It is now beginning to be possible te assess the importance for the ancient history of the Near East of Sir Leonard Woolley's excavations. in Syria. His last season has material ly added to: our knowledge, states Stanley Casson in the "Manchester Guardian."
Two separate sites were excavated. Both are in the fertile valley of the River Orontes near Antioch. One. called El Mina, is near the mouth of that river, the other, called Atchana. farther inland at a meeting-point of caravan and trade routes. Both sites silke are on the only possible route by which the trade and influences of Mesopotamia can reach the Medit ranean. Both, consequently, show the interaction of East and West and give material evidence to illustrate the many obscure problems that ce cern this interaction. The site of Mina has now proved to be a small port-town and to cover the period 800 to 320 ne. At that latter date it was superseded by the larger and better-built Hellenistic port of Seleucia, and ceased to be occupied. It was used ogam in Crusading times, and a fine group of medieval Byzantine ceramic vessels from this period was found, together with a hoard of silver coins of the Crusading period,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.