War Relics Found By Excavators

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 786, 5 October 1929, Page 20

War Relics Found By Excavators

DISCOVERIES IN PALESTINE ON SITE OF BIBLE TOWN A number of identification discs, by British troops who served in Palestine during the war were included in a remarkable exhibition of antiquities at University College, London, recently. Sir Flinders Petrie, the famous archaeologist, found them when excavating at Tell Fara, the Beth-pelet of the Bible, and intends offering them to the relatives of their former owners, ' if the latter are no longer alive. Important discoveries, which may j further establish the accuracy of the ! Bible, have also been made. “It is possible, of course,” Sir Flinders told “The Daily Chronicle,” “that the owners of the identity discs are happily still alive, in which case I j shall be pleased to restore the discs to them. “If not, I will as readily pass them on to the relatives. “We found besides the identification discs a shell, many cartridges, badges, signallers' forms, tools and a survey- j or’s compass. “There were, too, some forgeries of Egyptian antiquities, which I imagine had been bought by the troops, and from which it may be deducted that they passed through Egypt on their way to Tell Fara. “Lord Allenby visited the exhibition and was particularly interested in the discoveries revealing military operations in Tell Fara hundreds of centuries ago. The plan of fortification and ingenious traps set against the invader interested him very much.” Chance Clue Sir Flinders Petrie spent over four months following up a clue given by the chance discovery of'a piece of pottery in a war trench at Tell Fara two years ago. With an army of 400 native labourers and a few assistants from England, he dug deep into the soil where the stray fragment of pottery lay, and found, built one above i%e other, a Homan fort, of about A.D., 6S; tha great Shishak Wall. 030 8.C.; an Egyptian residence, 1400 B.C. Between the Vespasian fort and the wall of Shishak were the remains of buildings which may have comprised a Greek city, but the difficulty of identifying all that is left prevents Sir Flinders from incautious speculation. / It is definite, however, that this was the site of Beth-pelet. Sir Flinders is strongly of opinion ft was the walled-in town which the spies of Moses saw when they entered tb~ Promised Land. There are also clear indications that Beth-pelet was destroyed by fire, and it is considered as very probable that this was one of the cities Joshua reduced when he “smote cities from Kaileslibarnea even unto Gaza.”