T. E. Lawrence to his family

Aleppo

October 15, 1912

I am in here trying to raise a loan of money, for the Museum has failed us with its funds (paid over to it in July by Mr. Hogarth, and asked for twice or thrice by telegraph from Woolley) and pay day is three days ahead with only £40 in hand. And unfortunately Aleppo is very disturbed with the Government forcibly levying transport animals, and scouring the country for reservists in hiding, and so nobody has any money in hand. The job is not a pleasant one: - at least though we have sent a wire to the Museum that should cause them to send us something soon.

Now about other things. We went on digging in a Hittite room found two seasons back, and in half an hour had uncovered the two jambs of a doorway in black basalt, with long and perfect Hittite inscriptions. About our great stone of the Hogarth period this is the best inscription yet discovered here, and we are correspondingly glad. Also to find them in place as door jambs is an important piece of evidence architecturally.

In many other little ways we are making forward, though the size of the operation we have tackled is becoming more than a little oppressive. The whole of Hittite history is in the melting-pot - or the craftsman's mould - out here. We have 200 men this year, (three over-seers) and corresponding difficulties. Not the least in the business the Government is giving us with its frantic levying of every able-bodied man as soldier. They visited the Euphrates bridge works and decimated the workmen, and entirely broke up the construction of the station: they have only old men and boys left. Thereupon we ventured a risk and forbade the police and soldiers to set foot in the Kala'at offering our house as a temporary refuge for runaways among our men. So far we have not lost one, but it is not quite a secure game to play. We also recovered the village donkeys which had been impressed.

I forgot to tell you that our light railway has failed to arrive, and that our stores are delayed en route. So that we are living literally and completely on the country, and have no photographic supplies. On the whole you will see that I am going about to earn my salary. I got a letter from you lately, when you had been a fortnight without news. You will probably have had some by now. The bank sends its letters by courier to Beyrout (whence it is 8 days, or even 7, to England): but the province of Aleppo is jealous of Beyrout, and forwards its post overland as far as Constantinople. That makes a delay of about 5 days for English letters, but is of course about on a par for Turkish internal posts. No matter. I don't know anything else to talk about just now - and besides I have to go up to Bagdad Company to see about transport of stores when they arrive. They have fallen out with us again: stupid creatures these Germans are. Their line is bad: yesterday I left Jerablus at 3 p.m. stopped (with the train) six hours at a wayside station because the telegraph line was cut, and reached Aleppo at 3 a.m., and at 6 I was in the bazaar. It is now 3 p.m. and I must go off.

N.