A Catalogue of the Cyprus Museum, with a Chronicle of Excavations undertaken since the British Occupation, and Introductory Notes on Cypriote Archæology

Abstract

THIS work aspires to be at once a scientific catalogue of, and a handy guide to, the contents of the Cyprus Museum. For the latter purpose it is provided with a flexible cloth binding, for the former it is written in a logical and “scientific” manner, although, by the way, prehistoric archæology is not a science, and never will be one: it is simply a body of disconnected observations, from which one or two more or less probable conclusions can be drawn. The authors deal with an enormous mass of material, and the necessity of compressing this into a portable form has made their book resemble more a collection of transcribed shorthand notes than anything else. These notes, which are only rendered intelligible by reference to headings which themselves have sometimes to be elucidated by further headings, will no doubt be of use to the student of Cyprian archæology, but will hardly be understanded of the casual student tourist who essays to visit the Museum with this book in his hand. What, for instance, will he make of the following (p. 169): “6061–6063. Legs and feet. 6061. Colossal. 6062–6069. Sandalled. 6067. Corkscrew curls and diadem with quatrefoils in relief. 6068–6069. Faces.” He will not at once realise the fact that for the necessary elucidation of these mysterious fragments he must refer back a page or so to the headings: “XI. TAMASSOS,” “B. Statues of deity or votary in native style; colossal, life-size, or smaller: all male,” “a. Terra-cotta; moulded; hollow,” and that similar researches will have to be made whenever he wishes to obtain an intelligible description and explanation of any object which he may be looking at. Only persons with some knowledge of archæology will be able to find their way about this catalogue, and they will often have to complain of the marvellous epigrammatic manner in which many of the objects are described. No. 5569 is described as follows (p. 156): “H. 0.10.” That is all. Nor does the heading “Miscellaneous” lighten our darkness very much. We eventually discover that Nos. 5501–5569 are terra-cottas from Kition, but what kind of miscellaneous terra-cotta No. 5569 is we have not found out yet. And surely such a description as “SILVER VESSELS, & C. 4871–4873. Spoons. Cf. Bibl. Nat. 1635–7.”(p. 139), is insufficient. Other similar instances might be quoted, but at the same time Mr. Myres' descriptions are often full and careful enough; e.g. Nos. 5017, 5048, 5571, or the group 5801–5826.

A Catalogue of the Cyprus Museum, with a Chronicle of Excavations undertaken since the British Occupation, and Introductory Notes on Cypriote Archæology.

By John L. Myres, and Max Ohnefalsch-Richter, Ph.D. Pp. xii + 224. With eight plates. 8vo. (Oxford: at the Clarendon Press, 1899.)