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Printed: FRENCH ARCHAEOLOGICAL MISSION
Beirut, 16 October 1946.
Sir, the Secretary General of the Commission of Excavations Directorate-General of Cultural Relations Paris
I am returning from Damascus and Palestine and report to you here 1. on the end of the excavations at Enkomi. 2. on my talks with the Directorate of Antiquities of Syria at Damascus concerning the excavations of Ras Shamra and 3. on my inspection of the excavations in Palestine.
1. The end of the excavations at Enkomi.- The research during the last two excavation seasons has only completed the results already reported from 30 September. The succession of five superimposed levels, one of the early Iron, three of the Late Bronze and one of the Middle Bronze, has been ascertained. The clearing of part of the enceinte has made it possible to appreciate the importance of the work. The outer face is built of cyclopean blocks, some of which exceed 3 m in length by 2 m in height. They were detached from the cliff overlooking the town on the east side.
We have also found the roads of the enceinte on the north side. The limits of the town are therefore known, notably to the south and on the west side. The enceinte must have probably spanned an arm of water which joins the sea here.
All the produce of the excavations has been transported to the Nicosia Museum, where the repair of the vessels and the conservation of the bronzes will be undertaken. The objects will then be divided in equal shares between the museum and the mission.
Before leaving the island, I gave a lecture at the Nicosia Museum on the research at Enkomi. The government of the island, Sir Charles Woolley, came to visit the excavations.
The Department of Antiquities of Cyprus handed me a memorandum relating to the excavation project already begun in my last report. It specifies the terms of division of the service according to my suggestions. I beg you, as well as the Commission.
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