Cyrene Papers: The Second Report. The Oric Bates Expedition of 1909

Abstract

AbstractIn late April 1909 the young Egyptologist Oric Bates led a three-week survey expedition to Cyrenaica under the sponsorship of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for the purpose of locating a suitable site for archaeological excavation. Participants in the expedition included Richard Norton, Allison V. Armour, and Russell C. Sturgis, Jr. At the conclusion of the expedition Bates sent a full report to the sponsors, who filed it away without acknowledgement. The report, which is published here for the first time, details this first official American expedition to Cyrenaica. Correspondence is discussed that reveals why the Archaeological Institute of America and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston chose to ignore the report and to dismiss Bates abruptly from the project just several days after the report was submitted. The role that Norton played in Bates' dismissal is also examined.