighborhood of El-Hamme.
The water situation has finally been improved- for the present. We get water three times a week now, and so I am permitting the members of the School to take baths again. Sept. 12 we had an intense rain storm. The water flooded the parched ground, and for about fifteen minutes there was a severe hail storm. If I am not mistaken this is the first time in man t years that there has been a rainfall in Jerusalem to early in the year.
With best greetings,
sincerely yours
NG
—
AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
Oct. 18, 1932
Dear Dr. Glueck,
I thank you for your full letter of the 28 Sept. with all its detail and account of work well organized. I thank you because your wise attention to our business greatly relieves my mind. I am sending copies of your letter to our Boards, so that they may be kept fully informed of what is going on.
I must write rather briefly at present. I note your change sin housekeeping. I trust Mrs. Glueck is not taking too much upon her. I fear that next year we shall have to install a housekeeper again. But meanwhile you are doing much more satisfactorily. Your proposed advertising of the Hostel I note. I am glad you like Dr. Cumming. With him and the younger gentlemen you should have pleasant company.
I thank you for looking so closely after the Jerash Expedition. I note your proposed budget. We shall have to consider it with Yale, whose reentrance into the work, I understand, is assured. I am glad you are satisfied with Detweiler. I think that the Thayer Fellowship might well be given to a technical man like that. Dr. Morgenstern and I have been considering whether a large sum might not be devoted to the Fellowship item and then divide it into a greater and a smaller part, one of which might regularly go to a technician.
Dr. Barton thinks he has found some money – some hundreds of dollars – which might be devoted to your plans at el-Hammeh. As you cannot start until the spring, I suppose we can take our time about arranging the matter – referring it to the meeting in December for authorization. I will ask Dr. Barton to inform you, so that you may begin laying your plans. I am relieved to hear that the site has been transferred to Palestine.
I have a file of Am. Journ. Archaeology back to about 1910. I am unloading much of my unnecessary library, and can do without that. Is your field complete? If not I can probably make up missing numbers. The file for some years is now vergriffen due to a fire which destroyed the stock.
Let me know in due time of any requisitions or suggestions which we should act upon at our annual meetings.
I had a very pleasant meeting with Dr. Morgenstern this summer.
With all good wishes and kind regards to Mrs. Glueck,
Faithfully yours,
James A. Montgomery
For several years past the Directors have been good enough to send me a Newsletter covering the archaeological work done in Palestine in the previous year, this coming to me early in the new year so that it may appear identically in the Feb. BULLETIN and also in the contemporary part of A.J.A.
You can tell the kind of material and presentation by reference to earlier BULLETINS. Can you do the same the coming new year? The publication in A.J.A. is of special advantage. Send me two identical copies for my distribution. The Baghdad School does the same thing.
—
October 24, 1932
Rev. Dr. Julian Morgenstern
Hebrew Union College
Cincinati, Ohio
U.S.A.
Dear Dr. Morgenstern:
May Helen and I congratulate you most warmly upon the completion of twenty five years of service at the Hebrew Union College, and may we congratulate Mrs. Morgenstern also, who has endured with you the heat and the burden of the day! It is out hope and prayer that with God’s will the years to come may abound in happiness and blessing to you and to Mrs. Morgenstern and your children, and grandchildren, and that the Hebrew Union College and Judaism may continue to benefit from your labor in the future, even as it has in the past.
I was glad to receive your letter of October 3, and to learn that the outlook for the year at H.U.C. is promising, and that the new students seem to be a very select group. I am very sorry not to be able to participate in this year’s seminar on the war Legislation in Deuteronomy but I shall find out the results next year, or before then if you find time to write about them to me. It is good to know that you are working on you article on the Samaritans again. I hope soon to finish the first draft of the ____ paper.
The work here is going smoothly. There are five Fellows from various American and Canadian universities here, and in addition four others are taking the various courses offered. My two courses on the cultural history of Palestine and the topography of Transjordan are attended by all the students, and about hald of them are taking Dr. Cumming’s courses on the Religion of the Prophets and the Exegesis of the Psalms, for which he uses the English Bible. I have a seminar on the bible, attended by the Two Brothers Fellow from Yale, Dr. Stinespring, and we are reading Trito-Isaiah at the present time. Once a week we make trips to points of archaeological interest, having devoted most of our trips to southern Judaea thus far. Every Tuesday morning we examine sites in or immediately near Jerusalem.
Three servants are now doing the work formerly performed by five in the School, and I dare say, at least as efficiently. In this way alone we have effected savings of twelve and a half pounds a month, – and item not to be sneezed at in our small budget. I am very fortunate in having “a first-class keeper of the Director of the School”. One of the servants has been detached from the School staff to the Director’s house, and we are paying personally her salary, and also her board bill. In a word the School is expending about fifteen pounds less a month for servants, housekeeper, and their upkeep, than in the last couple years.
Hans Kjaer, the director of the Danish expedition at Shilo, died a few weeks ago in the middle of the campaign. Fortunately the particular pieces of ground he had been working on were finished more or less.
I had been in close contact with him, and he had evidently reported to his committee in Denmark about my relationship with him. I received a telegram from Denmark asking me to continue the work, and take over the directorship of the expedition. I then received a long letter from Denmark, asking me to take charge, and advisedly giving me full and absolute authority over against the assistant-director Aage Schmidt, who is not capable of running an expedition. The instructions in the letter which conformed with me own interests was to work in the earlier levels, and try to ascertain when the Israelites came to Shilo. They also telegraphed to the Department of Antiquities proposing my name. In previous personal interviews with the assistant-director, I had agreed to help in any way possible, provided I could take the members of the School with me. I expected to have trouble with Schmidt, who is literally on the sheer edge of madness, and who personally owns a good portion of the site of Shilo. Père Vincent and Professor Alt advised me urgently not to go into the affair as long as Schmidt was on the premises. He is persona non grata with the Department of Antiquities here, and they will not permit him to visit their offices. Some one had to take charge, and in as much as the American School had been cooperating through the loan of equipment, and through my visits, and in as much as I had been expressly requested to carry on in Kjaer’s place, I agreed, and applied for a new permit. It was granted immediately by the Department of Antiquities, but there was a delay in getting it through the office of the High Commissioner. Meanwhile Schmidt was making life miserable for me, by demanding that we begin digging again without a permit. I refused, whereupon he said he would begin anyway. I could not send a policeman, Dr. L.A. Mayer, with whom I kept in close touch, informed me then unofficially, that if any digging was done, I would be held responsible. I immediately sent a special messenger to Shilo, and forbade Schmidt in strong language to do anything till I received the permit and could be present on the site. The day after, last Wednesday, the permit came. I got Dr. Cumming, and we immediately drove out to Shilo. Schmidt met us, and announced that he had decided suddenly not to permit digging in the earlier levels, but despite his former agreement with me to devote all the rest of the time and money to working on a church on the site. That was contrary to my instructions from Denmark, and my own interests and competence. He was going to permit me to dig a ditch here, and a hole there in the part of the hills where Kjaer had been digging, but forbade me to touch this post and that wall, and so on. There were two courses left open to me. One to exercise my authority, have the man thrown off the premises, and work my own way, and in accordance with my instruction. That was impossible, because the man has moral and personal and property rights in Shilo, and he would have gone raving mad, literally insane. The other was to close the dig,- which I regretfully did. I returned to Jerusalem, and discussed the whole matter with the Director of Antiquities. He applauded my action, and unofficially requested me to keep the permit in my name, still the division of the finds previously made had taken place, and till some sort of a report had been written. He said he could not and would not have any dealings with Schmidt. I agreed to retain the permit, and explained clearly to Schmidt that no more digging was to go on this year. Meanwhile I telegraphed to the Danish Committee, and to Dr. Ingholt of the American University of Beirut, who is their representative in Palestine.
Your point of view with regard to cooperation of H.U.C. and H.U. in an archaeological campaign is now also mine. When I told Sukenik
that it was impossible for me to raise the money due to bad conditions in America, he told me that he had succeeded raising the money in Palestine. however, h no longer spoke of cooperation. I was furious, but didn’t say anything to him. I couple of days later, however, Magnes and Schlössinger, were speaking to me again about cooperation in such matters between H.U.C. and H.U.. I told them than that cooperation didn’t mean our furnishing the money and holding the bag, and that on that basis, I for one speaking unofficially, did not care to cooperate any more in joint archaeological undertakings, although I was as ever, deeply interested in the H.U., and would continue to be. Meanwhile at their prodding, Sukenik has written me asking me to cooperate, but the whole matter has left a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak. I can’t join SUkenik now anyway because of the School’s being in session, and it is impossible to drag the entire School all the way up to El-Hamme, – and I am glad to have the excuse.
Last Sunday we gave a big official tea for Dr. Cumming, and it was I believe a nice affair. All the representative scholars, and heads of related institutions were here. The idea that a Jew cannot get along with the Christian scholars and ministers here in Jerusalem, which I hear was an opinion voiced as an objection to my appointment by one of my immediate predecessors, is nonsense. I am on very friendly terms with all of them, and my relations with Mr. Richmond, the Director of Antiquities, and with other members of the Department of Antiquities, are as nice as one could wish them to be. Naturally my relationship with the Jews is a most friendly one. There is no difficulty maintaining the proper balance. The Arab representative on the board of the Palestine Oriental Society, Barghuty Effendi, was also here. And Dr. Canaan, the prominent Syrian Christian-Arab, is cooperating as closely with me as with any of my predecessors. I find no difficulty maintain the proper balance, and the necessary neutrality.
