Eastern Exploration, Past and Future. By W. M. Flinders Petrie.
(Constable and Co. 2s. 6d. net.)—In these stimulating lectures, delivered at the Royal Institution, Professor Flinders Petrie outlines the problems that may be solved by archaeological research in Palestine and Mesopotamia, and urges that precautions should be taken in time to save the existing historical monuments and to protect those that may yet be discovered. Turkish rule by its very inefficiency has prevented irresponsible people moved by curiosity or greed from destroying the remains of the past. The author points to the woeful destruction that has occurred in modern Egypt as an awful example of what will happen to the ancient monuments when Palestine and Mesopotamia are enjoying peace and order, unless strict measures of conservation, such as were pro- claimed at Baghdad by the late General Maude, are imposed and enforced. As the author says, these countries hold the secrets of the past ; if the ancient sites are pillaged before they can be properly studied by experts, the historical evidence that they may yield will be lost for ever. Professor Flinders Petrie's long experience as an explorer lends weight to his recommendations. He is specially in- sistent on the need for paying a fair price to the peasants who put the authorities on the track of valuable discoveries.
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