Letter from Megaw to Schaeffer on publications on Enkomi, the calendar and excavation permitsClaude Frédéric-Armand Schaeffer

Printed: DEPARTMENT OF ANTIQUITIES, CYPRUS

Figure: coat of arms of the colonial government of Cyprus

No. 90/48

TELEPHONE No. 61

Nicosia, 28th April, 1949.

Dear Schaeffer,

I reply to your letter of 8th April which I had not had time to study when I wrote on the 19th.

Your excavations in September next. I am glad your budget was approved and hope that you may find some reduction of costs here to make it go further than you foresee. The closing-down of the Jewish camps has brought some local unemployment and Dikaios has found all the labour he wants at the basic rates of 6/1 for men and 4/1 for women (for the traditional system of work).

The situation which will arise if you are unable to stay throughout the excavations is not quite that foreseen when we drafted the memorandum. By that we are obliged to supply, free of charge, Dikaios' "general archaeological supervision". By this we envisaged some assistant of yours like Coche continuing in your absence and receiving visits from Dikaios from time to time especially when problems arose in which he desired a consultation.

To take entire charge of the French Mission's excavations in your absence is a different matter. It is comparable with the Curium Expedition's invitation to Dikaios to dig the Neolithic sites at Sotira on their behalf. He has been authorized to accept this invitation, provided the dig is timed so that it will not interfere with his normal duties; but so far he has not yet found time to proceed. In that case the finds will go to the Expedition for division in the usual way and Dikaios will publish in the name of the Expedition.

In principle your proposal is equally acceptable, particularly having regard to the circumstances of our collaboration; provided the intention is that Dikaios would open up a new area and publish an excavation report on it to go with the presentation of any important finds which you wish to reserve to yourself. As to the indemnity you suggest, his travelling expenses and subsistence allowance (15/- per day), like those of any other Museum Staff employed on your excavations, are all we would ask you to re-imburse to the Department.

The difficulty is the time factor. We have already postponed the Sotira dig in order that Dikaios might start at Enkomi last autumn. We have now provisionally fixed the Sotira dig for October-November next, just the time you would want him at Enkomi. This is an awkward question of priorities for me to decide, and before doing so I shall have to consult our American friends. As a matter of fact Dikaios has avoided committing himself definitely to any digging in the autumn. He will be very busy with his Khirokitia book throughout the year, and the area he has opened at Enkomi for the Department is another major commitment, particularly as you are pressing him to publish quickly. I talked it over with him during the Easter holidays and he feels that he must see how his present season at Enkomi goes before he enters into any definite engagements for the autumn. He would like to complete his work in the area he is now digging before opening up anywhere else. I am leaving for England in June (returning in September). Dikaios will then have stopped at Enkomi and I shall try to let you have a definite answer before I leave.

Dr.C.F.A.Schaeffer, M.A.D.Litt., Le Castel Blanc, 14, Rue Turgot, St.Germain-en-Laye.

/Memorandum