I am returning signed the oclary check which accompanied your letter. Will you please turn it over to Mr. Maximon, as additional repayment on my student-debt. I had written to Mr. Mielziner to send such a check to Mr. Maximon for me, and had also written to him to send one half of the money allotted to me for traveling expenses, namely $700 to me care of my mother-in-law, and to send the other $700 to me in her care sometime towards the end of this academic year. Will you please inquire for me whether this has been done?
With best thanks, and with Helen’s and my very best greetings to you and Mrs. Morgenstern, as ever,
Sincerely yours,
Nelson
—
November 10, 1932
Professor James A. Montgomery
6806 Greene Street
Germantown, Philadelphia
U.S.A.
Dear Dr. Montgomery:
I was glad to receive your letter of October 18, and to learn that some hundreds of dollars have been “found”, which may be devoted to the proposed work at El-Hammeh. Dr. Sukenik is now excavating the synagogue there, and will probably be finished in a couple of weeks. I am taking the School up there this coming week-end on a Galilee trip, and will then make definite plans, about which I shall inform you in my next letter. There is one with which has yet to be regulated. Nassif Bey, the owner of the site, in return for permitting us to dig without charge, and providing us with huts to live in, demands one half of the finds which the Department of Antiquities may leave to us, after they have taken their share. He of course expects that magnificent gold and silver objects will be found. In all events we shall not dig at El-Hammeh till spring.
Thank you very much for your kind offer to complete our file of the American Journal of Archaeology if you have the volumes of 1915, 1916, 1919, and 1922, we should like very much to have them, as they are missing from our file.
In accordance with your request I am now writing the News Letter covering the archaeological work done in Palestine in 1932, and will send it to you about the last week of December or first week of January. Some very important work has been done this year.
The work here at the School is progressing smoothly. Class-work began October 5. The following regular students are residents at the School:
Dr. W.F. Stinespring, the Two Brothers Fellow, attends the classes and participates in the work and trips of the School, but lives outside.
The student-body is an excellent one, and it is gratifying to work with its members in collaboration with Dr. Cumming. We are, among other things, taking advantage of the splendid sherd collections, selected by Dr. Albright, which are in our School museum, to make an intensive study of Palestinian pottery. We are using for text-book Dr. Albright’s recently published book on the pottery of Tell Beit Mirsim, which appeared
in the Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Vol. XII, and plates of Dr. Fisher’s Corpus which he has generously placed at our disposal. I am happy to report that Dr. Fisher’s Corpus is about 80% finished. The School makes a trip once a week to some point of archaeological interest, the trip usually taking the entire day. Once a week, usually Tuesday morning, a trip is made to some place in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem, or to some place in Jerusalem itself. The following trips have been made thus far:
The first inventory of the books in the library, which as been made in 3 years has revealed that a number of books are missing, the whereabouts of which I am now trying to ascertain. Several hundred books had been misplaced. I have now instructed the secretary to make a periodic inventory.
October 16 my wife and I gave a tea for Dr. Cumming, attended by most of the archaeologists and other scholars in town. All groups were invited, and it was a pleasant function. The new Director’s House lends itself admirably for just such affairs.
The household is running smoothly. The reduced staff of three servants is functioning as well as when five people were working the School. I am very fortunate in having “a first-class keeper of the Director of the School”, as Dr. Morgenstern put it in a recent letter to me. One of the servants has been detached from the School staff to the Director’s house, and we are paying personally her salary and her board-bill. In a word the School is expending about 15 pounds a month less for servants, housekeeper, and their maintenance, than in the last couple of years. Even so, with the small number of people living here, I shall be happy if at the end of the academic year the hostel shows no losses. The housekeeper’s salary has always been paid from the School account anyway, not from the Hostel account.
The new addition to the septic-tank has finally been completed, and it will no longer be necessary to have the old one emptied every three months or so, at a cost of seven pounds each time. In reply to a recent request of mine, the Department of Forests and Agriculture has informed me that 150 pines and cypresses will be placed at the disposal of the School sometime in December, to be planted in the School grounds.
Inspektor Hans Kjaer, the director of the Danish expedition at Shilo, died suddenly September 29. It was the result of a violent dysentery, coupled with e very weak heart, and a worn out body. The fear I expressed in my last letter to you about the possibility of the excavations at Shilo coming to an untimely end this season because of Kjaer’s illness, was all too well founded. He was a lovely gentleman, whose loss is deeply felt by those of us who came in contact with him, and by all the scholarly world. I had been in close contact with him, and he has evidently reported to his committee in Denmark about the interest of the American School in his work. I received a telegram, and then a long letter from Dean Ussing in Denmark, asking me to carry on in his place and take over the directorship of the expedition. I am appending a copy of the letter, which speaks for itself. The instructions I received, which conformed with my own interests, was to work in the earlier levels, and ascertain when Shilo was first inhabited, and when the Israelites came there. Dean Ussing telegraphed to the Department of Antiquities proposing my name as director of the Shilo expedition. The permit was granted, and was, after some delay in getting it through the High Commissioner’s office, turned over to me. I had been having, meanwhile, all sorts of difficulties with the assistant director, Dr. Aage Schmidt, whose ideas about how the excavations were to proceed did not at all coincide with mine. We finally agreed upon a plan. On the day, however, when Dr. Cumming and I drove out to Shilo with the permit, we were met by Dr. Schmidt, who told us that he no longer intended to abide by the plan and dig in the earlier levels, but desired to work on a church on the site, despite Père Vincent’s judgment that the church was not worth exposing. That was contrary to my instructions from Denmark, and to my interests and competence. Dr. Schmidt was going to permit me to dig a ditch here, and a hole there, but forbade me to touch this spot and that wall, and so on. There were two courses left open to me. One was to exercise my authority, have Dr. Schmidt thrown off the premises, and work my own way, and in accordance with my instructions. That was impossible, because he has moral and personal and property rights in Shilo. The other was to close the dig,- which I regretfully did. I returned to Jerusalem, and discussed the whole matter with the Director of Antiquities. He applauded my action, and unofficially requested me to keep the permit in my name, till the division of the finds previously made had taken place, and till some sort of a report had been written. He said he could not and would not have any dealings with Schmidt. I agreed to retain the permit, and explained clearly to Schmidt that no more digging was to go on this year. Meanwhile I telegraphed to the Danish Committee, and to Dr. Ingholt of the American University of Beirut, approved of my actions, and said that if I had gone ahead and dug according to my own judgment, which Fisher and Vincent had agreed with, despite Schmidt, the Danish Committee would have backed me up. All the money has been placed in my name and in Ingholt’s and as soon as the architect at Shilo, Schultz, is finished with the copying of some mosaics there, I shall bring the materials at Shilo here to Jerusalem.
Mr. C. M. Hucklesby, who did the survey work at Jerash last year, came to me last month, and asked to be permitted to continue this year, and immediately because from March on he is engaged to work again on the Government survey of T.J.. I discussed the matter thoroughly with Stinespring and Fisher, and having received Fisher’s and Detweiler’s opinion with regard to his previous work, have made the following arrangements with him. I am giving him five pounds a month of expense money, and am permitting him to hire two men to help him at not more than ten piasters a day. The five pounds are to be deducted from his regular salary, which is to be paid him whenever the Jerash expedition begins. He is living in the expedition building in Jerash, and is making very satisfactory progress in the work of surveying. Mr. Horsfield is in touch with him.
With cordial greetings,
Sincerely yours,
—
AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
INCORPORATED IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1921
CONTINUING THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL
RESEARCH IN JERUSALEM, FOUNDED IN 1900
Dec. 1 1932
Dear Director Glüeck,
I thank you for your very interesting letter of Nov 10, with its full account of your many doings I at once decided to have copies sent to all members of our Boards, and our Exec. Sec. Mr. Moon thought it well to send copies to all members of the Corporation, so you see that your news is well spread abroad.
One business I wish to speak of first. A month ago I had a cable from Dr. Fisher asking for leave of absence for Antioch next March to June. I could not come to a decision about this with our Yale colleagues by correspondence and it was necessary to call a joint meeting, with after much delay was held in New York last Friday. At this meeting the leave of absence was duly granted, and I communicated the news by cable at once to Dr. Fisher. He reported in his cable that he had your consent, so we acted on this understanding.
At our meeting we had a very full discussion of the Jerash business, on which more anon, when the two Corporations have acted finally. It was however decided that in Dr. Fisher’s absence you should be in charge, full charge at Jerash. Of course you will wish to consult Dr. Fisher, but in his absence there must be some one definitely in charge on the spot. It appears from what Dr. Albright writes me, that the work can go along perfectly well without Dr. Fisher, and perhaps better, as he had some very expensive plans in
his head, and the work should now be confined to his superficies of the area, its mapping out, etc. We also provisionally approved of the Budget which it appears that you, Dr. Albright and Dr. Stinespring had worked over last summer. I fear that his duty will be a heavy burden for you, I trust not too heavy. It is understood by us that you are absolute master, have charge of the full organization, and can appoint your lieutenants, as you will.
I enclose copy of my letter to Dr. Fisher.
We recognize that this duty will deter you from the dig at Tell Hameh. Would it be possible for you to undertake this next summer, if we have the money?
Now to take up the items of your letter.
I have picked out the copied of AJA you desired, and they will be forwarded to you via the International Service of the Smithsonian Institute.
I shall be glad indeed to have the useful News Letter.
I note your list of students. You have an excellent man in Dr. Stinespring. I have suggested that he be given the Thayer Fellowship next year, so he may continue with the School, a suggestion generally approved. I have suggested that with our young architects we should have an architectural Fellowship, if we are paying for one. If you so nominated him, we might so appoint Mr. Detweiler. I am very much concerned to obtain the best type of young architects, and believe we should consult with the Schools of Architecture in order to discover the most promising men, and those who desire to make a career in our field.
