Archaeological News

Abstract

HAL-TARXIEN.-The Excavations of I916-I917.-In Archaeologia, LXVIII, 1916-1917, pp. 263-284 (11 pls.; 22 figs.) T. ZAMMIT reports upon the excavations conducted on the site of the neolithic sanctuary at Hal-Tarxien, Malta, during the year 1916-1917 (see A.J.A. XXI, 1917, pp.339 f.). The approach to the building was cleared and the limits of the ruins to the south and southwest determined. At the main entrance a fine slab with a convex edge served as a doorstep, and on each side of it large stone blocks supported the outer wall and were also probably used as seats for the worshipers. To the west of the main entrance a wide apse was excavated, and beyond that to the north a room with an elaborate altar. The northern end of the main entrance was completely cleared. There is abundant evidence to show that the whole edifice underwent a reconstruction. The northern portion is older than the southern. It is "massive, rude, severe, simpler in its elements and more compact and imposing." The ornaments are fewer, but executed with a firmer hand, the blocks heavier and placed with greater accuracy and the apses wider and better designed. In the southern part the apses are not accurately designed, and the ornaments are elaborate and more vari, J but lack the firmer lines of the older type. The entrance to the first apses of the older building is very imposing, and consists of broad, vertical slat standing on a large flagstone which serves as a threshold. The passage is 17 ft. 6 in. long, and on each side at its inner end a monolith stands on a plinth. Beyond is an oval area 46 ft. long carefully paved with large stones. In the centre is a large stone basin 3 ft. 8 in. in diameter in which a fire was probably kept burning. Two other similar, but smaller oval aioas lie side by side to the north, and in the outer one is another fire basin. The e-cavations are far from complete. To the northeast numerous upright stones are projecting from 1 The departments of Archaeological News and Discussions and of Bibliography of 1rchaeological Books are conducted by Professor BATES, Editor-in-charge, assisted by Professor C. N.

Of Ships and Deer: early Western Mediterranean ship graffiti reappraised

“…While the presence of these particular motifs testifies to the late date of the Third Temple, stratigraphic evidence confirms that this area of the site remained in use after the collapse and the abandonment of the megalithic sanctuary (Bates, : 76). A layer containing Mycenaean artefacts, 1m above the original ground‐level, indicates the re‐use of the temple in the Bronze Age, specifically for burials, which have been found to contain artefacts from the Levant and Mycenae (de Manneville, : 353), and is termed the Tarxien Cemetery phase.…”

Çivi Yazılı Kayıtlardan Antik Yunan Kaynaklarına Efsaneleşen Anadolulu Kral Adı Mita/Midas

“…Eski Frig dilinde yazılmış olan metinlere çoğunlukla Gordion (Yassıhöyük) merkez olmak üzere ve Orta Anadolu'da özellikle Tyana (Tuwanuwa-Kemerhisar) ve Midas Kenti'nden (Yazılıkaya) ulaşılmıştır. Bu merkezler içerisinde Mita/Midas kral adının kayıtlı olduğu en eski örneklerden biri Tyana'dan Eski Frig yazı stilinde kaydedilmiş yedi büyük siyah kaya parçası halinde ele geçirilmiştir 49 . Tyana'dan ulaşılan bazalt stel MÖ 8. yüzyılın son çeyreğine tarihlenmiş ve ilgili stelde (T-02b) Mita/Midas mịdạ olarak kaydedilmiştir 50 .…”