In our efforts to reconstruct the life of vanished peoples and cultures we often find ourselves making comparisons with the implements and customs of modern primitive peoples. This practice seems, with due safeguards, reasonably sound, for similar cultural conditions may produce similar cultural phenomena. Our comparative material is usually sought among the backward races of the tropics, less frequently in parts of Europe that are off the beaten track; but it is not generally realized that we have in Britain itself a populous region which, owing to its remoteness, did not emerge from the Iron Age until the end of last century. By ‘the Iron Age’ we mean that simple state of culture that is found in peasant communities in southern Britain between, say, 500 B.C. and A.D. 1000, extending in a variable degree into the Middle Ages. This stage of cultural development is distinguished from more advanced stages by the prevalence of selfsupporting communities which are necessitated by difficulty of communications, and in this respect the culture of the Hebrides as late as the middle of the nineteenth century was more like that of the pre-Roman Iron Age in southern England than any succeeding phase.

A recent survey of the fortified site of Takht-i-Sulayman situated some distance south of Tabriz and near the northwest comer of Iran has brought to light architectural remains of the Parthian, Sasanian and Islamic periods? A plan of the entire area is given in FIG. 2. Among the numerous ruined structures are two buildings of the Parthian period; the larger of them has already received brief mention by earlier visitors to the site. These two buildings can now be described in detail and an attempt be made to establish their place in the history of architectural development.

The small state of Hunza is the most northerly in British India. It consists for the most part of a close-packed mass of unscaled and unscalable mountain peaks over 20,000 feet, seamed by untrodden rivers of snow and ice ; as might be anticipated, it is mainly uninhabited. Its frontiers march with Afghanistan on the northwest and with Chinese Turkestan on the north and northeast. But where the Hunza river has cut its way down from the Pamirs to join the Gilgit river and ultimately the Indus, there remain, clinging to the mountain sides, a few sloping, rocky terraces which, if water can be brought to them, can with diligence be rendered fit for human habitation. These oases of green amidst the barren desolation of rock and cliff and mountain peak are the habitat of a sturdy mountain people, the Burusho, speaking a difficult but extremely interesting language, of so great antiquity that no affinity between it and any other known form of human speech has yet been traced by the comparative philologist.

There is perhaps no branch of archaeology of more fundamentalimportance than the study of the rise and development of agricul ture, seeing that it has been the governing factor in the Natural History of Man from the time of its introduction down to the Industrial Era. But the study of the evidence from Britain is not enough; hence Professor Hatt’s full and clear exposition of the Danish evidence is of special importance to British archaeologists, seeing that the rich discoveries preserved in the peat-bogs of Denmark can supply details that are missing in the British picture, or at least suggest to us directions in which future research may profitably be pursued. Professor Hatt’s wide knowledge and balanced judgment-not to mention his delightful personality-have won the confidence and respect of those British archaeologists who have had the privilege of knowing him, and his recent book on Danish agriculture is far too important to be left in the relative obscurity of the Danish language. Hence a brief summary of its principal contents is attempted here.

This splendid volume contains the definitive record of the excavations carried out by Dr and Mrs Wheeler at Verulamium between 1930 and 1934, and it was complete in every essential save publication at the time of Mrs Wheeler's death in April 1936. It forms the final monument of an archaeological partnership which had astonishingly developed the technique of large-scale excavation on Roman sites in this country in a series of operations whose major landmarks were at Carnarvon, Brecon, Caerleon, and Lydney ; excavations distinguished from others of their kind not so much perhaps by the technical skill of their direction, though in this matter too they have been second to none, as by their pre-eminent excellence as training schools of archaeological method to the students who flocked to them, and as aids to right thinking by the ever-widening archaeological public which they did so much to create. Mrs Wheeler has her memorial in many places : publicly in the London Institute of Archaeology and privately in the hearts of all who knew her ; but many will think of this volume as peculiarly instinct with her genius, for every page of it bears witness to the comprehensiveness of her organization, the discipline of her energy, the patience of her leadership, and the vital sureness of her touch. Non extinguetur in nocte lucema eius.