The Library seems to have suffered the usual fate of losses. You may have to curtail the privileges of visitors.
I am glad to know of your economical and successful management of the household. I regret that so much much domestic duty must fall upon the Director.
We congratulate you upon the honor the Danish Expedition did you – most complimentary. I regret the causes that caused you to drop out. It all indicates kindliest international feeling.
You speak of Mr. Hucklesby – I suppose he will be a competent man to add to your staff. As I have said we must leave the manning of the staff entirely in your hands. It is most necessary that we build up for the Jerash a competent staff. We must not be in the condition of having to rely on Fisher alone, and after all we cannot expect to have him always with us.
With all good wishes, and thanking you for all you are doing for us,
Faithfully yours,
James A. Montgomery
—
Dec. 1 1932
Dear Dr. Fisher,
I duly received your cable of Nov. 1. I could not answer it at once as I had to consult our colleagues at Yale about it first. I was not able to reach any final decision by correspondence and it proved necessary to call a joint meeting of both paries. This could not be arranged for until last Friday, when we had a full and satisfactory meeting in New York, present for the Schools: Drs. Barton, Burrows and I: for Yale, Profs. Dougherty, Kraeling, Torrey. At this meeting ee fully discussed future plans for Yale.
We approved your request for leave of absence from Jerash next March to June for Antioch. We of the Schools will make a readjustment of your salary from us, no doubt similar to that made last Spring, which will include a rebate of our salary, but leaving you a profit with the other salary. This will be finally decided at our meeting at Christmas.
During your absence we desire Director Glueck to be in charge of the work at Jerash. Will you and he confer together in advance so that he may have the benefit of your plans and experience. I understand that there is a force of workers on hand sufficient for continuing the superficial survey of the ground, and the budget we have provided ought to be sufficient for the purpose and also for extra help. If you need an extra architect I would recommend Mr. Beidler, now at Tell Billah in Iraq, of whom Dr. Speiser speaks
in highest terms. He should be free by March.
Following n a recent inquiry from you with regard to financial assistance for completing your CORPUS I wrote a long time ago to Dr. Breasted asking if he could provide funds for the purpose. I have just heard from him, to the effect that the Oriental Institute is not able to contribute because of the condition of its funds. I trust that you will nevertheless be able to proceed to its final completion. As this is a volume engaged for the Institute if hardly falls within our province to contribute to it.
I am glad to think that Princeton so highly honors your services that it desires your presence again. We are loth to let you go from our own pressing work, which should involve much publication, but we would desire to be of service to Princeton, and also it gives you some financial advantage.
Please excuse the sad state of this typewriting. I find at the last moment that the ribbon has worn out.
With best wishes
Sincerely yours,
J.A.M.
—
Dec. 26, 1932
Dear Dr. Montgomery:
Heartiest holiday greetings. We had a most pleasant Christmas dinner yesterday in the Director’s house, with all of the members of the School present, with the exception of Dr. Cumming and his son, who have gone to Beirut for a few days. Dr. Fisher and his son David joined us, as did several others who are staying at the School during the Christmas holidays.
I was glad to receive your letter of December 1. Dr. Fisher is pleased with the decision of the joint meeting of the representatives of Yale and the American Schools of Oriental Research to grant him leave of absence in order to direct the Princeton dig at Antioch this coming March to June. From every point of view, I think that it was a decision well taken. Dr. Fisher has just decided to give up his house at Ramallah, and come and stay with us at the School. About three weeks ago, Mr. and Mrs. Alan Rowe moved in and for the present are sharing the Director’s house with my wife and me. I shall for the present give Fisher a room in the Annual Professor’s Apartment, and assign him one of the sitting rooms, which can be heated, for a work-room. I want to do everything possible to facilitate the completion of his Corpus, which he ought to finish now in about two months more at the most. Perhaps Dr. Fisher will make his home permanently at the School and take advantage of Dr. Albright’s kind offer to share the Director’s house with him next year. Whenever the Rowes leave I shall ask Dr. Fisher to come over and live in the Director’s house with us.
I shall be happy to take full charge of the work at Jerash, and will of course consult at length with Dr. Fisher in order to get the benefit of his experience and ideas about what ought to be done. However, we are a;; agreed, I believe, that the main work should be devoted to the final mapping and surveying of and planning of the entire site and all the buildings of Jerash. I have noted the contents of your letter to Dr. Fisher, a copt of which you sent me. If necessary I would have postponed the el-Hammeh undertaking in order to be free for the work at Jerash, but the plans for el-Hammeh worked out otherwise than expected anyway. The soundings which we made there recently showed that the Bronze Age levels, in which I was particularly interested, were limited to a very small area in the northeastern part of the mound. I have written a preliminary report of these soundings, and have included it in the Report of 1932 Palestinian archaeology, which I sending to you together with this letter. I am sending a copy to Dr. Albright. He writes me that the report will go directly to Miss Swindler, editor of the AJA, as soon as he has made some excerpts from it for the Bulletin.
I trust that the funds which were to be allocated to the proposed el-Hammeh undertaking, which my soundings have shown to be unnecessary, may be made available later on in the summer, should a feasible small site be determined on, and time and weather permit a small undertaking.
Your idea about the appointment of an architectural fellowship is, I believe, a very excellent one. I should like to nominate Mr. A. Henry Detweiler. His work and character have made a very favorable impression upon me, and I think that the giving him a fellowship for next year, would be a paying investment for American Archaeology in this part of the world. in fact
if Mr. Beidler, of whom Dr. Speiser speaks so well could also be given a fellowship, so much the better. when capable of young men are available, who want to devote themselves to archaeology in the Near East, they should be encouraged in every possible way. I am very glad that the Thayer Fellowship is to be given to Dr. Stinespring again next year. He is indeed an excellent man of much promise.
Thank you very much for the copies of AJA, which you are forwarding to the library.
That the American School is constantly used as a place of study and meeting by archaeologists in the Near East is attested to not only by the constant use made of library by various scholars, but also by the fact that many archaeologists make the School their headquarters when in Jerusalem. Mr. and Mrs. Crowfoot have arrived, and we have had several pleasant meetings together. Mr. and Mrs. Alan Rowe are living here, and Dr. Fisher is about to move in, as already noted above. Several of the members of the Danish expedition stayed here at various times when in Jerusalem. Miss G. Rachel Levy, Miss M.A. Chubb, and Mr. Harold D. Hill, members of the Iraq expedition of the of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicoag stayed here or a few days in the beginning of November en route to Bagdad. We entertained Dr. and Mrs. and Miss Nelson, when they stopped off at Jerusalem some time ago on their way to Luxor. Among other scholars who have called at the American School recently are Mr. and Mrs. G. Horsfield, Mr. H. Felconer, a member of Sir Flinders Petries staff, which is to work at Tell ‘Ajjul, Professor Samuel N. Harper of the University of Chicago, and Professor and Mrs. Brewster of Columbia University. Mrs. Felix Warburg, her son, Mr. Edwin Warburg, and her niece, Miss Gizela Warburg, have visited the School recently.
This being seemingly the only neutral meeting place in Jerusalem, I have permitted the Palestine branch of the Association of University Women to meet here, following the practice initiated by Professor Burrows. They met here December 15 and 19, and are to meet here again on Jan. 4. Mr. Norman Bentwich, the former attorney-general of Palestine, and now the holder of the Chair of International Relations at the Hebrew University, has requested permission to give four lectures here on the subject of the League of Nations, – to which request I gladly acceded. He also have a series of lectures at the School last year.
Mr. H.B. Gray, an English artist, stayed in the expedition house in Jerash for several weeks, with my permission, while engaged in making a series of paintings of the site.
On Nov. 23 the Palestine Oriental Society had its first meeting of the year at the Dominican School. Mr. Crowfoot was elected president. I was made a member of the board of directors.
The terrace in the back of the School has been completed and looks well. Work has been started on the road in the backyard, for which the stones dug up when the new septic tank was made are being used. The dirt dug up is being spread over the gardens, where I am planning to plant 150 trees, in addition to the several hundreds of trees planted by my predecessors.
