Fondo SC21 - Inscription on the Tell Duweir ewer

Área de identidad

Código de referencia

GB 891 SC21

Título

Inscription on the Tell Duweir ewer

Fecha(s)

  • Jun 1934 (Creación)

Nivel de descripción

Fondo

Volumen y soporte

1 folder 6 items handwritten, typed and printed

Área de contexto

Nombre del productor

Gaster Theodor Herzl
(1906-1992)

Historia biográfica

Theodor Gaster was a British-born American Biblical scholar working in the field of comparative religions. He was the son of Moses Gaster, the folklorist, and he was educated and received his first degree in London, before moving to America to pursue his doctorate, and where he pursued the majority of his academic career.

Nombre del productor

Gardiner Alan H.
(1879-1963)

Historia biográfica

Sir Alan Henderson Gardiner was an English Egyptologist, linguist, philologist, and independent scholar. He developed his interest in Egyptology while still at school and he pursued his career within that field and acted as an advisor when the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922.

Nombre del productor

Stawell F. Melian
(1869-1936)

Historia biográfica

Florence Melian Stawell, youngest daughter of Sir William Foster Stawell, was born in Melbourne in 1869. She first went to the University of Melbourne before attending Newnham College, Cambridge, where she subsequently became a don. Ill-health forced her retirement but she continued to publish books and pursue classical scholarship.

Institución archivística

Royal Asiatic Society Archives

Historia archivística

The letter and decipherment were written by Theodor Gaster.

Origen del ingreso o transferencia

The letter was sent by Thoedor Gaster to the Royal Asiatic Society with his decipherment. It is unknown how the newspaper cuttings became part of the collection. It is possible Colonel Hoysted acquired them after receiving the letter.

Área de contenido y estructura

Alcance y contenido

In 1934, a vase was unearthed in excavations at Tell ed-Duweir (Tell Lachish) in an expedition led by James Leslie Starkey. Theodor Gaster undertook to decipher the inscription on the vase, but before his decipherment was announced in The Times Newspaper the decipherment had been attributed to another. The items that comprise this collection are:

  • Letter from Theodor Gaster to Colonel Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to lodge with him a 'lettre cachée' with his decipherment of the new script found on the vase. He claimed that he had originally communicated the decipherment to James Starkey but had suppressed its publication until the discovery of the ewer had been announced in The Times. However, in that time, another had been attributed with the decipherment. He was therefore sending a copy of his letter to Starkey, as proof of his claim, to both the Royal Asiatic Society and the Palestine Exploration Fund. With the letter is his copy of the decipherment and an envelope labelled 'Lettre cachée deposited with the R.A.S. by Theodor Gaster on 12.6.34'.
  • "Discovery at Tell Duweir: Identification of the Characters" - letter to the Editor printed in The Times, 12 June 1934, written by Theodor Gaster.
  • "Discovery at Tell Duweir: Early Alphabets" - letter to the Editor printed in The Times, 13 June 1934, written by Alan H. Gardiner disputing the decipherment.
  • "Discovery at Tell Duweir: A Translation of the Inscription" - letter to the Editor printed in The Times, dated 20 June 1934, written by F. Melian Stawell to add her contribution to the decipherment.

Valorización, destrucción y programación

Acumulaciones

Sistema de arreglo

Área de condiciones de acceso y uso

Condiciones de acceso

Open. Please contact the archivist. Details can be found here : https://royalasiaticarchives.org/. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.

Condiciones

Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.

Idioma del material

  • inglés

Escritura del material

    Notas sobre las lenguas y escrituras

    Características físicas y requisitos técnicos

    Instrumentos de descripción

    Área de materiales relacionados

    Existencia y localización de originales

    Existencia y localización de copias

    Unidades de descripción relacionadas

    Descripciones relacionadas

    Área de notas

    Identificador/es alternativo(os)

    Puntos de acceso

    Puntos de acceso por materia

    Puntos de acceso por lugar

    Puntos de acceso por autoridad

    Tipo de puntos de acceso

    Área de control de la descripción

    Identificador de la descripción

    gb891-sc21

    Identificador de la institución

    Reglas y/o convenciones usadas

    Estado de elaboración

    Nivel de detalle

    Fechas de creación revisión eliminación

    Idioma(s)

      Escritura(s)

        Fuentes

        Nota del archivista

        The material was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2022.

        Área de Ingreso