Feb.6] SOCIETYOK BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1S94.word,to all appearance, is neither Indo-Europeannor Semitic,and
as the Accadian hasa word of the same meaning verylike it,
id-kasduru,it is much morelikelythatit came to the Greeks from
Babel through Phoenicia than that it came into Accadian from
Greek.
And the metal itself may have come from the mines of
Paropamisos.*
I am not aware of the existence of any other directargumentin
favourof Tartessus beyondthoseI have mentioned,viz. : (1) the
similarityof name.t (2) the commerce of certain metals,notablyof
tin ; others will find theirplacelateron ; and at the present day it is
difficultto exaggerate the weakness of these arguments. Theyare
supplemented,of course, by the consideration thatthishypothesis
does not contradictthe sacred writings, buthelps towards their
interpretation.
I hold, on the contrary, that the sacred Scriptures pointin
anotherdirection,andthatthe Tartessian hypothesishas only led to
falsifytranslationsof the Bibleand given riseto the most forced
interpretationsof the sacred text.
* O. Schrader, PrehistoricAntiquities,p. 192, 193, 214 andfollowing.
It would be too long hereto discuss possibleobjections,butI have carefully
studied the matter fromthe Assyriological pointof view, and believethat
Schrader'spositionis thoroughlysound.
+ This is sometimes put forward in the form, Turdalior Turdelani =
Tartessus= Tarshish. Somewriterswhosee the weakness of Tartessus proper,
imaginethatthe part is put for the whole, henceTarshish= Tartessus = Spain.[To be continued in next number.]108