Students no longer seriously regard the Chinese civilization as unitary in origin–as derived, in other words, from any single source. It appears rather to have developed out of the interaction, over a long period, of several antecedent cultures. Certain of its elements, past or present, are northern, even circumpolar, in distribution Others appeared first in the distant West, and only reached China (overland, not by sea) considerably later. Others still originated in southeastern Asia itself. Among traits of the last-named class are the two forming the subject of the present paper.

The Thracians were a deeply religious people; this is attested not merely by ancient writers but also by the many votive monuments found in the former Thracian provinces, dating chiefly from the second to the fourth centuries. Rostovtzeff was justified in remarking some years ago that ‘in the Roman period, Thrace experienced a religious renaissance; in cities and villages there sprang up hundreds of shrines of Greek type, which were filled with votive offerings after the Greek pattern; yet the Thracians worshipped their divinities in native fashion, and kept their festivals with mystic-orgiastic ritual’.

There is some truth in the assertion that the greatness of Britain, as displayed to the world at the Great Exhibition of 1851, should be ascribed as much to the favourable juxtaposition of iron andoal as to any qualities inherent in the British people : it can hardly be disputed that the re-eminence in Prehistoric Archaeology once enjoyed by France was due in large measure to therchaeological richness of the caves and rock-shelters of the Dordogne and the Pyrenees. But, if we must deplore the backwardness of France in fields where other countrie are as richly endowed by history, it is only fair to acknowledge that her archaeologists succeeded in systematizing. the cultures of Upper Palaeolithic man in western Europe, at a time when the Neolithic was still chaotic in many countries and a ' hiatus ' separated the two epochs. The exploration of the French caves began in the sixties of the last century and may be said to have already reached its culminating point by 1912, when Breuil put forward his famous classification at the Geneva Congress (Breuil, 1912). It is eloquent of the advanced stage reached by Upper Palaeolithic cave research in western Europe before the Great War that, after the lapse of a quarter of a century, Breuil has felt able (in 1937) to re-print his original lecture with only minoralterations.

During the 19th century conclusions of great value concerning the origin and diffusion of the megalithic tombs of Europe were arrived at by the study of a few tombs in various regions : Montelius’s Orienten och Europa marks the culmination of research on these lines. In the last twenty-five years it has been gradually realized that before we can speak with assurance of the many problems which the megalithic tombs involve, before we can disperse what has aptly been called ‘the murky fog surrounding the megalith question’, we must have accurate and detailed regional surveys of the prehistoric burial-chambers of south-western, western and northern Europe. As is well known, such surveys have already been produced in many regions; for example those in Iberia by Obermaier, Vergileio Correia and Pericot y Garcia, and in Brittany by le Rouzic and Forde. In the British Isles we have been exceptionally fortunate in this respect: the work of Crawford and Hencken in England, of Hemp and Grimes in Wales, of Childe in Scotland, and of Estyn Evans in northern Ireland, has made the megalithic tombs of the British Isles better known than those of any comparable region in Europe.

1. NUZI AND THE HURRIAN:S the excavations at Nuzi (Kirkuk, Iraq) and their contribution to our knowledge of the history of the Hurrians. By Robert H. Pfeiffer. (From the Smithsonian Report for 1935, pp. 535–538).

2. ONE HUNDREDN EW SELECTE NUZI TEXTST. ransliterated by Robert H. Pfeiffer. With translation and commentary by E.A. Speiser. (Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. XVI. New Haven, 1936).

3. NUZI: report on the excavations at Yorgan Tepa near Kirkuk, Iraq. By R. F. S. Starr. Volume 11. Plates and plans. Cambridge, Mass., 1937.

4. NOTES ON HURRIANH PHONOLOGY. By E. A. Speiser. (Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 58, no. I, pp. 173-201).

So far as is known to the writer, the only published studies of this subject are one by himseIf, made many years ago, and a more recent one by Professor André Pochan, though references to the appearance and colour of the stones are not uncommon. Thus both Jomard (who climbed the pyramid) and Maspero (who apparently did not climb the pyramid, but relied upon Jomard's description) both say that the portion of the casing of the pyramid of Chephren, still remaining in place at the apex, is coloured reddish in patches by lichen, the identification of this apparently having been made by the well-known botanist Delile, who accompanied Jomard on his climb up the pyramid.

