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N the last chapter of 1. Samuel there
is a battle story. which is consid-
ered to be one of the most thrilling
in all literature. It is the story, told in the
simple language of the Scriptures, which
is the most difficult of all writing. 0! how
King Saul and his sons Went out at the
head of the Israelites to do battle with the
Philistines on the Mount of Gilboa. in
Palestine,
It describes how Saul and his sons
were killed, and how, when the Israelites
had fled in disorder. the Philistines cut
of! the heads of the King and his sons and
carried them to the nearby city of Beth
Shun. There they Were nailed to the walls
of the citadel.
American archaeologists have now suc-
ceeded in-penotrnting through the dust,
the rubbish and the rebuilding of more
than three centuries to the very founda-
tions of these famous ’fortress walls. In a
few years they will have bared everything
that was left intact of the great structures
that stood in Beth-Shah in the days of
Soul. If. :15 seems almost certain, the vic-
torious Philistines set forth on a stone
inscription their account of the battle that
is known to history new only through the
Bible. the explorers will find and decipher
it. for every shovel of earth in a hill now
sixty feet high is to be screened and
learched for relics.
This hill is outwardly all that remains
to—day of Beth Shan. It rises above a plain
surrounded by rolling. hills in the valley
of Megiddo. From its height may be
scanned the whole length of Mount Gilboa
stud of the larger valley at its toot, the most
famous battle ground in the world—the
field of Armageddon. Here more battles
have been (ought than on any other spot
on earth. But the remarkable fact about
these battles is that most of them decided
were some of which changed the course
0! history.
The hill was the site oi the citadel of
the city of Beth-Shun for a known period
of three thousand years. One of the dis-
coveries mode by the American investignv
tors is that it has held this plaice for
nearly four thousand years. For down in
its depths have been found proofs that the
place was occupied by large numbers of
people prior to 1700 B. C. Even at that
only date it was a large city—one of the
most important in Palestine. The trench
which has reached this for into the secrets
of history has not yet struck the virgin
soil.
Dr. Clarence 8. Fisher, curator of the
Egyptian section of the University 0: Penn-
.ytvn‘nin Museum, is the archaeologist in-
ohsrse of this work. Throughout the world
he is noted for his discovery in Egypt of
the Palace of Morneptah and tor his..finds
In the’tornbs of Giseh‘ and Dondcreh. Ids
was the tint explorer to begin work in
Palestine 11mm successful termination
of the world war mode that posoiue. The
omdltion which-hem hooded tor eleven
years in East was matured to the site
or Beth-Shun. nnd;oxcnvntim were. started
in June of 1990.
Tim «new report «what was done dur-
hg therilvesmouths'inrwhidh it is possible
to work in that’climnte. has “attached
mn- country-with photomphs showing the
me ot‘tbe «cautions. 3th is
well below sea. level. 'Its'hot season starts
"In into October. sud than work by white
non is virtually impossible. Accordingly
the work of excavation there was discon-
wetland rssumodntlonphigin Egypt.
ltwillbotsksnupaatnlnmmt
glue.
When work was» m m Ibishmons
kill themlomskaow roughly tbutBeth-
shunhsdboenooowedlornlmercon-.
than“ psrtod skinny other place lathe
paid. ltwss generally believed that it
A view of the ruins of Beth-Shun, ncnr the summit
of Mt. Gilbon, where Soul was Isilled.
these ruins it is believed still Another city once
existed and it soon may also be uncovered.
Benenth
had been the site of nine
diilerent cities. All the
Christian world has looked
forward to the day when
this site might be excavated
along with others in Pales-
tine. Little actual new
knowledge was expected
from the result of the first
year, for archaeological ex-
ploration is necessarily slow.
But the report of Dr.
Fisher shows that Beth-Shun
is even more important than
was supposed. On a mall
section or the top of the hill
there stands today the little _ ’
native village of Beissn. All
around this was barren sand
and gravel. But beneath
that. in some places only a
few inches below the sur-
face. are ruins that may
revolutionize history.
First the explorer come
upon what was evidently a.
pretentious Arab city of
about 630 A. D. Below that
was still another city that
grew and flourished under
the rule of Byzantium.
Delving still further the
diggers found the solid
walls. the huge columns and
the sturdy architecture at
the Romans. When the pov-
ing stones. once trod by the
feet of Roman nobles and
warriors, were taken up Ind the soil be
neoth carried away there was revealed the
unmistakable record of Greek. occupancy—-
classic architecture in stone and pottery
and tiles. g
Here were. four cities that in themselves
will yield‘ when fully uncovered, “whole
volumes of new history. But it was not
long beiore Dr. Fisher discovered mm.