On Nov 24 we had Thanksgiving Dinner for the School in the Director’s House, with everything from Turkey to cranberry sauce. We are very fortunate in having a most congenial group of serious students, with whom it is a pleasure to work and associate. Dr. Cummings (?) in every possible way in making the School
Several trips were made by the School during the month of November, others planned for being interfered with or prevented by rain. On November 12 we left Jerusalem at 5:00 A.M., and arrived at el-Hammeh about 10:30 A.M. In the morning we examined the extensive ruins of the Roman baths, and the theatre, and were shown the excavations of the synagogue on tell el-hammeh by Dr. E.L. Sukenik, who was just finishing his work there, and who most kindly gave us detailed explanations of his finds. The synagogue had been discovered when soundings were being made on top of the mound for the construction of a police-hut. The synagogue, which faces south, has proven to be especially important, because of Jo Judeao-Aramaic inscriptions. They mention the names of the donors, who contributed various sums towards the construction of the synagogue, and also mention the names of the cities from which they came. Capernaum is mentioned among such towns, this being the first time that its name appears in an inscription of the same period. These inscriptions were part of an interesting mosaic floor, which depicted two lions near the Ark of the Law, and was decorated furthermore with cypress trees, flowers, pomegranates, and geometric symbols in its various panels. A fuller report must be left to Dr. Sukenik, and I have therefore made only a passing reference to it in my archaeological report. In the afternoon Dr. Cumming and the other members of the School party forded the Yarmuk river, and walked up to Umm Qeis, ancient Gadara, and examined the ruins of this Decapolis city. One theatre there is still fairly intact, and is a splendid piece of work. Commanding a wonderful view over the Yarmuk gorge, with the Sea of Gailee visible on a clear day. I had been there a few weeks before with Suleiman Nassif Bey, the concessionaire of the el-Hammeh site, and so I stayed behind in order to examine most thoroughly the mound of el-Hammeh, where I had during my previous visit collected some Early Bronze Age pottery. I picked up quantities of sherds. There were very many Early- and Middle Bronze sherds, and large numbers of Byzantine, Arab, and some Roman sherds. Almost all of the Bronze Age sherds were found in a definitely restricted are on the north-eastern slope. In the late afternoon we all went bathing in the hot-springs. I had visions of digging at el-Hammeh, and bathing in the hot-springs morning, noon, and night. An archaeological paradise. The presence of a leper, bathing in the outlet of one of the springs, called to mind the story in II Kings 5 of the Aramean general, Naaman, who finally accepting Elisha’s counsel, was cured of his leprosy by bathing seven times in the Jordan. The ground of El-Hammeh is honeycombed with channel and sewers leading to and from the various bath houses. A thoroughgoing excavation of the entire site would reveal the complete plan of a large Roman bathing establishment, with public buildings and sport fields of various kinds the soundings which we subsequently made on tell el-Hammeh, as I have pointed out in my preliminary report, which I have included in the archaeological report for 1932, confirmed the contention of Dr. Albright, that it was impossible to identify the Hammat mentioned in Egyptian writings of the thirteenth century B.C. with this Tell el-Hammeh on the Yarmuk, as has been sometimes maintained. We spend the night at el-Hammeh, and started out the next morning for Jericho, via the Jordan valley. We were delayed by the necessity of going to Tiberias to get a new a new tire for one of our cars, in place of one, which had been worn so thin, that it began to blow out about every ten kilometres. We then drove to Beisan, where we stopped to examine tell el-Husn, the site of ancient Beth-shan. At about 1:00 P.M., we arrived at Tell es-Sârem, a fine mound, about four miles south of Beisan. We found some Middle Bronze sherds there, and larger number of Late Bronze and Early Iron sherds in approximately equal amounts, a few Iron III and Hellenistic pieces, and a couple of early Arab sherds. A numbe of flints were also found. A mile and a hald farther south we examined Tell -et-Tom, a curious double mound, sometimes called Tell el-Hamra, where we also found some M B sherds, and larger amounts of LB and EII sherds. About five miles still farther south lies the large mound of Tell-el-Hammeh, where we found sherds corresponding to those of the two previously mentioned tulul. On all three mounds we found quantities of LB band-painted ware. Dr. Albright identifies the Hammat, which appears in the lists of Sethos I with this Tell el-Hammeh. This identification seems very likely, while, as we have already noted, that proposed with Tell el-Hammeh on the Yarmuk is impossible, because while we found quantities of Early and Middle Bronze sherds there, not a single Late Bronze sherd was discovered. By the time we got through examining this Tell el-Hammeh in the Jordan Valley it was getting on in the afternoon, so without being able to stop and examine any of the other interesting mounds along our route we had to make straight for Jericho. Night fell before we arrived there, and then a swift drive up through the hills, and we arrived in Jerusalem in time for dinner.
On Nov. 15, Dr. Cumming and the members of the School drove to Bethlehem, and then walked to the Wadi Khreitun, where they examined the prehistoric caves, in which Monsieur Neuville has made some important discoveries.
On Nov. 21 we started north, but ran into a rain storm near Nablus, and had to turn back. We went to Bethel and then to Ai, before the storm which was coming south caught up to us, and forced us back to Jerusalem.
During the Christmas holidays Dr. Cumming, and most of the members of the School, went to Egypt for a three week stay, and have returned in time to spend Christmas in Jerusalem. Mr. Detweiler, Miss Fuller, my wife and I joined Mr. and Mrs. Horsfield, and Mr. Head, who is Mr. Horsefield’s assistant director of Antiquities in Transjordan, and we made an amazingly interesting and (?) I believe, scientifically important trip lasting ten days through the eastern part of the Transjordan desert. It was a regular expedition, and we had to carry all out food and water regular expedition, and we had to carry all out good and water and gasoline supplies with us. We were accompanied by an armored car, manned by seven soldiers. I shall just sketch the itinerary now, and in my next letter make a fuller report. We started from Jerash, and went northeast to Mafrak. Then we started south and east, finally landing in the Hevel Tubeik, near the Hedjaz border. The itinerary from Mafrak included Qasr el-Hallibat, Hammâm es-Sarrâh, Qasr ‘Amra, Qasr Azrak, Tuba, Bair Wells, Umm-Shash, Kilweh, Fort Jaeffer, Maan, and Amman. We discovered a new Nabataean siteat Bair Wells, and a completely new settlement at Kilweh, which had hitherto been visited by only one person, namely Captain Glubb of the Arab Legion. At Kilweh we also discovered a hill, covered with carvings of ibexes. The trip was marred on the last day by a serious accident. In order to get through the very heavy sands, in which the cars were constantly sinking, we were forced to put the cars in low gear and then race like the very devil. Mr. Horsfield and his Circassian assistant, Ali, did not hold on tightly and when their hit a bump, they were thrown upwards, and their heads were smashed open on the strut of the car top. Fortunately we had medical supplies along, and more fortunately we had my wife along, who has only one more year to go before completing her medical training. She put two stiches in the Circassian, who suffered more from shock than anything else, and put ten stitches in a terrible head wound, which Mr. Horsfield refused to have treated till Ali had been taken care of. It took us a day form where the accident happened till we got to Fort Jaeffer, and by the next evening we got to Amman, and put Mr. Horsfield in the hospital there. He is now out of danger, thank God, but I am afraid that for a while we was very near the border line.
So much for the present. With best wishes for the New Year,
I am, as ever, most sincerely yours,
Nelson Glueck, Director.
P.S. If there were enough money, the place that should be excavated is Ai. It is important that it be excavated quickly, before some one else, who has it in mind, does it, and spoils it in the same way Jericho is being spoiled.
—
1933
January 30, 1933
Rev. Dr. Julian Morgenstern
Hebrew Union College
Cincinnati, Ohio
U.S.A.
Dear Dr. Morgenstern:
We have been doing many things since I wrote to you last. School here had gone on normally, and I have been doing my best to make this place a center for archeological research to all scholars. Mr. and Mrs. Crowfoot are working here now on their Samaria ivories, Dr. Fisher has taken up his residence here, and I have assigned him a large-working room, where he is busy completing his Corpus on Palestinian Pottery. Mr. and Mrs. Rowe have been living with us in the Director’s house, where I also gave him a good room to work in. he is writing up his excavations in Meidun. Numerous other scholars drop in from time to time, and we exchange information.
We have made a number of interesting trips recently. One was to El-Hammeh on the Yarmuk river, and then down the Jordan valley to Jericho and up to Jerusalem. We examined a number of tulul in the Jordan Valley, and confirmed the fact which Albright had already established, that there was practically no Iron Age occupation. The pottery examined extended from the Early Bronze to Late Bronze, and from Hellenistic to Arabic, but the intervening Iron Age period was conspicuous by its absence. The Jordan Valley seems then to have had no permanent settlements during the Israelite periods.
I returned to El-Hammeh then about the end of November, and made some soundings. They showed that the Bronze Age levels in which I was particularly interested were limited to a very smell area on the northeastern part of the mound. I am enclosing a copy of the preliminary report, which I have included in my article on the 1932 Palestinian Archaeology, which is to appear, I believe, in the American Journal of Archaeology I am preparing a fuller report to be published in the B.A.S.O.R. or in the A.A.S.O.R. El-Hammeh is situated in the Yarmuk Valley, at the point below Umm-Qeis, where the frontiers of Palestine, Transjordan and Syria converge. Roman, Byzantine, and early Arab sherds had previously been found on all the slopes and on the top surface of the mound. A large number of early Bronze sherds and early Middle Bronze sherds had been found on the northeastern slope, -most of them in a definitely restricted area. All of the soundings, with the exception of one, revealed only Byzantine sherds and marble facings, a few Roman sherds, and a Roman bowl, – the latter found near the surface. The Roman sherds were undoubtedly brought up from the ruins of the extensive Roman bathing establishment below the mound. In one sounding, however, immediately above the area on the northeastern slope of the mound, where most of the Early Bronze and Middle Bronze Age sherds had been picked up, a rich pocket of very interesting sherds from these periods was found. Dr. Albright, who had previously picked up such sherds at Tell el-Hammeh, had pointed out their similarity to sherds gathered by him at Beth-yerah, which are now stored in the museum of the American School of Oriental Research. A few sherds were found in this pocket which may belong to the end of the Middle Bronze Age, but none were found which could be assigned to the Late Bronze Age. This fact confirms the opinion of Albright, that the identification proposed between Tell el-Hammeh and the Egyptian Hammat of the thirteenth century B.C. is impossible. (B.A.S.O.R., Num. 35, p. 12; A.A.S.O.R., Vol. VI, p. 42). A number of the earliest type of ledge-handles were found. Most of the sherds of the early periods belonged to large flat-bottomed storage jars, and were decorated with the “band-slip”, consisting of parallel, vertical, diagonal and latticed bands of brown, red, or orange, on cream of orange slips. Large fragments of beautiful, large, very shallow bowls were found, the outer surface being covered with e rich red haematite slip, continuously burnished.
