Blake Describes Visit to Ancient City of Van in Asia Minor, Home of Former Rivals of Assyria

Describing an archeological expedition made to the ancient city of Van, Robert P. Blake, director of the University Library, told of the setting of the city yesterday in an illustrated lecture at the Semetic Museum.

"Travelling by car from the railroad at Mardin, on the border of Irak, our party drove through Diyarbekin and Bitlis and completely around the great alkaline lake near Van," said Blake. The expedition passed twelve days in the city itself taking many pictures of the remnants of the old town which were shown as slides to the audience.

"From 900 to 640 B. C." Professor Blake continued, "Van was the capital of a great kingdom which was the only successful rival of the monarchs of Assyria when that state was at the height of its power. Although the archaeological remains have long been generaly known, they have not been thoroughly studied.

"Although uncared for for many hundreds of years the walls of the tremendons citadel which defended the town are still over 40 feet high. Whole appartments of chambers are hewn in the living rock of the precipitous cliff and engraved with the auuals of the dynasty of kings in the Vannic language which is only partly understood, and whose exact linguistic connections are a matter of hot dispute.

"The stoep slopes of the cliff are cut into steps and furrowed with channels whose exact significance remains a mystery. Many other cliffs in the neighborhood have niches cut in them, which apparently had a religious purpose and many of them bear inscriptions. The gigantic walls set out on a desclate peak, framed by snowy mountains and mirrored in the lake, evoke, a striking picture of the power and might of the monarchs who erected them.

"The expedition undertook no excavations", concluded Blake, "but the members confined themselves to a survey of the site, a registration of the surface monuments, and to an investigation into the possibilities of future archacological exploration.