'm inst the beginning of his work. Below
the records at the Greeks he found the
ruins of a Scythian city. Then he cums
upon heterogeneous ruins of Semitic occu-
pancy. and at a level which he places nt
1700 B. C. be found ruins of s city built
by some moons yet unidentified. Wen
probably inhabited Palestine before the
Semites. This Is fluted W‘bc the Oldest
evidenceot human occupancy so furro-
voaled in Palestine. but it does not ex-
“ Cut fiva
HE first cultivator. of trout were
the Chinese. when food consist!
lsrgslrot dish found in fresh water.
The. Romansliuring tho decadence oftho
‘WP‘N 1180 Mood fish come, but it
is really to the monks of the Middle Ages.
who had an m to com; food during
the host or Lint (when my were too
~hidden M), that we owo.the.beginixings
of.” industrrnow muchzdnpronsdum
in Europe. Nevermmaocmntryku
it been carriedtoso highs-degree” in
Harm-whose troutmoy berm
wins from “teen to mat-y mm
_flfl.
I” your. 8. C.
Arm *0“ Wumuirsolé. .a :r: .-.
“cribs W mural whéc'n w; 3.3- ;.
- Whohnidflsmx W117: ;.1-_.
ms: the possibilities of was” for
there is still more excavating‘to be done.
It should honorarium“! that in the present
science of archaeologytnc mistakes of the
post are avoided. When an explorer sets
shout studying buried ruins he uncovers
everything that larlcft. Thisyot cuum
takes time. Dr. Fisher has succeeded in
sending some oi the union coins of the,
Anbnnd of magnum” clues. fie know
~thst he could not hope to move this whole
huge hill in one your, and he wontedwto be
The WM her: a: s4 ..
int-stand m: acid natives” through A.
Thad
On the
us.“-
A only
of Arabs
at work
in the
neighbor-
hood»!
the now
concavi-
than.
evidences of Egyptian oc-
$2.:5I1t‘)‘. Beth—Shnnpbecnuse of
:.s strategic position. was known
as the gateway from Mesopotamia
to Egypt. The conqueror hold-
ing that city could commend Palestine
and threaten both of those other great
countries. Vi’ithout __it he could not. hope
to be a world conqueror. It is said that
the only known instance o! failure to sub-
due all the surrounding country later cap-
turing Baton me that of the Crusaders,
who took the city but could notyndumcs
.boyond it. possibly because they were so
fir @jtrogn M hose or operations.
Onetof the most interesting of the finds
m to the Egyptians moo lay’
‘4:
able to report to the museum on what htJ‘isher woo n hugosstom Stein or the P
might expect to iind in later seasons. So
s. dosp trench ms dug nionponedde of
the hill. tromthd mmmtkehottun.
1;“me for-“the weaning little.
insult-own the- cents-almost in ordn- not
toot-«troy anythingof value. ‘
In addition to the definite (records or
cities enumerated. the explorer also :ound
vision against the mm that sound
of the troutmy anthem
Before the snare Manually in
hundreds of thousands. thorns-1e collected
in series of incubatorbonosthrougl much
runs a strum of water, pure and reason-
nhlycold. Gmtouremustbotakenthot
mum-mum that devour.” are
W~t¢ can.
The process mt development covers :5
..period of team live to seven weeks. The
:ilut chaotic be ohscrvodis “cannul-
tinnotthosggnndthcntwodssksm
which are the tutors eyes, m.
otksrrcdmrkbozinstoshowu
mwm‘mmtmm
comm Itatmsmtheflniengg.
Zak-nick! of mm: mm will
mammmmwA-mm
nah Sety 1.. who ruled about 1890 B. ‘0.
According to the explorer. it"oontainsthe
usual laodatory description 0! the 'King.
Of connetlsere has‘been My in
.tmslnting‘it. snd'the tranklstion is-not
yet completed. Some important additions
to hiatus-rare expected from this «source.
Dr. .Flsher notes in his .coport Witw-
tions the Syrians, but does not explain
how.
Another interesting discovery was the
skeleton of a young woman. “She was
laid on her side, partly contracted, in an
inclosure formed by a single row of
stones," says Dr. Fisher. “In this were
placed in number of earthenware vessels,
the larger against the wall. the smaller
behind the skeleton. The types are well
known m Palestine as belonging to 1800-
moo :B. 0.. contemporaneous .with the ex:
puloiomof the Kym-es trom Egypt. At the
neck were number 0: heads, two being
of glued quarfilte."