No traces of house- or city-walls of the early periods were found. The entire Early- and Middle Bronze Age levels had either been completely destroyed and dumped into the Yarmuk river below the southern side of the mound, with some sherds thrown on the northeastern side, or the settlements in these periods may have been limited to a small police-post on the northeastern side of the mound. Such a post was probably established and maintained in the successive phases of the early periods for the protection of visitors to the hot springs, who probably came largely from Beth-yerah on the Sea of Galilee, which lies only about six miles away in a straight line, as Albright point out. (loc. cit). The only settlement which covers the top of the mound is a small Byzantine one. There is no trace of a Roman theatre. It is possible, that under the synagogue-floor, which has been exposed by Dr. Sukenik, Early Bronze and Middle Bronze strata may be found. It is however to be doubted, because soundings a few metres removed from it revealed only Byzantine remains.
During the Christmas holidays most of the School went to Egypt with Dr. Cumming. I took a small party to Transjordan, where we joined the Director of Antiquities of Transjordan, Mr. Horsfield, and his wife, and made a very difficult and fascinating trip through the desert on the eastern border of Transjordan. We discovered a new Nabataean site at Bair Wells, and discovered a prehistoric site at Kilua in the Jebel Tubaiq. A whole hillside was covered with prehistoric carvings of ibices, oxen, etc. We also made the first study of an amazing settlement nearby, which had been visited previously only by Gertrude Bell and Captain Glubb. I am preparing reports on this trip, which will appear in the B.A.S.O.R. The trip was marred on the their last day by a serious accident. The cars had to race to get through the heavy sands, else they would sink into them. Mr. Horsfield’s car hit a hump, he was thrown against the roof of the car, and his head split open to the bone. Thank God we had medical supplies and Helen along. She put ten stiches in his head. We started racing for home then. Two days later we arrived at Amman and delivered him to the hospital. He pulled through finally, but he was very near death.
The executive committee in Denmark of the excavations at Shiloh have written to me asking me to take charge of the spring campaign for them. As you know, I have been appointed director of Jerash, so was compelled to reply in the negative. Anyway I am not anxious to work with Dr. Schmidt again.
I visited the excavations at Jericho the other day in company with Dr. Magnes. The excavations conducted there by Professor Garstang are a classic example of how excavations should not be conducted. I voice not only my own opinion but that of Albright, Vincent Crowfoot, and everyone I have spoken to. I examined his pottery carefully. In order to prove his theory that Jericho was destroyed by the Israelites in 1400, he has ignored the results of pottery dating which have been established with scientific accuracy. All the pottery he has found cannot be dated later than the end of the Middle Bronze 1600 B.C. I saw not a single sherd which could be dated Late Bronze. There were no Cypro-Phoenician white-slip sherds, or any Mycenean ware, which occurs in every site excavated in Palestine only in Late Bronze strata. He may be able to prove his point from future discoveries, but what he has thus far found certainly does not corroborate his theory. Certainly in all other sites excavated in Palestine a major destruction and a complete cultural change in the first cities of the Early Iron Age occur in the middle of the thirteenth century B.C. approximately. If ever times get better, and H.U.C. can find the money, I should like to excavate Ai. It should show the same occupational history as Jericho. It is a wonderful site, and easily accessible from Jerusalem.
Helen and I were deeply saddened by the news of the death of little Regina Englander.
I was sorry to hear that the financial situation of the College is growing worse. We shall simply all have to live on less, if necessary. I am glad to hear that you are getting back to the “Book of the Covenant”. I hope that some may be found to maintain the Annual, even if it be found necessary to skip one every other year.
I was glad to hear that the work at the College was proceeding smoothly, and that the situation in the Collegiate Department gives promise of becoming more satisfactory. Zuckerman was over for tea the other day, and seems to be doing excellent work. I was amazed to see Theodore Cook the other day. He was over for lunch. I have told him to come and see me periodically, which he has promised to do.
The halter around the neck of the camel in the photograph I showed you, was an extremely unusual one. The ordinary halters are usually dirty ropes or rusty chains. This was a fine rope of red and white bands, if I remember correctly. It could well have been the Ruwallah tribe, but I am not certain.
Thank you for taking care of my finances. There seems to be a strong likelihood of my mother-in-law coming out. We will be happy indeed to see her. It is about high time that you and Mrs. Morgenstem came out. Why not come this summer and stay with us. The director’s house is a tremendous place, and we have all kinds of room.
Trusting that you and Mrs. Morgenstem and Jean and Bill and the children are all well, and with warmest greetings to you all, in which Helen joins me, I am, as ever,
Sincerely yours,
Nelson
—
January 30, 1933
Professor James A. Montgomery
6806 Greene Street
Germantown, Philadelphia
U.S.A.
Dear Professor Montgomery:
A hurried note in answer to your letter of January 4, which came with a delayed mail. Thank you and Mrs. Montgomery for your Christmas and new Year greetings.
I am now making plans for Jerash. I have already obtained a memorandum from Dr. Fisher as to what he deems essential by way of architectural drawings, reconstructions, photographs, etc., for a complete publication on the excavations conducted since 1928. I am requesting Mr. Crowfoot and Mr. Horsfield to furnish me with similar memoranda. I propose also to take Mr. Crowfoot and Dr. Fisher to Jerash with me preferably perhaps at separate times, to point out to me on the site itself just what further finishing work should be accomplished. I shall then prepare a plan in accordance with their advice, the budget agreed upon, and the instructions received from America. I desire to do everything possible to facilitate the appearance of the Jerash volume.
In my previous letter I had already suggested Mr. Detweiler’ name for the proposed Fellowship. Our letters probably Cpossed I consulted Dr. Fisher at the time. I have written to Mr. Beidler, and asked him also to join our staff. He seems to be the logical person for the position. In our budget we had made provision for three architects and surveyors.
I was delighted to hear that the Board had appropriated $500 to undertake any small dig I might consider worthwhile. I do not, however, desire to make too definite plans for any small archaeological undertaking until I know hoe much of my time will have to be devoted to Jerash. That must remain my prime consideration. I am anxious to examine a Bronze Age site near Jerash, and if it proves satisfactory, I should like to use the $500 for that purpose I shall inform you as soon as possible.
Thank you for forwarding the four volumes of the American Journal of Archaeology through the Smithsonian Institution. They will probably arrive soon. I shall write a detailed report in a few days about the recent doings of the School and about our Transjordan trip. Mr. Horsfield, I am happy to say, has finally recovered, although he will always have several bad scars.
I shall take care of the Hesperia bill. I had already sent a copy of our Annual to Athens suggesting an exchange with Hesperia.
With cordial greetings,
Sincerely yours,
NG
——
AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
16th February, 1933
Dr. Nelson Glueck
American School of Oriental Research
Jerusalem, Palestine
Dear Professor Glueck:-
Your letter of January 30th reached me this morning. The Provident Trust Company is, I find, willing to issue a letter of credit, and I am asking them to send it to you by registered post at their earliest convenience.
With all good wishes, I am,
In haste,
Very sincerely yours,
George A. Barton
—
April 15, 1933.
Dr. C. C. McCown
Pacific School of Religion
Berkeley, California
Dear Dr. McCown:
I am in receipt of your recent letter with its request for the checking of the various items mentioned. The matter is being attended to, and I hope to send you a full answer next week. Some time ago I took the Greek-Nabataean stone from Jerash to Jerusalem. I got tired of waiting for the permission, which never came. So with the unofficial cognizance of Mr. H., I put it in my car one day and brought it to the Dominicans. I am enclosing the results of their study, which Pere Vincent has turned over to me. I told Pere Vincent how I had gotten possession of the stone, and the dear fellow said that he considered it a very minor sin, indeed a thoroughly justified one, and that he granted me absolution. I have meanwhile returned the stone to Jerash.
I was delighted to read in the last Bulletin that you are returning to the School during 1934-5. Congratulations! I hate to think of leaving. I have thoroughly enjoyed the work here, and hope to return sometime or other in the future.
With cordial greetings to you and Mrs. McCown and your family, I am,
sincerely yours,
NG
—
AMERICAN EXPORT LINES
ON BOARD
S.S. EXCAMBION
May 11, 1933
Dear Dr. Glück:
We are finally on our way back to Naples & Rome, after the worst (?) travel, I think, that I have ever had. It would hardly have been so (?) without the kind hospitality of Mr. Glück and yourself at Jerusalem and Jerash, and Mr. (Moore) & myself are very appreciative (?) of all that once for us in Palestine.
The (ride) to Antioch was highly satisfactory in that respect. At a Jerash dig I will be greater in the future I’m sure.
With kindest regards to Helen Glück, and hoping that you will remember us to the pleasant people or Jerash when you see them. I am
Very sincerely yours,
(C Rillorey)
—
June 14, 1933.
Professor James A. Montgomery
President, American Schools of Oriental Research
6806 Greene St.
Germantown, Philadelphia.
Dear Professor Montgomery:
I was glad to receive your good letter of May 25. The work at Jerash has been proceeding according to plan. By the end of the season, we shall have accomplished everything outlined in my last letter with the exception of the Birketain theatre. Mr. Mueller has been busy for two months on the hippodrome, and has done a very good piece of work. He has to leave for hom unfortunately now, and is taking his plans with him, which he promised to complete as soon as possible, and return to me. You may see him before this letter arrives, in which case he can give you a detailed report of our doings in Jerash. The main corners and lines of the hippodrome have been studied, and wherever necessary excavated, in order to enable a satisfactory understanding of the main features of this structure. Much still remains to be don on it. The most important find was that of the main entrance to the hippodrome, at its northern end, facing the forum. It has been completely cleared, and the room leading into the left as one enters has also been excavated. At a later period it was converted into a bath room. The entire superstructure of the entrance cooridor has been lost, with the exception of a dew pillars which have been recovered. Excavations in the field to the north of the hippodrome would probably bring to light some of the stones belonging to this superstructure. The right wing of the south gate, as one enters the city, and which Fisher did not do, has been excavated, and sufficient material recovered to enable Mr. Detweiler to reconstruct it in his plans. Terraces and walls have been built around all the structures we have examined this year, which have made them more presentable than hitherto, have solved the problem of disposal of debris, and through improving the land have compensated the owners for sections we appropriated for digging or dumping. We have not been compelled to pay for any of the land we have used this year. Our relationships with the Jerash community have been most amicable.
