CHAPTER III


ASIA MINOR

[See the diagrams of pottery, Illustration V: ASIA MINOR POTTERY]

1. Introductory.

Travellers are more likely to make new discoveries elsewhere than on
the actual sites of ancient towns and villages. In many cases the
site is found to be entirely bare of all remains except sometimes
small fragments of pottery. In general, inscribed and other stones
have been carried away to serve as building material for mosques,
houses, fountains, bridges, &c., or as headstones for graves in
cemeteries or for other utilitarian purposes. It is, therefore, in
and near modern villages and towns that inscriptions are chiefly to
be found, as well as smaller antiquities, such as clay tablets, pots
or fragments of them, terra-cotta figures, coins, and so forth. The
smaller articles may sometimes be found in the bazaars, but they are
usually in the hands of individuals.

It should not be assumed that inscriptions which are exposed to
public view have all been copied; moreover, new stones are constantly
being turned up, especially where building is going on and where
there are old sites or cemeteries close at hand. Great numbers of
inscribed stones are hidden away in private dwellings, where they are
difficult of discovery and of access. Travellers should take
advantage of opportunities that may offer of examining antiquities in