DOI article:
Sterrett, John Robert Sitlington: Inscriptions of Tralleis
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.8560#0107
INSCRIPTIONS OF TRALLEIS.
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The following inscriptions are a part of the results of the
work carried on during the summer of 1883, by means of
the Asia Minor Exploration Fund, which was subscribed
in England under the auspices of the " Society for the Pro-
motion of Hellenic Studies."
During a great part of the summer I accompanied Mr.
W. M. Ramsay on his expedition into Asia Minor. Tralleis
is so easy of access by railway from Smyrna that we did not
expect to find inscriptions there ; in fact, we went on other
business preparatory to our expedition into the interior. But
brought incidentally into contact with the inscriptions below,
we copied them as a matter of course. Scholars have long
known of and coveted the six inscriptions which are built
into the wall of the great ruin known now as the Utch Geuz,
the Three Eyes or Arches. Frequent attempts have been
made to read them with a glass from the time of Pococke to
the present day ; but such attempts have either been very
unsatisfactory or have failed entirely owing to the smallness
of the letters of the inscriptions and the great height of the
stones above the ground. Convinced by trial of the utter
hopelessness of gaining satisfactory readings with a glass,
we determined to make a ladder long enough to reach
them. The construction of the ladder was accomplished
through the very great kindness of Mr. Urquhart of Aidin,
who furnished us with the necessary materials, seventeen
working men, and two carpenters. But, even with the help
of the ladder, the undertaking was attended with great diffi-
culty and considerable danger. The impossibility of taking
impressions of the stones under such circumstances will be
evident to all.
\
-o<>;=<st?o-o-
The following inscriptions are a part of the results of the
work carried on during the summer of 1883, by means of
the Asia Minor Exploration Fund, which was subscribed
in England under the auspices of the " Society for the Pro-
motion of Hellenic Studies."
During a great part of the summer I accompanied Mr.
W. M. Ramsay on his expedition into Asia Minor. Tralleis
is so easy of access by railway from Smyrna that we did not
expect to find inscriptions there ; in fact, we went on other
business preparatory to our expedition into the interior. But
brought incidentally into contact with the inscriptions below,
we copied them as a matter of course. Scholars have long
known of and coveted the six inscriptions which are built
into the wall of the great ruin known now as the Utch Geuz,
the Three Eyes or Arches. Frequent attempts have been
made to read them with a glass from the time of Pococke to
the present day ; but such attempts have either been very
unsatisfactory or have failed entirely owing to the smallness
of the letters of the inscriptions and the great height of the
stones above the ground. Convinced by trial of the utter
hopelessness of gaining satisfactory readings with a glass,
we determined to make a ladder long enough to reach
them. The construction of the ladder was accomplished
through the very great kindness of Mr. Urquhart of Aidin,
who furnished us with the necessary materials, seventeen
working men, and two carpenters. But, even with the help
of the ladder, the undertaking was attended with great diffi-
culty and considerable danger. The impossibility of taking
impressions of the stones under such circumstances will be
evident to all.
\