CHAPTER VI


PALESTINE

[See the diagrams of flint implements, Illustrations II; pottery,
XII; alphabets, XIV & XV.]


I. General Principles.

1. Study of the pottery of the country, not merely from books but
from actual specimens, is an absolutely essential preliminary.
Without an acquaintance with this branch of Palestinian archaeology,
so thorough that any sherd presenting the least character can be
immediately assigned to its proper period, no field research of any
value can be carried out. (See further V below.)

2. A knowledge of the various Semitic alphabets is necessary for
copying inscriptions. Unless the traveller be also acquainted with
the languages he had better be cautious about copying Semitic
inscriptions; without such knowledge he runs the risk of confusing
different Semitic letters, which often closely resemble one another.
He should, however, be able to make squeezes and photographs.

The following are the languages and scripts which may be found in
Palestinian Epigraphy.