Letter from Megaw to Schaeffer about Dikaios's workArthur Hubert Stanley Megaw

6 November 1950

No. 36/36/3

DEPARTMENT OF ANTIQUITIES, CYPRUS.

Nicosia, 6th November, 1950.

Dear Schaeffer,

I was glad to hear of your success at Damascus and hope that your future seasons at Ras Shamra will be as fruitful as those of previous years.

With regard to your recent campaign at Enkomi it has occurred to me that you may be submitting some form of brief report to the authorities in Paris; if so, I would suggest that you send us a copy. It would be nice to have this, both so as to conform with the practice of other Missions and also to enable Dikaios in his future reports to take more account of your work than he was able to do in his first one. For this second reason it was also would be very helpful if in due course we could have proofs of the relevant parts of Enkomi I when they are available.

Dikaios is now going through the material collected during his last campaign in the substance of his floors V and below. When the general picture begins to take shape he will start work on his short provisional report, which I feel must not be too much delayed. As soon as that is in shape we shall send you a copy of the typescript.

Incidentally, we were interested to see among the sherds you have taken on loan some pieces from the material of the earliest floor and from the layers below which are not dissimilar to the Myc. IIIc pottery found in analogous contexts in our building and on which Dikaios bases his dating. So it seems possible that the interval between the construction of your building and ours may not have been a very long one.

I hope you have now received the copies of the "Cyprus Mail" containing your communiqué.

With regards to you and Madame Schaeffer in which my wife joins,

Yours sincerely,

Handwritten: A.H.S. Megaw

Dr.C.F.A.Schaeffer, M.A.D.Litt., c/o French Institute of Archaeology, B.P. 14.24, Beyrouth.

Handwritten: In 17. Thank you for all of these... ... I will send ... to be ... it is not ... ... I ... ... collected by an ... excavator ... in detail ... by ... ... ... ... before ... report is published. Without knowing the circumstances of their ... ... ... ... ... ... by the ... ... of my material. I did not expect this ... ... before his report ... I have ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I advise ... to wait until he receives the proofs of my report ... the ...

Handwritten: Drawn by my architects. - On the other hand, the experience of my last season on Floor V & ... ... ... ... that he ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... clear vertical sections before attempting to date his ... building. The provisional report, as he says is not urgent; the statue being published, there is only ... a ... ... ... ... ... It seems therefore advisable that his report be presented. It seems therefore advisable that this report