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DIRECTORATE-GENERAL OF CULTURAL RELATIONS ---- General Secretariat of the Excavations ----
20 March 1948
The Secretary-General of the Excavations Commission,
A
Mr the Consul of France in the Islands of Malta and Cyprus.
On my return from Cyprus and the Near East, one has forwarded to the excavations secretariat a copy of your two reports of 22.6.47 and 28.11.47.
Regarding the first of these reports and the risks you allude to, I have the honour of informing you that the transfer of excavation grants directly to our diplomatic or consular posts, and from there, to the accounts of the parties concerned in the countries where they work has been adopted because it constitutes the best guarantee that the grants are spent in accordance with the instructions of the Excavations Commission entrusted by the Directorate General of Cultural Relations with the organisation of all French archaeological missions abroad. The person concerned receives in France only the sum corresponding to his fare by sea or air to travel to his excavation site.
As regards the second report, I regret that the Head of Mission was obliged to have recourse to the kindness of Mr Lapierre. However, the delay in the transfer of funds is not attributable to him. On the contrary, the Head of Mission was hindered in his research work by the delay in the arrival of the funds.
Mr Lapierre was invited in 1946 and 1947 to come and visit the French excavations at Enkomi. He did in fact follow up this invitation this year and took to the excavation site the pupils of the terminales classes of the Lycée de Tarsa.
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