The surface stone sin the Odeum area have also been partly examined. Dr. Stinespring was in charge of this particular bit of work. He succeeded in refinding several inscribed stones, which had been seen and recorded years ago. We have had a very good offer to purchase the land in the Odeum area for six pounds. After consultation with Mr. Horsfield, I have decided to accept the offer because it is an unusually good investment for future campaigns.
On May 26, Mr. Wm. Dickey Merrill, a Harvard graduate in architecture, came to the School, in order to spend some time studying architectural remains in Palestine. I offered him a volunteer job in Jerash. He has been working on the South Tetrapylon, and has been doing very well. Otherwise we would have been unable to get that piece of work done this season. Detweiler is helping him. Mr. Merrill is getting valuable experience, and we are getting valuable service. Jerash could use several such apprentice architects every season. It would be well, I think, to give some young man a special scholarship to study Christian archaeology which as you say has been neglected as have other fields
of young graduate students attached in one way or another with our School, who could interest themselves in special problems and phases of Palestinian archaeology. One for early Christian, another for the Crusade period, and so on, in addition to the earlier fields, which up to now have been mostly emphasized.
We have had a number of visitors recently both at the School and Jerash. Among them may be mentioned Prod. And Mrs. Otto Eisssfeldt, of Halle, Germany, Miss Dixon and Mr. and Mrs. Iliffe, and Mr. Stephan of the Department of Antiquities of Palestine, Prof. and Mrs. G.S. Duncan, Prof. and Mrs. H. J. Cadbury, and Mr. Alan Rowe.
Prof. and Mrs. Cadbury and their children are living now at the School, and are a very pleasant addition to our group here. My wife and I are giving a tea for them tomorrow afternoon to enable them to meet some the Jerusalem community.
I have during the last two months spent a considerably amount of time on the survey of archaeological sites in Transjordan, whenever my duties at the School and at Jerash allowed me to get away. I have also been on one long ten day trip this month, and am planning two more long trips in July. I wish I could stay on after that, but I shall have to be starting home in August. The Department of Antiquities in Transjordan has been exceedingly helpful. Either Mr. Horsfield or his assistant Mr. R. G. Head has accompanied me, and have also sent a soldier along, whose presence eases one over many difficulties in remote places. We have thus far examined eighty eight sites, many of which have never been studied at all, and most of which have never been studied archaeologically. I have brought back bags and bags of most interesting pottery, extending from the Early Bronze Age through the Nabataean period primarily. We have found on new Nabataean site after another, and have planned about twenty Nabataean buildings. I have worked primarily in the uncultivated area from east of the railway as far west as the cultivated strip which runs north and south in western Transjordan. We have secured large quantities of material, which will throw considerable light upon the Transjordan of Bronze Age and Iron Age times, and which will enable a more scientific study than hitherto possible of the route of the exodus. Among the most important Bronze- and Iron Age sites which we have been able to determine as such from clear pottery remains, I may mentionMedeibiyeh, north of the W. Hesa, where we found an ornamented Moabite stone, of the proto-Ionic type similar to that found in the columns at Samariam and of the ornament on the incense burner at Tell Beit Mirsim; El-Lehun overlooking the Mojib, where we found a huge Bronze Age site, with pottery extending from early Bronze to Middle Bronze, in addition to a large Nabataean city built a half a kilometer away; el-Muddeiyineh, with pottery extending from early Middle Bronze to Early Iron. there we spent, on the one site, and entire day. The site is so rich, that after careful examination of the top surface and the slopes of the magnificent tell, which is situated in the W. et-Temed, we found the heads and bodies of half a dozen figurines and animals. One figurine is especially important. It represents a semitic deity or king of a local type. So far as I have been able to establish thus far, it is absolutely unique. I am sending you two photographs of the more intact individual finds from this place. The finely modeled features of the this figurine bespeak the work of a capable artist, and represent a model radiating power and intelligence. The head of another beard-figuring was found nearby, and the torso of an Astarte figurine. The site is perhaps to be identified with Mattanah, as Savignac who had already visited it years ago has suggested. It is a wonderful tell, situated in what is now a barren, desert region, which evidently at one time was cultivated. The tell occupies a commanding position near the head of the wadi, which has a perennial water supply. There are pools of water in the vicinity even now, and by digging a foot deep we struck water. The Israelites must have used this wadi. It would make a wonderful excavation. There is a water supply. A road could be made without much trouble other than throwing stones out of the way, and it is a completely uninhabited site and district. It would, however, be simple to get a sufficient number of workmen for the dig. I should like very much to excavate this site under the auspices of the School.
I shall not try here to describe or name any more of the sites we have visited, nor detail finds made. Dr. Albright has suggested that I put all of the material I shall write up about this survey in the Annual. I shall wait till I see him at the end of this month or beginning of July, and then write to Dr. Burrows about the availability of space in the Annual for this study. Dr. Burrows has already written me asking me to put the Kilwa material in the Annual. I should like very much to do so, particularly if the AJA to which I have sent and article about the finds at Kilwa does not use al of it. I sent them an article to which I affixed also the names of Mr. and Mrs. Horsfield, several of whose suggestions I incorporated, and without whose assistance, I could not have made the trip. In the Sunday New York Times of May 28 I have a short article on Kilwa, and a similar article which I wrote has appeared in the Ill. London News of June 3, which I have to Mr. Horsfield to send to them.
So you see that although I have not as yet received the five hundred dollars allotted to me for this survey, I am actively engaged in spending it. If the money can be sent to me before I leave Palestine, I can straighten the account of this T.J. Survey with the School, from whose funds I have been drawing to defray the expenses. If not, I shall render an account when I pass through Philadelphia about Sept. 15 at the latest. I am glad to report that the hostel surplus for this year will be about three hundred pounds, apart from the surplus left by Dr. Burrows last year. There will be a cooresponding surplus in the School funds.
With cordial greetings,
sincerely yours,
Nelson Glueck, Director.
—
AMERICAN SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
JERUSALEM, PALESTINE
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
CABLE ADDRESS: MONUMENTS
July 2, 1933.
Professor James A. Montgomery
President, American Schools of Oriental Research
6806 Greene St.
Germantown, Philadelphia.
Dear Professor Montgomery:
The Jerash expedition is now over, and we have accomplished everything outlined at the beginning of the season with the exception of the Birketain Theatre. I am enclosing a copy of a letter to Professor Krealing, which describes in more detail our recent doings at Jerash. I paid off the last men yesterday in Jerusalem, some of them having come in on the truck which brought back our camp material to the store rooms here. There are a few more outstanding bills to be paid, and when they are settled, I shall render an accounting of the money spent. It will be necessary for the architects to spend several more weeks working on their plans here in Jerusalem, in addition to Mr. Mueller, who is to complete his plans in Philadelphia.
Dr. Albright arrived on the 29th of June. It is a delight to see him back here again. I am really sorry to leave the School, but I am happy that Dr. Albright has been able to take over the Directorship again. I have learned much from him, and am looking forward to being associated with him in the future in some archaeological work or other in Palestine. We have had many conferences since his return, exchanging news and discussing the affairs of the School. I am sending the detailed accounts of the year to Professor Barton. From the $3500 of the 1932-3 budget placed at my disposal, there is left an unexpended balance of L.P. 303.150. This, together with the balance which unexpended balance of L.P. 638.787, apart from the amount contained in the budget for the coming academic year. I have spent L.P. 162.132 on the library, mostly for new books. A list of the books purchased will be appended to the Annual Report, which I shall send to you in a few days, as soon as it is typed out. The Hostel accounts for the year closing June 15, 1933, show a profit of L.P. 336.511. Added to the balance which Dr. Burrows left me, the Hostel funds, apart form the School funds, show a total unexpended balance of L.P. 588.166.
It has been a fascinatingly interesting year, which has passed by all too quickly. I am greatly indebted to you and to Professor Barton for your unfailing supports and good advice and encouraging kindness. The year has been a rich one in learning an experience for me, and I am glad and proud to have had the opportunity to serve the School. It need hardly be said that I shall be happy to serve the School in any capacity whatsoever also after my return to America. I have had a number of slides made, dealing particularly with my explorations in Transjordan, and I shall be glad to place them at the disposal of the School whenever desirable.
I am making one more trip in connection with the archaeological survey of Transjordan, and then my wide and I will be stating homeward. We shall arrive in New York about the middle of September, and hope to stop off in Philadelphia and see you and Professor Barton before returning to Cincinnati. My address in New York will be care of Mr. Lazarus White, 110 Riverside Drive. Otherwise mail will reach me care of the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati.
Looking forward to seeing you, and with cordial greetings,
sincerely yours,
NG
—
AMERICAN SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
JERUSALEM, PALESTINE
CABLE ADDRESS: MONUMENTS
July 9, 1933.
Professor James A. Montgomery
President, American Schools of Oriental Research
6806 Greene St.
Germantown, Philadelphia.
Dear Professor Montgomery:
I am enclosing a copy of my Annual Report, and am sending today to Professor Barton the annual financial statement. Dr. Albright has written some editorial notes on the copy of the Annual Report I am sending you, so that so far as he is concerned it is ready for publication in the Bulletin at the proper time. We thought it best not to publish in the Bulletin the statement on p.8 of the Annual report of the profit made in the Hostel.
My wife and I gave a tea for Dr. Albright on July 6, in order to re-present him officially to the Jerusalem community. He has now taken charge of the work, and under his capable hands the School is bound to flourish.
