The Excavation of Gezer, 1902 - 1905 and 1907 - 1909. — By R. A. Stewart
Macalister. 3 vols. (John Murray. £4 40. net.)—Two large volumes of letterpress and a third of illustrations are the fruit of Professor Macalister's five years' excavations at Gazer, by the help of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Gezer, which is situated about seventeen miles south-east of Jaffa, forms an especially fertile site for archreological investigations, not only be- cause of the importance of the city, but because of its long history. It was not later than 3000 n.c. that the Neolithic "Troglodytes" first took possession of the caves in the hill of Gazer. The first Semitic invasion probably occurred in about 2500 B.C., and it was soon after this that the influence of Egypt began to be felt. Hebrew, Egyptian, and Assyrian occupations followed in succession, and the importance of the city came to an end in the Maccabean period. During the Roman Empire and subse- quently Gezer dwindled from having been a royal city to a squalid village of some 600 inhabitants. It was first identified in 1869 by Professor Clermont-Ganneau, but the excavations were only begun by Professor Macalister in the spring of 1902. Tho complexity of the stratification of the remains has made it impossible to deal with the discoveries chronologically. They are therefore treated according to their nature—separate chapters being devoted to " Dwellings and Defences," " The Burial of the Dead," " Daily Life," "Warfare," and "Religion, Folklore, and Superstition." Under each of these subdivisions, however, the chronological treatment is faithfully observed. It would be an impertinence to congratulate Professor Macalieter upon the thoroughness and clarity with which he has accomplished this compte rendu of his work.
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