Figure 1
The earliest photograph of Tell ed-Duweir, taken by J. Garstang in 1928 (Palestine Exploration Fund, PEF-P-GAR-G1332, courtesy of Felicity Cobbing).
Figure 2
A telegram from High Commissioner Sir Arthur Wauchope to the Wellcome Trust, exonerating the residents of al-Qubayba and urging that the excavation season be continued (courtesy of the Wellcome Trust, London).
Figure 3
The Starkey family with the two older children arriving at Tell ed-Duweir by car (courtesy of the Starkey Family).
Table 1
The chronicle of the land dispute at Tell ed-Duweir.
| DATE | EVENT | REFERENCE IN GARFINKEL, COLONIAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN PALESTINE (P.) |
|---|---|---|
| 20.10.1932 | Starkey purchased land for construction of the excavation camp. Starkey later went to Jerusalem, leaving his assistant, Gerald Lancaster Harding on site to build the camp. | 240 |
| 2.11.1932 | Starkey arrived from Jerusalem to find that the local villagers had not allowed Lancaster Harding to build on the land purchased by the expedition. | 241 |
| 2.11.1932 | The District Officer from Hebron, ʿAbdullah Qardus, talked to the locals about the expedition, and it then became possible to start the construction of the camp on the expedition’s land. | 241 |
| ? | Land was rented for the season for the camp of the Bedouin workers from Gaza. | 245 |
| 23.12.1932 | The camp of the Bedouin workers was moved to a new location, as requested by the landowners. A new area was rented. | 245 |
| 1933 | During the season Starkey conducted a long negotiation with the landowners to buy the land of Tell ed-Duweir, without success. | 285 |
| 14.11.1933 | A meeting of the heads of the village with ʿAbdulla Qardus Effendi, the District Officer of Hebron, and ʿArif al-ʿArif, the Governor of Beersheba. ʿAbdulla Qardus spoke of the expedition’s right to expropriate land if they failed to achieve an arrangement with the landowners. There was no wish to exercise this right, as long as it was at all possible to make an alternative settlement, based upon fair compensation for a lost crop. | 286 |
| 30.11.1933 | Some of the landowners agreed to sell land on the summit of the tell, if members of their families were employed by the expedition. | 298 |
| 31.1.1934 | Starkey reported that the negotiations had been concluded with all the landowners, for the sum of 163.040 Palestine pounds. This was achieved after he notified them that if they were not prepared to come to an agreement before the end of the month, he would take the necessary proceedings to expropriate the land, and they would lose the privilege that they could otherwise exercise. The landowners left happy with the cash deposit they had received on account. | 307 |
| 28.2.1934 | Starkey reported that the landowners had repudiated the agreement, despite the fact that they had already received half the purchase price. Consequently, Starkey met with the Director of the Department of Antiquities of Palestine to discuss the expropriation of the land on the summit of Tell ed-Duweir. | 316, 321 |
| 12.4.1934 | The Palestine Gazette No. 433 announced the expropriation of Tell ed-Duweir. | 58 |
| 15.6.1934 | Starkey reported that the landowners had received ‘notices to treat’ from the Lands Department due to Tell ed-Duweir’s expropriation, and had gone to appeal to the District Officer of Hebron, who advised them to refer the case to Jerusalem. | 337 |
| 17.11.1934 | Starkey reported hesitations about the expropriated land at the beginning of the third excavation season. An inspector of the Department of Antiquities visited the tell to formally receive the land on behalf of the Government. All of the interested parties, with the exception of one, were prepared to hand it over voluntarily. | 341 |
| 4.12.1934 | The Director of Lands asked for £210 to meet the claims of the landowners. | 351 |
| 15.1.1935 | Starkey reported that he had forwarded a cheque for £210 to meet the expected claims of the landowners. He added: ‘I fear that I shall not be privileged to live long enough to see the end of this transaction.’ | 361 |
| 31.1.1935 | Starkey reported that he had received a receipt for £210 from the Treasury. The sum had been forwarded to meet the expected claims of the villagers, but Starkey had ‘not yet heard of any individual settlements’. | 366 |
| 30.11.1935 | Starkey reported that several locals had now applied to the Lands Department to complete the sale of their share of the expropriated area. These formalities had to be carried out by the claimants before the Government would make payment. | 409 |
| 5.10.1936 | A band of 20 armed men attacked the excavation camp at 10 p.m. They tied up the guards and put them together in one room, and three watches and £P2.135 were stolen. They threatened to burn down the camp on their next visit. | 627–628 |
| During 1937 | Starkey approached the Director of Land Registration about the expropriation and the delayed compensation. | 628 |
| 4.5.1937 | Landowner Ṣāliḥ al-Ḥajj Ḥamad Abu ʿAwwād sent a harsh letter of complaint about the land dispute to the Department of Antiquities. | <This article> |
| 8.5.1937 | The Director of Land Registration answered Starkey’s letter. The compensation had not been paid because there were severe problems with ownership of the land. This letter did not reach Starkey, as he had already left for London. | 628–629 |
| 10.1.1938 | Starkey was murdered on his way from Tell ed-Duweir to Jerusalem. | 168–171 |
| 31.1.1938 | A report on Starkey’s murder sent from the expedition to the donors in London stated: ‘Many conflicting stories appear to have been told, even by the driver of the car himself.’ | 546 |
| 21.5.1943 | A letter from the Department of Antiquities clarifies that the land of Tell ed-Duweir had now been valued by the Land Court in Jerusalem at £254.385. The expedition deposited £210 pounds and the Government covered the remaining £44.385. | 630 |
| 4.12.1943 | The expropriation of Tell ed-Duweir was completed and the property was registered in the name of His Excellency the High Commissioner. | 631 |
Figure 4
The summit of Tell ed-Duweir. The land was cultivated by local farmers, and the expedition was obliged to rent or purchase the land from the landowners (courtesy of the Wellcome Trust, London).
Figure 5
The petition of the land owner Ṣāliḥ al-Ḥajj Ḥamad Abū ‘Awwād to the Department of Antiquities of Palestine, dated May 4, 1937.13