I am off again tomorrow on another ten day trip in Transjordan in connection with the archaeological survey I am amking. This time I am going to study the region south of the Wâdī el-Môjib, devoting particular attention to the Bālû’ah district. I have given Dr. Albright a brief report on some of the results of the survey up till now for publication in the forthcoming Bulletin. He has examined the pottery I have collected, and is in substantial agreement with me about the date as are also Pere Vincent and Dr. Fisher. It is beautiful, highly burnished pottery, new in the history of ceramics in this part of the world. the Moabites in the Early Iron Age I had an advanced culture, and were possessed of a keen artistic sense, to judge from their pottery. Acting on Dr. Albright’s suggestion, I have written to Dr. Burrows, asking him for the Annual after next in order to publish the results of this survey. I believe the next Annual is to contain Dr. McCown’s study of the inscriptions of Jerash.
When I return from this trip in Transjordan I shall prepare a brief report of the season at Jerash, and send an accounting of the Jerash funds, which in the financial statement of the School goes only to June 15, 1933.
Looking forward to seeing you in Philadelphia, and with cordial greetings,
sincerely yours,
—
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
PRINCETON NEW JERSEY
Department of Archaeology
July 27, 1933
Dr. Nelson Glueck, Director
American School of Oriental Research
Jerusalem, Palestine
Dear Dr. Glueck:
Thanks very much for your letter regarding photographs of mosaics. I will keep it for the valuable references to Avi-Yonah’s list, and later on, no doubt, I will be sending on some requests for photographs.
It is interesting to hear of the final finds at Jerash. My graduate student who will, I expect, help me in the publication of the Jerash mosaics, has been hard at work while I have been away on the problem of the representation of cities in late antique painting, so we will have that much of a start for the work which I hope to do this winter on the subject.
With cordial greetings to Mrs. Glueck and yourself, and many thanks for the kindness with which we were treated in Palestine,
Sincerely yours,
C R Morey
—
Hebrew Union College
Cincinnati
Oct. 11, 1933.
Dear Dr. Montgomery:
I was glad to hear that Dr. Barton shares your deep interest in my proposed expedition through southern Transjordan this coming spring and summer. Dr. Speiser has also written me an encouraging letter. Dr. Morgenstern is heartily in favor of my going, and he has already planned out the distribution of my classes among my colleagues, who have volunteered to to take my place. I think that I shall be able to go The Board of Governors of the Hebrew Union College meets at the end of this month, and definite action will be taken then.
If these plans materialize, I should like to start the expedition early in February, and spend about four and a half months in the field, and then two months in Jerusalem working up the materials found, if we can get permission, and I think that I can, I should like also to examine the Wadi Sirhan, and parts of western Arabia. During the first part of the trip I should probably make my headquarters in Maan, returning there occasionally for supplies, and in order to do preliminary work on the materials found.
During the months April-July 1933, I was able to cover about one fourth of the territory which I desire to examine. Of course the trips during these months had to be made whenever I could make free intervals between my duties at the School in Jerusalem and at Jerash. Actually, I spent little more than a month in the field, while engaged on the archaeological survey. The various trips made in the course of this survey, plus the costs of very many photographs of places and pottery, the drawing of plans and hundreds of pieces of pottery to scale, plus the use and keeping in repair of the School Ford, totaled an expenditure of about $800. In the coming expedition, I do not believe that it will be necessary to have so much pottery drawn to scale, because I believe I have found most of the new forms. I may be mistaken in that, however, and it is possible that I shall find an entirely different type of pottery in Edom, for instance. I estimate, therefor, that for a period of at least four months in the field, and including the expenditures necessary for the basle working up of the materials found, $2000 will be necessary, to which it would be necessary, to add $600 for my travelling expenses to and from Palestine, and for living at the School in Jerusalem for several months. This estimate totals then $2600, but it depends upon whether or not the School Ford will be available, or whether it may be necessary to hire a car in Palestine, or to purchase a car here. It would be wonderful, if say the Ford or Chevrolet Company would care to give us a six-wheeled truck, or sell us one cheaply. It could then be bought for the School. I wonder if any member of the Board of the American Schools could approach one of the big automobile companies and ask if they are to give the School a car for advertising purposes. However, if that cannot be arranged, I am fairly certain that the School Ford can be put at my disposal, or I can get some sort of a care in Palestine.
I was sorry to hear that the Iraq expedition will be unable to operate this winter because of political troubles in Iraq. I shall be happy to have Dr. Gordon join our expedition whenever possible. Mr. Horsfield intends to accompany me on about half of the trips. He, of course, brings his own car. When he does so, we divide our baggage, and I can make room for a fifth person in the Ford. My party usually consists of Mr. Head, Inspector of Antiquities =, the chauffeur, a soldier, and myself. When the Ford is loaded up with seven of ten days.
My estimate of $2000 for actual expedition expenses is broad on the party of four supplies of gasoline, and water, add food, it becomes physically impossible to get more than four people in the car, when we go out alone. It is only then when Mr. Horsfield comes along with his car, or if a bigger car is placed at my disposal that I can take Dr. Gordon along. I shall be more than glad therefore to have Dr. Gordon accompany me whenever possible, because the more help we have the better it is, and because I already know him and like him. If it is any way possible, I should like very much to attach an architect to our expedition. We are constantly finding new sites, which requires planning, and which will probably never be visited again for years to come. However, to take either one of two additional men along, when Mr. Horsfield does not accompany as in his car, means an extra car in addition to the Ford. The expenditure for the car is one of the chief items in the total expenses. Mr. Head has been doing the planning of the various sites thus far, and does well, but he is not a trained architect. Aside from the question of the additional car, Dr. Gordon can join the expedition, when we go up the Arabah on camels as I plan to do.
With heartiest greetings,
sincerely yours,
NG
—
Prof. N. Glueck
Hebrew Union College
Cincinnati, Ohio
October 13, 1933
Dear Dr. Glueck
I thank you for your let of Oct 10th with its detailed information. I shall take the smaller up with Dr. Barton and Trout that we can [?] rapidly.
Faithfully yours,
A. Montgomery
—
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Nov. 1, 1933.
Dear Dr. Montgomery:
The Board of Governors of the Hebrew Union College has unanimously accepted Dr. Morgenstern’s recommendation, that I be given leave-of-absence for the second semester. My full salary is to be continued. I plan therefor to leave at the end of January, and commence work on the survey about the middle of February.
Naturally, I was delighted to hear that the Bagdad School was prepared to support the proposed expedition, and that if we are able to procure $1000 from the American Council of Learned Societies, there would be a total of $3600 available. I shall be more than glad to have Dr. Gordon become a member of the expedition. It may be advisable to purchase a six wheel truck, instead of using two cars, as I would have to, if more than four people go along on the expedition. I was sorry to hear that political conditions in Irak will make it impossible to continue the work of the Bagdad School there fore the present.
I have already received the application forms from the American Council of Learned Societies, which I am filling out and sending in immediately. I am giving your name, and those of Drs. Barton, Morgenstern, and Albright, as references. I have already written to Dr. Albright.
I cannot tell you how thankful I am to you and Dr. Barton for helping make the proposed survey possible. I am confident that we will find much important material to report on.
Just two days ago, the plans of the various sites we discovered on the recent survey arrived, and I can begin writing them up. I had left them in Jerusalem so that they could be properly drawn on a scale which would fit the pages of the Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Dr. Albright was kind enough to go over them very carefully, and they are now completely ready for publication. The drawings of the pottery found during the survey also arrived recently, and I am now engaged in preparing plates containing various numbers of these drawings. Just today I received word from the railway that the sherds which Dr. Albright sent me recently had arrived. I had left them in Jerusalem, because the draughtemen had not yet finished drawing them to seale. The rest of the sherds I had already brought with me. Thus all the preliminary details are ready for preparing the complete report of the results of the recent survey. To that report I am devoting all my time from now on, and hope, if at all possible, to have it ready before I leave at the end of January.
I hope to be able to spend at least a day in Philadelphia either in December or January, and see you and Dr. Barton there.
With my warmest thanks for your deep interest and encouraging support, I am, as ever,
sincerely yours,
—
Hebrew Union College
Cincinnati
Nov. 8, 1933.
Dear Dr. Montgomery:
I am enclosing a recently written preliminary report on the activities of the last season of excavations of the Jerash expedition. I have sent Dr. Albright a copy for publication in the BASOR, if he cares to use it or has room for it. I am also sending a copy to Dr. Kraeling, and the set of photographs of the main features of the excavations, which I brought with me. Just yesterday, I received a letter from him requesting such a report for presentation to the Yale archaeological committee, together with whatever photographs were available. If Dr. Albright does not publish the report, or uses only part of it, it might be desirable to publish it in the JBL or the AJA. I leave that to the joint Jerash committee. I am not at all sure whether such a preliminary, sketchy report should be published at all.
Sincerely yours,
—
Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Nov. 21, 1933.
Professor James A. Montgomery
President, American Schools of Oriental Research
6806 Greene St.
Germantown, Philadelphia.
Dear Professor Montgomery:
I should be happy to have the report on Jerash which I sent to you, appear in the Bulletin. I certainly agree with you, however, that it should first have the approval of Dr. Albright. I sent Dr. Albright a copy of the report at the same time time that I sent you one, but I doubt whether you can hear from him in time to put the report in the December Bulletin. We did discuss publishing such a report in the December Bulletin, during our conversations in Jerusalem, but I think it would be best to wait till he has seen it. My annual report is to appear in this issue of the Bulletin, I assume.
