SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— H. 367 



archaeological excavations have been conducted on the site until 193 1, 

 when the present joint expedition started work. 



The city stood on an isolated ridge in the centre of the northern kingdom, 

 easily defensible and commanding the main road from north to south. 

 There are, however, no springs near, and in consequence, except for a small 

 settlement in the Early Bronze Age, it was apparently unoccupied until 

 about 880 B.C., when Omri chose it as the capital of his kingdom. It is 

 with the remains of the Israelite period during the next 150 years that this 

 paper deals. 



The place was defended in Israelite times by two great walls . Of the lower 

 of these, which may be called the City wall, only fragments have been found : 

 it followed the irregular outline of the ridge and it was built mainly upon 

 a natural terrace against the rising rock. A magnificent section of this wall 

 was uncovered in 1931 : the foundation course was laid in an excavated 

 rock trench, and the upper courses were built of carefully dressed stones 

 laid with an accuracy and regularity to which there is no parallel of this 

 date in Palestine. Of the upper Palace wall more has been found : the 

 main portion of it was set out in the form of a rectangle enclosing more 

 than eight acres of ground. Red guiding lines can still be traced on some 

 of the rock trenches, showing with what precision it was planned : the 

 dressing, bonding and jointing of the masonry show equal fineness of 

 execution. 



Of the buildings within these walls very little of the Israelite period has 

 been found : the only architectural details which have come to light are 

 three early caps of the Proto-Ionic Cypriote type. 



The most illuminating relics of the time, however, are a series of small 

 ivory plaques which were discovered in the last campaign. They come from 

 the decorations of furniture, probably from beds or thrones or cabinets : 

 the motifs are drawn indifferently from various fields, Egyptian, Assyrian, 

 Anatolian and the like, and they are brilliant examples of the eclectic art 

 which has been connected in turn with Cyprus, Phoenicia and Syria. 

 The nearest parallels are the ivories found in 1928 at Arslan-Tash, near 

 Carchemish, on one of which an inscription of Hazael, King of Damascus, 

 occurs. They provide the most vivid illustration of the wealth and luxury 

 in Samaria which was denounced by the Hebrew prophets. 



Afternoon. 



Miss KiTSON Clark. — Some invasions of Yorkshire. 



The superficial geography of Yorkshire is particularly marked, and has 

 greatly influenced the history and prehistory of the county. Distribution 

 maps of selected periods show that the same causes lead to the same effect. 

 At the same time they make clear the difference between penetration by 

 a primitive race and invasion by a civilised nation. Comparison of the 

 Early Iron Age, the Roman and the Anglo-Saxon Ages illustrates this point 

 in Yorkshire. 



Dr. A. Raistrick. — Roman West Yorkshire. 



This paper puts on record several finds of Roman coins, fragments of 

 pottery, etc., that have been discovered at various times in Craven, West 

 Yorkshire — i.e., roughly, the country between Wensleydale and Nidderdale 

 on the north, Ribblesdale on the west, and the Elslack-Ilkley Roman road 

 on the south. Some of these finds have received casual comment in the past. 



