1938

Episkopi, March 24, 1938

Dear Mr. Hill,

This is a very brief note to catch tomorrow's mail, and must be fitted in between now and the time I fall completely to sleep, which is rapidly approaching.

George expected to be here on the 17th, and here it is the 24th and there is still no sign of him. I hope that everything is all right. I haven't wasted any time worrying, because I know that he had a long trip ahead of him, and that a little adverse wind or engine trouble might slow him up considerably. But I shall start to worry if he doesn't appear in the next day or so.

I looked everywhere for the Lapithos plans, and couldn't find them anywhere. The trunk contained a roll of Land Registry field plans, but no archaeological drawings. I have also looked through the plans in the book-case and stacked in your room, but to no avail.

The customs authorities are anxious to build a small house for their smuggler's control at the extreme south-western tip of Kourion, out beyond trench 5. It is not on land owned by us. I referred them to Megaw, and asked if it would be possible to wait until you come, which Mr. Darrel thinks it will be.

I dug out the Erimi tomb, "in collaboration" with Dikaios, all expenses being paid by the museum. We have the pottery for three months, and publication rights. Actually it was something of a wild-goose chase. The interesting dromos did not belong to this tomb, which was badly mutilated by chavara cutting, and completely plundered. We got a fair amount of pottery which will mend up fairly well, but no indications as to sequence or number of burials.

I started work in the Bamboula on Tuesday, cleaning out the earth brought in by the winter rains, finishing up some odds and ends in the area I opened last year, and moving the western part of my northern dump, so as to prepare for the new region I hope to open. I estimate that there will be another week's work, or even more, before I am ready to open up any new area. If I had realized that George was going to be so much delayed I wouldn't have started even this, though it is probably just as well to get it done now.

The £1-10-0 you gave me ran out some time ago, as you can readily imagine. Last week I talked the bank into giving me £6-0-0, but I hesitate to ask them for any more. Christo has opened his reserves to the expedition, and has arranged to borrow enough from Louka (as his own loan) to pay the men's wages tomorrow. That is to say that Christo's reserve plus the loan will suffice. It is at times like this that I really appreciate Christo. Of course it may be that George will arrive tomorrow, in which case everything will be all right without the loan.

This is all that I think of at the moment, and I am afraid that it is very sketchy.

Handwritten: Hastily and therefore apologetically,

Handwritten: Pete

Handwritten: P.S. We are having trouble getting tents, and have built a temporary shack.