Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

DURING 19 CENTURY: ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 441
week, and how many coffins had been opened. Neither
photograph nor sketch accompanied the letters. Haynes
doubtless worked very seriously with his 208 Arabs. But
notwithstanding his honest efforts, it was naturally impossible
for him to control such a large body of men. The
results would have been more satisfactory to himself and to
the committee, if he had retained only fifty workmen in
trenches as long as he was alone, and devoted a part of his
time to a technical description of his excavations, to photographing
and other necessary details upon which the success
of an expedition largely depends. As matters stood, it
became next to impossible for the committee to form
any adequate idea as to what actually was going on at
Nuffar. Besides, letters required five to seven weeks before
they reached Philadelphia. Something had to be
done quickly, if the plans we had formulated were ever
to be realized. To complicate matters even more, misunderstandings
arose between the two architects at Baghdad
on the one hand and the managing director in the field
on the other. This led to Fisher's resignation in April and
his immediate return to England, and for a second time
threatened to bring about Geere's separation from the
work of the Philadelphia expedition. 1
At the beginning of
June we were in the possession of all the facts necessary to
meet, to act, and to decide as to the future course of the
expedition. The results of this important meeting became
soon apparent. Fisher returned to Baghdad in the early
fall, and soon afterwards, together with Geere, who by that
time had fully recovered his usual health, departed for
Nuffar, arriving there on October 20, 1899. Upon the
unanimous decision of the committee the scientific director
was to follow and to take charge of the excavations at the
ruins in person as soon as the organization of the University
Museum should have been completed. Haynes at the same
1
Comp. pp. 360, seq., above.
the