Archaeologists in general and students of ceramics in A particular largely live in an ancient world of their own creation. They have built up the background of the period they study by means of the material objects available to them, and they have filled in the gaps largely by hypothesis, analogy and guesswork. This, after all, is part of the game. They have decided that they have no alternative. Rarely and with caution they draw comparisons between living and dead primitive cultures. Usually they draw back in alarm, for aboriginal Australians and Bushmen have the irritating habit of not always coming up to the desired level of similarity when comparisons are made between them and men of Neolithic or earlier cultures. And so the archaeologists are driven in on themselves. Perhaps it is just as well.

The allied forces landed at Salonika early in October 1915. For the first few months, which included the great retreat from Serbia, the military situation was too critical for much attention to be given to antiquities. But towards the end of the year the army of occupation settled down on its defensive lines in the neighbourhood of the town, which ran approximately from the river Galiko, near Naresh, to the sea at Stavros (PI. I.); and as trenches, gun emplacements, and dug-outs were constructed all along these lines, it soon became obvious that there were chances of interesting and valuable discoveries. In particular, the numerous mounds which are familiar to Macedonian archaeologists lent themselves readily to military purposes. I accordingly made a representation to Col. Cunliffe Owen, who was acting as Military Intelligence Officer, and a note was issued in General Orders about the end of December, ordering that all antiquities found should be reported to Headquarters, in order that they should, as soon as possible, be inspected, and, if necessary, taken over by me.

The excavations described below were carried out conjointly by the Museum of Antiquities at Stamboul and members of the mission excavating on behalf of the British Academy in Constantinople in 1927. The funds required were provided by both parties. The account here given is published by kind permission of Halil Bey, Director of the Museum, at whose request it was drawn up, and who in the first instance proposed to the British Mission that the work should be carried out in collaboration with Macridy Bey and the Museum.

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