“The Beth-shun of Scripture," Dr. Fisher
continues, j‘calied Scythopolis by the
-‘Greeks and-now the little village or Bcisan,
has about-an object of scholarly interest
.ever since the modern scientific world
“13011.35 m totals-study ot the
.vamplry of the Holy Land.
fit isatrno flat Biblical references are
meager-1nd later classical records. do_not
gunman-loch. «W information about
the city, beyond establlfihing its repuation
entry in thotlbdomen VWM
mam is contained food MW
nudism Attcr~"a‘!ew weeks this sack
diamante and chum begin ‘to'rnove
slowly, lackluster-Stood. - l .
It is at this time thstunstcursnmmost
apt tolooe'tlle result ot:’their‘labor..lor1t
-is Smut W0 teed welsh. The
unnoticed or me trout lemon-sits or
or mac Blunts; but it hallo adlzso
'manmm eggs chopped very“
”unlimnndodTmiiverorothex-mt,
WW‘mustm-bom
Jouslyclen; theyshouldwmisolmmue
our stimulus“ least, andstm
mm momammm
Winfiziuoudamtng do w as
Imam». .msmn: them
that once removed tram the incubators
m mum convenient snail cases
a» pond is about 3mm more service-
iblethsnu W. hat the water in
“the pond make in some wny mowed,
.Myhy doc pipes. Doctor all is»:
brook aims depth, but so arranged
.as so honours-4st: in eonstsnt view either
Imam” sass-Wrot- abundant will
mtmflfmmug under.
"rho mm: industry.” not: more
”out.“ my more humus if
«unnamed. lam-innuendo done with.
@213“me denoted by the
some to ram avers with fish. :
.Imthehtterounathefinhhnwsm
:mwmmmrym
immmmm “enticemen-
mmwsmmmesmom
. Vibfifiufidmmlspmthe
Races Just Discovered
Build He of American Scientists
ssmy the: Bottle pith the
ISraelitefs May at Last Be Told
moon-7m-
Kn the {cre-
ground are the
ruins of the
ancient Ara‘:
city, whic'fl
have just hear
uncovered
and v.31 . .
new emf”?!
lions cre
being made.
In the
ground are
Knack-
remains
of the 0'15
Byzantine
city.
as a place of wealth an.
ertheless, the strategic Sfljaii :1
fortress at the eastern end .
of Armageddon, whence .. 111‘.-
looked so many deoisive btr‘d;
the empires of the East and \‘.‘~,—t
to the enigma of the origin. vi 1:1
name, Sf‘ylhopolis, has e..>.;;'~, 51.. ;
Tel in fascinating mystery.
"During the Ottoman re :
could be made to solve th .
site termed part of the pliH- .31. l? "
of the Sultan; it lay in a ie 1*. c~t2ni
considerably below the sea iev' .:
noted for excessive heat, malarial (Middle
and insecure political contiitivzs.
present guardianship. rapid fr.
been made in draining :‘re
swamps: and although therv' ; .
on the district by Bedawi 1mm
Jordania the country is safe for e111“..-
tlon purposes
“It was not until the la“ of av. if '
of 1920 came into force under .1. i
administration that permission u c.‘
could be obtained. From the rails .,\ Ha
tion only the top of the Tel is 1549‘
his above the edge of the plateau:
shows signs of one of the final Aug.
ish skirmishes Here and there
ms and bits of masonry surfer“
-Dl‘888nCe ofGreek or Roman \ illas.
liné of the old city can can be tr: 1c
the north and west until it discus... : In
the distance behind the modern \111326
“By the classical period Schcpc . ;= iv
which name it was knowu then 3:31: «is
veloped into one of the great cities 11' "re
East, and the ruins of temples theaters and
public buildings of this epoch (-0 er an ex
tonsive area. To excavate these sill : the
task (it many years The original r< :‘mu
rotthesite 1135.0! course, the greater wr-
.5; for as, and here should be fl. 111.". ms
mm for the reconstruction or shunt:
history and civiliufion. "
Br. Fisher notes that the loves: lexel
reached “contained a large circular struc-
ture. approximately dated to 24300 B c
and that “below this the debris contmucd
with no signs as yet at the natural nc‘s,
ill"
“8‘:
Tranc-
1-:(44
jilsh
_1hl€
'ms proving-'1: o swim oi the 11: ll {C Le
.cvcnxrcatcr tbs: wot-s nucleated”
Norwalk Chronicler