GEORGE NEWNES, LIMITED, LONDON
THE CRETAN EXPLORATION FUND.
Patron:H.R.H. PRINCE GEORGE OF GREECE,
High Commissioner of the Powers in Crete.
Directors:ARTHUR J. EVANS, M.A., F.S.A.,
Ashmole's Keeper, and Hon. Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.
DAVID G. HOGARTH, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.G.S.,
Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and Director of the British School at Athens.
Hon. Treasurer:GEORGE A. MACMILLAN, Esq.,
Hon. Secretary of the Society for Promoting Hellenic Studies.
Hon. Secretary:
JOHN L. MYRES, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., F.R.G.S.,
Student of Christ Church, Oxford.
The following Appeal has been issued by the Directors:—
The new conditions in which Crete is placed, and the final emancipation of the island from Turkish rule, have, at last, rendered it possible to organise a serious effort to recover the evidences of her early civilisation.How important are the results which a thorough-going investigation in this field holds out to archæological science may be gathered from what has already been brought to light in far less favourable circumstances. The path of Cretan exploration was opened out by the English travellers Pashley and Spratt. Their exploratory labours have been followed, in more recent years, by the striking discoveries of Halbherr and Fabricius. The great inscription containing the early laws of Gortyna stands alone as a monument of Greek civic legislation. The bronzes of the Idaean cave have afforded a unique revelation of the beginnings of classical Greek art. Further researches, to which English investigation has once more contributed, have brought into relief the important part played by the still earlier civilisation of Mycenae, the wide diffusion of its remains, and even the existence in the island of an indigenous system of sign-writing anterior to the use of the Phœnician alphabet. Additional indications, indeed, have come to light which carry back the chronology of the earlier relics of Cretan culture far beyond the date of Schliemann's great discoveries on the mainland of Greece, and attest an intercourse with Egypt going back to the third and, it may be, even the fourth millennium before our era. We have here in Crete the first stepping-stone of European civilisation.The better to solve the many interesting problems thus opened up it has been decided to form a "Cretan Exploration Fund," under the direction of the above named and in co-operation with the British School at Athens, in order to carry out a series of comprehensive excavations.In order fully to realise this scheme it will be necessary to raise a sum of at least £5000. The object has a real claim on British enterprise. From a national point of view, this task of scientific exploration in Crete is a fitting sequel to the joint work of political emancipation in which we have taken part. It may be mentioned in this connection that the French School at Athens is already organising plans of excavation on other Cretan sites, and that a mission with a similar object is being despatched by the Italian Government.
The new conditions in which Crete is placed, and the final emancipation of the island from Turkish rule, have, at last, rendered it possible to organise a serious effort to recover the evidences of her early civilisation.
How important are the results which a thorough-going investigation in this field holds out to archæological science may be gathered from what has already been brought to light in far less favourable circumstances. The path of Cretan exploration was opened out by the English travellers Pashley and Spratt. Their exploratory labours have been followed, in more recent years, by the striking discoveries of Halbherr and Fabricius. The great inscription containing the early laws of Gortyna stands alone as a monument of Greek civic legislation. The bronzes of the Idaean cave have afforded a unique revelation of the beginnings of classical Greek art. Further researches, to which English investigation has once more contributed, have brought into relief the important part played by the still earlier civilisation of Mycenae, the wide diffusion of its remains, and even the existence in the island of an indigenous system of sign-writing anterior to the use of the Phœnician alphabet. Additional indications, indeed, have come to light which carry back the chronology of the earlier relics of Cretan culture far beyond the date of Schliemann's great discoveries on the mainland of Greece, and attest an intercourse with Egypt going back to the third and, it may be, even the fourth millennium before our era. We have here in Crete the first stepping-stone of European civilisation.
The better to solve the many interesting problems thus opened up it has been decided to form a "Cretan Exploration Fund," under the direction of the above named and in co-operation with the British School at Athens, in order to carry out a series of comprehensive excavations.
In order fully to realise this scheme it will be necessary to raise a sum of at least £5000. The object has a real claim on British enterprise. From a national point of view, this task of scientific exploration in Crete is a fitting sequel to the joint work of political emancipation in which we have taken part. It may be mentioned in this connection that the French School at Athens is already organising plans of excavation on other Cretan sites, and that a mission with a similar object is being despatched by the Italian Government.
THE LIBRARY OF USEFUL STORIES
PRICE ONE SHILLING EACH
THE STORY OF LIFE'S MECHANISM.ByH. W. Conn.With 50 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE WANDERINGS OF ATOMS.ByM. M. Pattison Muir, M.A.
THE STORY OF ICE IN THE PRESENT AND PAST.ByW. A. Brend.With 37 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF ECLIPSES.ByG. F. Chambers, F.R.A.S.With 19 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE BRITISH RACE.ByJohn Munro.With 4 Maps.
THE STORY OF THE MIND.By Prof.J. M. Baldwin.
THE STORY OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY: How the World Became Known.ByJoseph Jacobs.With 24 Maps, &c.
THE STORY OF THE COTTON PLANT.ByF. Wilkinson, F.G.S.With 38 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF RELIGIONS.By the Rev.E. D. Price, F.G.S.
THE STORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY.ByA. T. Story.With 38 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF LIFE IN THE SEAS.BySydney J. Hickson,F.R.S.With 42 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE BRITISH COINAGE.ByG. B. Rawlings.With 108 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE POTTER.ByC. F. Binns.With 57 Illustrations of Ancient and Modern Pottery.
THE STORY OF GERM LIFE: Bacteria.ByH. W. Conn.With 34 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.ByDouglas Archibald.With 44 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE WEATHER.ByG. F. Chambers, F.R.A.S.With 50 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF FOREST AND STREAM.ByJames Rodway, F.L.S.With 27 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS.ByM. M. Pattison Muir, M.A.
THE STORY OF EXTINCT CIVILISATIONS OF THE EAST.ByR. E. Anderson, M.A.With Maps.
THE STORY OF ELECTRICITY.ByJ. Munro.With 100 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF A PIECE OF COAL.ByE. A. Martin, F.G.S.With 38 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.ByG. F. Chambers, F.R.A.S.With 28 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE EARTH IN PAST AGES.ByH. G. Seeley, F.R.S.With 40 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE PLANTS.ByGrant Allen.With 49 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF PRIMITIVE MAN.ByEdward Clodd.With 88 Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE STARS. ByG. F. Chambers, F.R.A.S.With 24 Illustrations.
⁂Other Volumes in the Press.