A few days before I received your letter, I had decided definitely to go east in December with my wife, and attend the meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. I announced a paper on Ancient Moab. I shall be happy therefore to attend whatsoever Committee and Trustee meetings you desire me to attend.
I am greatly perturbed about the fall of the dollar, and am writing to Dr. Barton, asking whether it might not be advisable to change such money is available now into pounds. Even now my estimated budget is awry, because of the radical changes in the value of the dollar abroad.
Thank you very much for your kind card with regard to the article on the finds at Kilwa which appeared in the AJA. Miss Swindler has accepted another article which is to appear in the June issue.
I am thanking also of stopping over in Washington for a day on the way east to attend part of the sessions of the American Institute of Archaeology, which commence prior to the New York Meeting.
My wife and I are looking forward to seeing you and Mrs. Montgomery again. I hope to be able to induce my wife to come east with me, if I can tear her away from medical school. She joins me in warmest remembrances to you and Mrs. Montgomery.
As ever,
sincerely yours,
—
Hebrew Union College
Cincinnati
Nov. 26, 1933.
Dear Dr. Montgomery:
After receiving your letter yesterday, I cabled to Dr. Albright, and asked him to cable to you directly whether or not it would be alright to publish the Jerash report in the December Bulletin. If he is in Jerusalem, I imagine that you will have heard from him before you receive this letter.
It would be excellent to have some of Dr. Stinespring’s photographs of Jerash accompany the report. In the report itself, I have noted a number of places where photographs might be included, giving the filling numbers of the photographs in question. It was not intended that these numbers should be printed, and I should be grateful if you could have some one go through the report and remove them. The photographs, which I had, (and which, I am sure, are the same as those Dr. Stinespring sent you.) I sen(t) to Dr. Krealing recently, in response to a request of his for them.
Thank you very much for the reprint of the additional notes on the Ras Shamra texts.
Cordially yours,
—
Hebrew Union College
Cincinnati
Dec. 20, 1933.
Dear Dr. Montgomery:
I am scheduled to read a paper on Some Newly Discovered Nabataen Sites in Transjordan before the Archaeological Institute of America, in Washington, the first part of the morning session on Thursday, Dec. 28. I am planning then to leave Washington immediately afterwards, arriving in New York the early part of that afternoon, in time for the afternoon sessions of the Society of Biblical Literature, and for whatever committee and trustee meetings you may desire me to attend. Dr. Morgenstern informs me, however, that the time of the committee meetings has been changed to Wednesday, Dec. 27. If my presence at any meetings is desired on Dec. 27, I could be in New York on that day, go to Washington that night, and return to New York the 28th of Dec., in the early part of he afternoon. Otherwise, I shall proceed to Washington on the 27th of Dec., and come to New York as planned the next afternoon.
With heartiest greetings and best wishes to you and Mrs. Montgomery and your family for a merry Christmas and happy New Year in which my wife joins me, I am,
sincerely yours,
1939
Dr. Nelson Glueck
162 Glenmary Ave.
Cincinnati, Ohio
October 19, 1939
Dear Dr. Glueck: We are delighted to hear from you, and hope to have you as a guest for a bit – I trust over the Sunday. We wish we might have also Sitti and “Melchisedek’ the Babe. I have just received your very interesting Newsletter of July 21 – all full of meat. It looks, alas, as if the archaeologists will some day be digging up our ruins. There is no insurance to history beyond the faith and virtue of man. I have just to-day in my Book twice quoted you, once as ‘sagacious’. – I have been thinking that Hiram was also interested in your copper mines, with the decadence of the output from Cyprus.
Our warm remembrances to Mrs. Glueck, Faithfully yours,
A. Montgomery
—
AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
JERUSALEM AND BAGHDAD
15 Fifth St., Bangor, Maine
November 18, 1939
Dr. Nelson Glueck
c/o Professor Arthur Jeffery
Semitic Department
Columbia University
New York, N.Y.
Dear Dr. Glueck:
Greatly to my disappointment, it has not been possible for me to make connection with any one of your lecture appointments in New England, and now, I am looking forward to seeing you at the session of the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis in New York.
In the past, as the Society’s representative on the Official Board of the American Schools, I have been expected to make some report as to the work in Jerusalem and Baghdad, and also as to archaeological activities.
You have been the fountainhead of the past information that I could assemble, and I am most glad that you are to be present on this occasion to make the report.
We shall be having an evening session devoted to the work of the Schools, as usual, and in addition, I hope you will be willing to speak for ten or fifteen minutes to the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis at a well attended session.
It often happens that we only have a select few of our members in the case of the evening given over to the American Schools. However, we can look forward to a goodly number of interested visitors from New York and vicinity at that time.
Very little news seems to be coming from Palestine in these days. At least I fail to find such reports in the papers that are available to me.
We are all rejoicing in your triumphal progress through the country and hope that you are not taxing your strength unduly with such a full program.
With warmest greetings and looking forward with much pleasure to seeing you in the near future, I remain
Faithfully yours,
— 1940s —
1940
University of Toronto
TORONTO, CANADA
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF SEMITICS
October 11, 1940
Dear Dr. Glueck:
I have received a copy of your book, The Other Side of the Jordan, and am delighted with it. It came at a time when I was in the midst of moving and the University term was just beginning. Hence I haven’t had time as yet to read very much of it, but I have been delighted with what I have read and it is easy to see that the rest is just as good. I like the make-up of the book and am glad to see it so well illustrated. You are to be congratulated most heartily on its production. I am sure that it will do a great deal to advance our cause with the public at large.
Now that you have returned home, we will miss your very newsy news-letters. I have enjoyed these so much myself that I have always passed them on to others for their enjoyment and also to get them interested in our work. I was always glad to see the kind things that you were able to say about the British administrative officers. They make a striking contrast with statements by Sprengling, e.g., those in the last number (July 1940) of AJSL, p. 310 toward the bottom. It is strange what a pro-Nazi Sprengling has become, but then he has always an erratic cuss.
It must seem strange to you to be back to the quiet work-a-day life of teaching again after all your exciting experiences in Palestine. And yet must also be a great relief. My heart bleeds for poor old London now, but the spirit of the people remains unbroken.
Sincerely yours,
(Theofile O’neale)
1941
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
PRINCETON NEW JERSEY
Department of Archaeology
November 21, 1941
Dear Dr. Glueck:
I have your letter of November 19th, and called the Graduate School office to see whether you could get a place there. They inform me that there may be a vacancy and asked me to ask you to write to Dean Eisenhart and make an application for a room.
I am delighted you are going to be here the second term and hope you will make plentiful use of the Marquand Library.
With best wishes to Mrs. Glueck and you from both of us,
Sincerely yours,
(C Rillerey)
1945
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
OBERLIN COLLEGE
OBERLIN, OHIO
DEPARTMENT OF OLD TESTAMENT
April 5, 1947
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
HERBERT GORDON MAY
Dear Nelson:
The following is the list of Transjordan cities as I have put them on the O.T. maps for Thomas Nelsons and Sons:
Abel-keramim- Na’ur?
Abel-meholath- Tell el-Maqlub
Abel-shittim- Tell el_hammam
Adam- Tell ed-Damiyeh
Ashtaroth- Tell ‘Ashtarah
Baal-meon- Ma’in
Beth-arbel- Irbid
Beth-gamul- Khirbet ej-Jumeil
Beth-haram- Tell Iktanu
Beth-jeshimoth- Tell el-‘Azeimeh
Beth-nimrah- Tell el-Bleibil
Betonim- Khirbet Batneh
Bezer- Umm el-‘Amad ??
Debir (Lo-debar)-Umm el-Dabar
Edrei- Der’a
Elealeh- -el-‘Al
Ham- Ham
Heshbon- Hesban
Jabesh-gilead- Tell Abu Kharaz and Tell el-Meqbereh
Jahaz- Khirbet et-Teim ??
Jogbehah- Jubeihat
Kamon- Qamm
Karnaim- Sheikh Sa’d
Kedemoth- ez-Za’feran
Kir-hareseth- el-Kerak
Madmen- Khirbet Dimneh
Mahanaim- Tell er-Reheil?
Mattanah- Khirbet el-Medeiyineh?
Medeba- Madeba
Mephaath- Tell ej-Jawah?
Nebo- Khirbet el-Mekhaiyet
Penuel- Telul edh-Dhahab
Rabbah- ‘Amman
Ramath-mizpeh- Khirbet Jel’ad?
Ramoth-gilead- Tell Ramith
Rogelim- Bersinya
Sibmah- Qurn el-Kibsh?
Succoth- Tell Deir’alla
Tabbath- Ras Abu Tabat
Tishbeh- Lisdib
Tob- et-Taiyibeh?
Tophe- et-Tafileh?
Zaphon- Tell el-Qos
Zarethan- Tell es-Sa’idiyeh
Zereth-shahar- Zarat?
Many thanks to you for checking this list, and also for your offer to let me have a copy of your new ms. when it is finished. It is very good of you to take the time and trouble to do all of this.
All best wishes to you.
Cordially yours,
Herbert
—
WEEDFIELD
CENTRE SANDWICH
NEW HAMPSHIRE
August 25, 1945
Dear Dr. Glueck:
So receive a message written in your own hand here in U.S.A. is a notable event, and to read its words of felicitation was a happy surprise. For this remembrance I express my deep appreciation.
I can imagine your great joy in being in your own house once again, but at the same time I am venturing to hope that the challenge of the wonderful opportunities until and the unfinished tasks in Palestine and Transjordan may not fade or remain unanswered! Your letters recording outstanding events and personal experiences are
always read with deep appreciation. They ought to be published some day for their historical value as records of an era in Palestinian Exploration.
With hearty thanks for your felicitations, and with all best wishes for the days come, I remain
Cordially yours,
Warren J. Moulton