52. PHOTOGRAPHS AT CARCHEMISH

By T. E. Lawrence (1911-14)

(i) The lower Palace staircase (1911)

The first British Museum excavation sat Carchemish in 1878 uncovered a great staircase bordered with carved slabs and inscriptions at the foot of the mound. Hogarth naturally chose this as his starting point in the 1911 trial season, and began by clearing the area at the bottom of the staircase. This part of the site was soon christened the 'Lower Palace'.

(ii) Workmen hauling a fragment of masonry

In order to minimise the cost of the trial season Hogarth took neither lifting equipment nor a light railway to Carchemish in 1911. Spoil from the digging had therefore to be carried away in baskets by hand, and heavy objects hauled out of the way by teams of workmen. This proved to be a major handicap because the site was strewn with large blocks of Roman masonry. Lawrence wrote home on 31 March 1911: 'Whenever we break fresh ground dozens of these huge blocks have to be moved. Some of them weigh tons, and we have no blasting powder or stone-hammers with us. As a result they have to be hauled, prehistoric fashion, by brute force of men on ropes, helped to a small extent by crowbars. At this moment something over sixty men are tugging away above, each man yelling Yallah as he pulls: the row is tremendous, but the stones usually come away.'¹

(iii) Carchemish mound seen from the other side of the Euphrates

This view shows the extensive excavations carried out on top of the mound in successive seasons. The Lower Palace area and the city of Carchemish lie on the far side. Digging revealed that the mound was entirely man-made. Excavations wee severely hampered by concrete foundations, the remains of a Roman temple, which had to be broken up and removed before the lower levels could be examined.

(iv) General view of the dig from the Carchemish mound (1914)

The reconstructed Lower Palace wall can be seen in the centre, with light railways running through a large area of deep excavation beyond. The removal of spoil would have been a much greater problem but for successful co-operation between the British archaeologists and the German construction company working on the Baghdad Railway line nearby. Accounts written after the First World War gave the impression that the two groups were constantly at loggerheads. In reality, while there was a certain rivalry (both were major employers of local labour), their relationship was generally harmonious.

British Museum (Dept. of Western Asiatic Antiquities)