ARCHAEOLOGISTS are a rare sight on TIME covers: ancient history usually has to yield to current history. But the subject has long had an interest for us; in fact, in an earlier day in TIME'S history, one editor decreed that archaeology stories should appear in the magazine at frequent intervals, and always under the same spare heading: DIGGERS.

Science Editor Jonathan Norton Leonard, who wrote this week's cover story on Nelson Glueck, considers himself something of an amateur Biblical scholar and regards the Bible as "an extraordinary record of ancient history as well as beautiful literature." This has long been Archaeologist Glueck's thesis, and his Biblical scholarship has often helped him locate sites in the Holy Land. One memento from Glueck that Leonard treasures is a piece of slag from King Solomon's copper mines, which Glueck rediscovered.

Although the cover story treats primarily of Glueck's explorations in the Holy Land, there are eight color pages of diggings in the Middle East, including Nemrud Dagh, Aphrodisias, Ephesus and Gordion. Nancy Chase, chief of researchers in the World section, went along on the photographic trip, out of her own fascination with the subject. On a first journey to the Middle East nine years ago, Miss Chase first got interested, and since then she has spent four summers on archaeological expeditions run by the Universities of Toronto and Colorado and the Museum of New Mexico. Her recent trip to Turkey seemed luxurious to her after some earlier trips: "I didn't have to poach eggs for 20 people or sleep in a tent." What is the appeal of archaeology to an amateur? Finding skeletons and pots, yes. But, adds Miss Chase, after being winterbound in Manhattan, "It's so nice to sit in the sunshine and scrape the earth with a trowel."

Leonard's cover story was researched by Sydnor Trapnell, whose own first interest among the sciences is oceanography, but who now ranks archaeology a close second. As TIME'S Science researcher for the past four years, she has one professional reason for her preference. Looking up from her reference books, she observed gratefully that many archaeologists write a simple and understandable prose, and do not immediately lapse into incomprehensible technical jargon.

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