Letter from Megaw to Schaeffer about objects found by DikaiosArthur Hubert Stanley Megaw

Printed: GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS

Printed: Ref. No.:

Printed: Our Ref.:

Printed: Your Ref.:

The second remains in the case to be handed to you on arrival. The container is marked "Priere remettre à M. Schaeffer à l'arrivée. Please hand on to M. Will (?)".

Your letter about Professor Hrorstejo's visit also awaited my return. I have since heard from him. We would be glad to have him study the ceramic from our Enkomi excavations; there are four of them. I am letting him know the position about other prehistoric sherds. The only large group is that from Khirokitia which has already been studied by Angel. Hjorstejo's visit would be a welcome opportunity for us to have other ceramic measured, but they are very few.

I have now also received your letter of 19th September from Minet-el-Beida and note that you wish to discuss matters arising from our recent correspondence during your forthcoming visit.

As regards our tablet fragment Dikaios took casts of it with him to America and hopes to obtain some comments on it in Paris and London on his way there. I shall be interested to hear your opinion when you see it. The tablet of which it formed part was close in form to the oriented tablets (Tell-el-Amarna, Ras Shamra etc.) and unlike the Greek and Cretan. It is pillow-shaped, the maximum thickness is 5 cms. and I judge the complete width was at least 10 cms. though our fragment is only 9.5 cms. wide. If it was high in proportion it would have been quite large and our fragment would represent only about one-tenth of the whole. The spacing of the lines is only 5 mm., and so the characters are much smaller than any known Cypro-Minoan text, excepting those on seals. The general appearance of the writing, of which there are parts of 8 lines on each face is that of conuniform, but the impressions are not wedge-shaped but were made vertically with a pointed instrument. It seems to me as though a form of writing akin to cuneiform (there are only short straight lines or dots in the characters, no curved elements) was executed with a different instrument. It is far from easy to distinguish the elements of the characters but I give here a few examples. [figure: small sample signs in a row; labels: none legible]

I note that M. Resouls, who is joining your Dikaios party, will want to see the major sites and especially their tombs. Of the latter only 2 have been excavated, at Bolt and Curium, but some others are distinguishable on the surface.

Yours sincerely,

Handwritten: signature