WONDERS OF ANCIENT AFRICA

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 124, 12 October 1912, Page 1 (Supplement)

WONDERS OF ANCIENT AFRICA

SPLENDORS OF BARBARIC MOX ARCHY UNEARTHED.

Interesting details have been received of the remarkable discoveries made by Professor Garstang during his recent excavations among the ancient sites in Turkey and the Soudan at the head of the Hittite Expedition of the University of Liverpool. "The expedition first set to work," said the Professor, •"upon a large mound which was 160 ft high and some 500 ft across. Near the surface were found splendid fortifications of Seleucid origin, and lower down the Roman and Greek periods weve represented'. One Roman building, complete except for its roof, was uncovered, and at a depth of 16 to 20 feet Hittite remains were just reached. Even 40ft below the surface Hittite buildings were discovered, the latter being about 1500 8.C., while those at the higher level were about 600 B.C.

"In the lower hundred feet of the niomul it was only possible to probe, but we came to the conclusion that the mound probably represented the accumulation of several thousand years at least. The Hittite houses of the 18th dynasty which were unearthed had been obviously destroyed by fire, suggesting that the place had been carried by assault, possibly by an expedition of the Pharaohs. In the diggings we could clearly trace wooden verandahs and roofs which had fallen between the still remaining walls and trenches."

While at Marash the party's absence from camp led to a rumor that they had been massacred, and the Turkish Government despatched ' a relief force, which happily found them alive and well. At Meroe, tlie ancient capital of Ethiopia, two special discoveries were made, one a small Roman temple and the other th« Eoyal Baths, attached to one of the palaces. There were also found considerable pieces of statuary of varied character which in olden times adorned corridors, and these works are of the greatest interest and contribute a unique source of information concerning the splendors of that ancient barbaric monarchy in Central Africa.