Professor Pochan, who also climbed the pyramid of Chephren, 2nd examined the stones at the apex, states that he saw lichen, but only on the north side, where the colour was blackish, and that the stones in general are of a reddish-brown colour. No proof that the black was indeed lichen is given, and the very dry situation would seem to make the presence of lichen improbable, unless it is growing on the patches of bird excrement that Jomard noticed, which, however, are not likely to be confined to the north side.

The churches of the Holy Land play a very special part in the lengthy controversies as to the origin and formation of the Christian basilica, since particular significance is attributed to them as constituting a norm from which the basilica type developed. For example, Wulff remarks :l ' If any region anywhere played a leading part in the development of the early Christian basilica, it is Palestine, including the whole coast of Syria to Philistia, where, under Constantine the Great, building was already developed with the express purpose of fostering the cult in the holy places '. This view, illuminating in and for itself, is today generally accepted ; it cannot, however, be maintained against the result of recent excavations. In this article chief emphasis is laid on the churches of Constantine, which are of especial importance not only because of their age, but in particular because they stand on the most sacred places of Christendom.

The village of Biskupin is situated in the northern part of Great Poland, six miles from Znin, 65 miles to the northeast of Poznan and to the southwest of Torufi, the capital of Polish Pomerania. Nowadays it is famous, not only in Poland but throughout the world, for the remarkable discoveries made in its vicinity by the Poznari University Archaeological Expedition. Excavations have been carried on for four years, and have revealed the ground plan of a prehistoric stronghold which was built on a peninsula jutting into the lake of Biskupin, on the surface of a former peat-bog, in the Early Iron Age, between 700 and 400 B.C. but abandoned in consequence of its inundation by the waters of the lake. The site was covered with a thick deposit of sand and mud, which protected the remains against atmospheric influences, while the dampness of the ground caused the preservation in excellent condition of the lower portions of the huts and the wooden defensive works, as well as the roads and breakwaters.

In the district around the valley of the West Webburn stream which cuts north-south through eastern Dartmoor, Grimspound seems to attract most attention. I have found no reference to the old field boundaries and terraces which lie in this district, mostly within the western part of the parish of Manaton. This article deals with fields within, or adjacent to, the Manaton parish boundary, but there are also sets of terraces which I have observed, but not yet explored, mainly to the east of the Widecombe-Grimspound road, opposite Blackaton Manor. These terraces appear to be very similar to those described here, and as they are outside Manaton parish the connexion between the terminations of some sets of terraces and the parish boundary which, from the plan, appears to be significant, must not be emphasized.

In the fertile region between the Danube and the Balkans occur numerous Byzantine fortified posts, which are shown by occasional finds of coins to date mostly from the sixth century. All have a common form in that skilful use has been made of natural features of terrain, such as isolated mountain-tops or practically isolated spurs, so that with a minimum cf artificial strengthening they have considerable defensive power. A favourite situation for them is at points where narrow canyon-like valleys of the streams that flow into the Danube have afforded good natural advantages.

From the military standpoint these sites can easily be divided into two groups, A and B, according to their topographical situation. To the first belong those which occur on the great natural trade-routes, and, like a modern Sperrfort, rake the roads with a commanding view over the surrounding district. The second and much more numerous group consists of posts situated off the trade-routes, often so much concealed by the lie of the land as to be invisible from the great roads.

If one were asked to indicate the best contemporary products of English research in the field of historical studies, using the term ‘historical’ to include also archaeology, one would certainly put the publications of the English Place-name Society near the top of the list. It is characteristic of English methods that so much of our best work in these subjects should be subsidized by voluntary contributions; for though the EPNS receives a small annual grant from the British Academy, the greater part of its work is unpaid, and the most expensive item, the annual volume, is entirely paid for by the subscribers. One can think of half a dozen other comparable undertakings, all organized on a voluntary basis. This state of affairs cannot logically, however, be used as an argument against the State endowment of research (though it sometimes is so used), because it cannot be proved that, if thus endowed, work of this kind would be done less well. Indeed, to those who know the individuals responsible, the mere suggestion is fantastic and absurd. One has only to refer to the Reports of the Royal Commissions on Ancient Monuments (particularly those for England) which are wholly subsidized by the State, to see that the work of government officials is not necessarily or always bad; and other instances may occur to our readers.