366 SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— H. 



Mr. Philip Corder. — Roman Malton and some neighbouring sites. 



The Roman fort at Malton is situated half-way between the legionary head- 

 quarters at York and the coast, on the eastward extremity of the Howardian 

 hills. It is connected with Lincoln by the road which crosses the Humber 

 at B rough. 



The earliest occupation, probably under Cerialis, covered at least 

 22 acres. Shortly after this a permianent fort of SJ acres was established, 

 perhaps by Agricola, and presently received a massive revetment of stone. 

 The consolidation of the northern frontier by Hadrian led to the withdrawal 

 of the garrison, but occupation of the site was resumed early in the third 

 century. Towards the end of the century the fort was deliberately 

 abandoned, but again during the fourth century there was continuous and 

 intensive occupation ; indeed, it is probable that Malton served as base 

 to the coastal signal stations during its closing years. 



Two sites in the neighbourhood are of special interest. In 1926-27 

 boys from Bootham School excavated two pairs of pottery kilns at 

 Crambeck, about 5 miles from Malton, where manufacture began late in 

 the third and continued throughout the fourth century. The products of 

 this pottery had a very wide distribution in the northern military area. In 

 1929-30 an extensive villa site was excavated at Langton, 4 miles south- 

 east of Malton. Here a small fortified enclosure of the first century was 

 succeeded by a definitely civil occupation, which probably began in the 

 third century and was intensive in the fourth, particularly during the last 

 thirty years of the century. 



Sir Flinders Petrie, F.R.S. — Copper and Bronze in Palestine. 



The excavation of Ancient Gaza in 1932 has been on the palace site 

 and the cemeteries. The latest palace is limited to the XVIIIth dynasty 

 of Egypt, as no later remains were found. The earliest is after the Copper 

 Age of the Vth-VIth dynasties, as the pottery of that age had entirely 

 ceased. As it was contemporary with the great fosse round the hill, which 

 is of North Syrian type, the invaders from that region, who formed the 

 Vllth-VIIIth dynasties, were probably the builders of the first palace. 

 Three other palaces are between the first and last, probably belonging 

 to the Xllth and the Hyksos age of the XVth and XVIth dynasties. 

 The earliest palace was about 150 ft. wide, built with dressed slabs of 

 sandstone for the wall basement, 6 ft. wide. Much foreign painted pottery 

 was found, mainly in the early palace levels ; it can be classed by the levels. 

 Of earliest period is the cemetery of the Copper Age, with ledge-handle 

 jars, and copper daggers of large size. 



Friday, September 2. 



Presidential Address by Dr. D. Randall-MacIver on The place of 

 Archeeology as a science, and some practical problems in its development. 

 (See p. 147.) 



Discussion. (Mr. R. U. Sayce.) 



Mr. J. W. Crowfoot. — Excavations at Samaria. 



The Harvard expedition to Samaria which discovered the famous Hebrew 

 ostraca of the ninth century suspended operations in 1910, and no 



