512 



NA TURE 



[September 24, 1938 



THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON WELSH 

 MONUMENTS. 



"T" HE first meeting of the Royal Commission on 

 * Ancient Welsh Monuments in Wales and Mon- 

 mouthshire, was held in London on Friday, Sep- 

 tember II. Sir John Rhys, the Chairman of the Com- 

 mission, after recounting the terms of reference, 

 expressed his views as to the nature and scope of the 

 Commission's work, and the lines upon which he 

 proposed to direct its course. 



"The work," he said, "would not be difficult if 

 they proceeded from county to county and parish to 

 parish, and simply drew up a bare list or inventory 

 of the objects of antiquarian and historical 

 interest therein ; but it was clear that such an in- 

 ventory would be of no scientific value unless those 

 objects were classified according to their character, in- 

 tention, and probable date. It was onlv bv a com- 

 parative method that they could hope to answer many 

 of the questions with which they would be confronted, 

 and it was desirable, therefore, that the classificatorv 

 system adopted by the Commission should be uniforn'i 

 with that in use by other commissions of a similar 

 character. With regard to ancient earthworks, he 

 thought it would be better to adopt the divisions 

 suggested by the Congress of Archaeological Societies 

 in jqoi. No specific power was given to the Com- 

 mission under which they could engage in explora- 

 tory work for the purpose of ascertaining the age or 

 character of any particular object, though it was diffi- 

 cult to see how without such guidance the classifica- 

 tion of some objects, could be determined satis- 

 factorily." 



He thought the county might be taken as a proper 

 area unit. It is proposed to publish county inven- 

 tories as soon as they are finished, and thus make 

 them available for use at once. A preliminarv list of 

 the monuments within a given county would be framed 

 from the tS-inch Ordnance map, -and supplemented bv 

 inquiries that would be made through the local secre- 

 taries and primary schools. He suggested that the 

 sympathy and the assistance of the county councils 

 should be sought, and that circulars should be sent 

 to the numerous class of bards and literati, and those 

 whom the secretaries might find interested in the 

 work. A bibliography on the subject would be 

 collected, and personal visits must be undertaken to 

 the various monuments within the counties. " Those 

 visits could be undertaken by the secretaries. It was 

 inevitable that in the course of such work it would be 

 found that there were monuments that, owing to the 

 complexity of structure and other matters, must be 

 inspected by the whole Commission, and they would 

 have to settle points that were important and also 

 disputed." 



The points cited from the chairman's address show 

 what a great work the Commission has undertaken. 

 It is thought that it will take three years at least to 

 complete its task. 



Like all bodies representative of the whole Welsh 

 nation, the Commission is very strong on the literary 

 side, and the bibliography and all historical matter 

 will be of the greatest value to archaeologists. There 

 is little reason to be dissatisfied with the purely scien- 

 tific element in the Commission, providing that 

 important scientific methods will not be decided upon 

 merely by a show of hands. The chairman's remarks 

 warrant our highest expectations as to the thorough- 

 ness with which the work will be done. 



Though the Commission is not specifically 

 empowered to engage in exploratory work, it is clear 

 by the proposal to make personal visits to the monu- 

 ments that a work more urgent and far easier than 

 any explanatory work can and most likely will be 



NO. 2030, VOL. 78] 



done, namely, an astronomical survey of all monu- 

 ments which lend themselves to such .in inquiry. No 

 body of experts would make such visits without au 

 ordinary compass. All that would be required in 

 order to make the astronomical survey of sufficient 

 value would be a clino-compass, and sufficient 

 acquaintance with the " run " of astronomical monu- 

 ments to be able to find out alignments, to take their 

 orientation and the height of the horizon in the same 

 direction. 



At least three members of the Commission are 

 deeply interested in the astronomical inquiry, and 

 the secretary, Mr. Edward Owen, has already ac- 

 quainted himself with the results so far obtained in 

 Wales. Neither expense nor time — for a monument 

 could be surveyed in a few minutes — could be pleaded 

 as a reason for neglecting such a golden opportunity 

 of securing comparative data of the greatest interest. 

 It is to be hoped that at the next meeting of the Com- 

 mission this important matter will be definitely dealt 

 with. 



Now that little Wales has been so generously pro- 

 vided for in the matter of this Commission, the ques- 

 tion crops up very naturally. Why has not larger 

 England obtained the same privilege? 



John- Guifi-ith. 



DR. SVEN HEDIN'S L.iTEST EXPLORATIONS. 



AN interesting account of Dr. Sven Hedin's latest 

 journey in Tibet is to be found in the Times 

 of September 17 and 18, from which we gather the 

 following particulars of the discoveries made by this 

 intrepid explorer. 



On March S last he came across stone houses, the 

 residence of the local chief, but only a high lama from 

 Lhasa was present, living in a great tent, which was 

 a movable temple, similar to that of the Kalmucks on 

 the Volga, indicating that religious rites are per- 

 formed among the nomads. 



Dr. Sven Hedin then went along the northern edge 

 of the great tract between latitudes 30° and 32°, stretch- 

 ing from his old route to the Brahmaputra, which 

 was the great object of his journey. He marched 

 due south, crossing several ranges all running east 

 and west. He passed the enormous ice mountain of 

 Shakangsham on the east, from which flowed the 

 big river. Thence he went over the Ladang pass into 

 the open valley, and the Bongba province, which no 

 Europeaii had ever before entered, lay open before 

 him. 



At this point great precautions had to be taken in 

 consequence of the suspicions of the Tibetans, and the 

 leader narrowly escaped detection whilst making 

 barometric observations. However, the danger was 

 averted by the march being diverted to the moun- 

 tainous country where Lake Chunitso was discovered. 

 Two more ranges were crossed, and then the open 

 plain was reached, bounded southwards by a great 

 mountain range, 2000 miles long, which stretches east 

 and w-est. 



Dr. Sven Hedin was rewarded by discovering the 

 continuity of the chain. He found also that the course 

 of Chartatsango, a big- effluent of the Brahmaputra, 

 had been wrongly marked on the maps. 



After encountering serious opposition, and bis 

 caravan being divided. Dr. Sven Hedin left Bis on 

 May 5, and travelling due north crossed a pass of 

 iqoo feet in the Great Range, and made for Lake 

 Tederam, the existence of which Nain Singh reported 

 in 1873, its real name being Terenam. He found the 

 lake to be long, narrow, and salt, and entirely 

 different from its lepresentation on the map. 



He then turned westward and visited the Mending 



