THE PRINCETON UNIVERSITY ARCH^OLOGICAL 

 EXPEDITION TO SYRIA. 



By HOWARD CROSBY BUTLER. 

 {Read April 19, 1907.) 



In a paper of this length I can do no more than present a rough 

 outHne of the work of the Princeton Expedition to Syria, and dwell 

 upon a few of the more important sections of its work. 



The Princeton Expedition of 1904-5 was organized to carry on 

 and supplement the work of the American Expedition to Syria in 

 1899-1900. Both expeditions comprised four departments, one for 

 surveying and making maps, one for the study of architecture and 

 the other arts, one for Greek and Latin epigraphy and one for 

 Semitic epigraphy. These four departments, with the exception of 

 that for surveying, were in charge of the same four men on both 

 expeditions. 



The country explored is more narrowly defined as Central Syria, 

 comprising, in the south, the country far east of the Jordan, the 

 Hauran and the regions south and east of it, namely the ancient 

 Roman Province of Arabia ; and, in the north, the country between 

 the river Orontes and the Euphrates, extending as far north as 

 Aleppo; this comprises the ancient Provinces of Syria Prima and 

 Euphratesia. The district between these two regions, comprising 

 Damascus and its vicinity, is better known and less important for 

 archaeological research. 



These two great tracts, with the exception of the Hauran, are 

 entirely, or for the most part, desert, and are consequently unin- 

 habited except for occasional bands of nomads. They are thus so 

 much the better for the work of archaeologists, for the reason that, 

 having been deserted for some thirteen centuries, they have known 

 only natural changes since the beginning of the seventh century. 

 Our explorations were confined almost exclusively to the deserted 

 localities. 



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